Nature Symbolism In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne lived from 1804 until 1864. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He came from a family with a long history and he added a ‘w’ to his last name because he did not want to be associated with the history of the Salem witch trials, because the name Hathorne was tied to a judge in Salem. The Scarlett Letter was published in 1850. The Scarlet Letter was a way to address Puritanism and witch trials and deal with his families past. And

Nathaniel Hawthorne is known as the author of one of the single most perfect pieces to be found in American Literature. Hawthorne is also the great-great grandson of one of the three judges that were involved in the Salem Witch trials that were held in 1692 (Day, 1). Hawthorne was the author of many literary works including Fanshawe: A tale and “The Scarlet Letter” (Day, 1). Hawthorne received recognition from prominent authors such as Edgar Allen Poe. Hawthorne was joined in matrimony with Sophia Amelia Peabody Hawthorne (Day, 1). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” emphasizes on the strict disciplinary system of the puritans, which may be a result of his upbringing.

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows multiple connections between characters and nature. As the story progresses nature becomes more prevalent in the characters and continues to establish certain characteristics for each character. This established connection provides a view into the depths of human nature that each character portrays.

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very important and symbolic role.  Hawthorne uses nature to convey the mood of a scene, to describe characters, and to link the natural elements with human nature.  Many of the passages that have to do with nature accomplish more than one of these ideas.  All throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line. The deep symbolism conveyed by certain aspects of nature helps the reader gain a deeper understanding of the plight and inner emotions of the characters in the novel.

If it is important, it is remembered. If it has any value, it will last far into the future, if not forever. This is why Michelangelo’s David, the Mona Lisa, the automobile, The Beatles, and Pride and Prejudice are all remembered. If it is the first to make an impact, it becomes important. That is when it will affect people in future generations. For example, the Model T is not produced anymore, but is the grandfather of almost every car made today, affecting jobs, businesses, people, and the world. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is taught today because it was one of the first important American written novels that contained obvious symbolism. Since symbolism is used in everything of literary merit, it is important to see where it started. In the same way, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has lasted through the years and still be prevalent today. This is achieved in the original books and continuing in spin offs and adaptations.

The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the nephew of John Hathorne. During the Salem Witch Trials, the only judge that did not apologize for the remorseless and cruel acts that were put upon many men and women was in fact John Hathorne. Nathaniel changed his last name from Hathorne to Hawthorne in an attempt to disassociate himself from his uncle. John Hathorne is the reason why Nathaniel Hawthorne is obsessed with the puritan times. Hawthorne lived in the 1800s, but the setting of the novel is based before the Salem Witch Trials were held in the 1600s. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the scarlet letter, Dimmesdale, and burrs to contribute to the overall theme of guilt.

The Puritan era in New England was inundated with an atmosphere of righteousness and judgment. This culture spurned those who strayed from its religious codes. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses multiple symbols to bring a deeper meaning to the society, his characters, and to adultery. One of the motifs used comes as the character Pearl, the daughter of the two adulterers. Pearl has multiple descriptions; physically, she is “a lovely and immortal flower,” yet also “an airy sprite . . . as if she were hovering in the air and might vanish” (80, 83). She has a “wild, desperate, defiant mood” and is often referred to as a “flower,” a “bird,” and an “elf” (82, 80, 98, 87). Hawthorne uses Pearl’s multi-layered personality

"He is the complete type of man of the world, the social ideal,--courteous, quiet, well informed, imperturbably. Nevertheless, his moral nature is a poisonous and irreclaimable wilderness, in which blooms not a single flower of heavenly parentage." (J. Hawthorne) Over the course of seven years, Roger Chillingworth changes from a calm, scholarly, and kind person to an evil, corrupt, and satanic being.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the most important authors in the history of American literature and the genre of Romanticism or Dark Romanticism, due to his unique style of writing and his focus upon subjects of Puritan religion and the unknown. I consider Hawthorne an important author, due to the fact that he skillfully and accurately based his fictional writings upon happenings of colonial times, was one of the first authors to display unfortunate outcomes for his characters’ immoral choices according to Puritan beliefs, and wrote of things that were considered taboo in his time, such as witchcraft, scientific innovation and experimentation. I strongly believe that Hawthorne’s influence for his writings were his Puritan ancestral background, his fascination with Puritan beliefs, and his interest in what was considered the unknown such as witchcraft and science. According to the Norton Anthology Textbook Vol. B, Nathaniel Hawthorne was “born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804” (370). Hawthorne belonged “to a family whose ancestral roots were tied to Puritan history, with his family being among the first settlers of Massachusetts and having one of his relatives serve as a judge during the Salem witch trials” (370). Hawthorne, as a young boy, “had a particular interest in writings such as John Bunyan’s Puritan allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, and by his mid-teens he took interest in British novelists such as Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollet, William Godwin, and Sir Walter Scott”

Nathaniel Hawthorne was greatly influenced by his great- great grandfather, John Hathorne, to develop the novel The Scarlet Letter.  John hathorne was involved in the persecution of several people in the Salem, Massachusetts (encyclopedia).

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Puritans are in control of the community and have the fundamental belief that everyone should be pure and free of sin. Puritans consider sin to be unnatural and uncharacteristic of a good Puritan Christian. Throughout the novel Hester Prynne and Pearl Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and even Roger Chillingsworth enter the woods in order to evade persecution from the Puritans and to speak and act freely, if only for a brief amount of time. Nature becomes the sanctuary for sin, making sin a natural and human characteristic, which contradicts the beliefs of the Puritans. Hawthorne makes the argument that nature is a place to hide, or shelter sin; nature becomes a place where sin can be free from the structured Puritan town that is ruled by law and religion.

Hawthorne’s work takes America’s Puritan past as its subject, but The Scarlet Letter uses the material to the greatest effect. The Puritans were

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a man who was both plagued and absorbed by the legacy of the Puritans in New England. He was related to John Hathorne, a Puritan judge during the infamous Salem Witch trials of 1692. In The Scarlet Letter, his fictional account of mid-17th century Boston presents an opportunity to examine different themes commonly associated with Puritans. Particularly the nature of sin, personal identity and the repression of natural urges are themes that appear repeatedly through the novel. While his account of this time period may not be completely historically accurate, it is indicative of the persistent thematic influence of Puritan culture on American and New England society.

Nathaniel was an American writer who was born in Salem Massachusetts, with a long New England history. Nathaniel’s original name of the family was Hathorne, he added a “w” to distinguish himself from his family history. His relative was a prominent judge in the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693. Nathaniel grew up from the upbringing of his mother. His father, a sea captain, died of yellow fever in Suriname. His uncle Robert Manning, help Nathaniel and his mother financially, helping with his college education at Bowdoin College. Hawthorne did not enjoy school even though he was an avid reader and writer. He was an average student in the class of 1825. After graduation, Hawthorne went back home to Salem. He spent a lot of time in the local library, learning about his ancestral roots and his Puritan past. During this time of his discovery Hawthorne wrote many short stories, but they were failed to publish. He married his wife Sophia at her parent’s home in Boston during 1842, once married they moved to Concord, Massachusetts. They rented the Old Manse from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Surrounded in the literary circle and transcendental movement, the Hawthorne’s had big social lives. After Hawthorne’s income from publishing short stories, they moved in with Hawthorne’s mother in Salem around 1845. Hawthorne took up a job at the Salem Custom House but since Boston had taken much of the seaport business from Salem,

another ancestor, who happened to be one of three judges at the 17 th century Salem