Symbolism In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

What is the significance of the scarlet letter A which is embroidered on Hester’s gown?

The Puritans despised Hester and her symbol for her sin, and shunned her for many years even after her prison sentence. Hester could have just lived a depressed, lonely life in seclusion with her daughter Pearl, but she decided to accept her sin and wrong doing to become a mentally stronger woman. During the many years of Hester being in prison and being rejected when she was released, she practiced needlework to provide food for her and her daughter. As the people in Salem recognized her talent of her embroidery and garments, they began respecting her talent, and so the scarlet “A” that stood for “adulterer” slowly began to stand for “able.” Hester started to supply apparel for babies, ceremonies, inaugurations, and funerals. Furthermore, the Scarlet letter has another symbolic meaning. When Pearl went to the seashore, she made a green letter “A” out of seaweed – nature’s color. This was symbolic for Pearl’s sinless life so far because she hasn’t truly been introduced to sin; she still is “green” and “pure”. As for Hester, her scarlet “A” is symbolic of her many sins, for no one can avoid sin as they grow older.

As the novel progresses the meaning of the symbolism of the letter “A” starts ti blossom into a new meaning. Toward the climax of the novel Hester Prynne’s appearance is altered to where she is no longer viewed as a sinner. The meaning on the symbol changes from of the devil to a some what vague symbol, as if it has lost its initial connotation. Society now views her a symbol that differs whom she really is, she is viewed as a strong woman through all the torment that is put in a unfortunate situation. At this point Hester has already learned how to dealt with the burden of the scarlet letter. Withstanding the pressures of society boiling down waiting patiently for Hester Prynne to crack, she does not, she grows into a stronger woman. A woman that has gone through hell and back and continues to thrive in her society even under the circumstances she lives in. The scarlet letter “A” meaning has changed, “ hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love, unless the change be impeded by a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility” (Hawthorne 147). Slowly Hester’s hard feelings toward the letter, and to the situation itself, begins to diminish. However, it is

In the book The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is convicted of adultery and severely punished. Hester is sentenced to wear the scarlet letter 'A' on her clothes at all times. The letter “A” is a symbol that is meant to identify Hester as a sinner and an adulteress in her community. She is seen as a negative example for others not to follow. Hester is also sentenced to spend an unidentified period of time in jail; furthermore, she must also stand on the scaffold for hours in the middle of the town. Everyone sees Hester in her most vulnerable and embarrassed state. However, she handles it with dignity and grace.

First of all, the scarlet letter stands for Hester's sin. By forcing Hester to wear the letter A on her bosom, the Puritan community not only punishes this weak young woman for her adultery but labels her identity as an adulteress and immoral human being as well. "Thus the young and the pure would be taught to look at her, with the letter flaming on her chest", also "as the figure, the body and the reality of sin." And the day Hester began to wear the scarlet A on her bosom is the opening of her darkness. From that moment, people, who look at her, must notice the letter A manifest itself in the red color covering not only her bosom, but her own character. The Puritans now only see the letter A, the representation of sin, scorn and hate

As seen in The Scarlet letter, the symbol for secret sin is the Scarlet letter “A.” The “A” represents the sin in which Hester commits adultery with the town’s minister, Dimmesdale. One example of secret sin is when Hester first walks out of prison; for the first time she wore the letter “A” on her breast to show her crime. The “A” very well represents her secret sin. Even Dimmesdale curves

The letter A is first seen elaborately decorated upon Hester Prynne’s bosom as she walks through a sea of judging eyes. It was mandated by the ministers that Hester wear the letter A as punishment for her sins. The A denoted her adultery, made to remind the townspeople of her sin each time they laid their eyes upon her. It was a symbol of shame for many years.

The Scarlet Letter when the protagonist Hester Prynne cheats on her husband, Roger Chillingworth, with a man later revealed to be Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister in town. She gets a scarlet “A” embroidered on her likeness, and there are multiple innate symbols to the letter in the novel, which will be discussed further on. Hawthorne chooses to use such natural

The townspeople have begun to regard Hester with a certain amount of respect. She has been pure in heart and deed ever since her public fall from graces, and she is charitable to the poor. Hester earns her money by doing stitch-work for local dignitaries, but she often spends her time helping the poor and sick. In fact, her suffering makes her kinder toward others. She knows how to offer grace, because she had been denied it herself. People begin to suggest that the A stands for Able. Some suggest that the scarlet letter connotes holiness. For Hester, however, the symbol has hardened her against ever feeling passion of affection again. She has ceased, in short, to be a

Similarly, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist Hester Prynne is defined by a scarlet A. The scarlet letter accomplishes the Puritan’s intended office of stripping Hester of her humanity by shaming her and also instills fear of disobeying in the townspeople, thus exposing the Puritans as puppets to their magistrates. The scarlet letter’s intended office is to shame Hester.

     Throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter there are many symbols. One of the biggest symbols of the novel is the scarlet letter A that Hester Prynne is sentenced to wear after she commits adultery. It is a symbol that is sewn onto her clothes for everyone to see. It is a punishment that is meant to humiliate her for the duration of the time that she stays in Puritanical Boston. During the novel, the scarlet letter changes and evolves from meaning adultery to meaning ability and even physically changes its form.

The Letter A is the most prominent and also common symbol in the book. It is the letter that is embroidered onto Hester’s Dress. At that time, it means Adulterer, as she committed Adultery with Dimmesdale. Later in the novel, is comes to mean ‘Able’ as the Puritan’s perception of her shifted.

Symbolism has many different meanings, and the Scarlet ‘A’ in “The Scarlet Letter” has many different meanings as well. Hester Prynne is the main character who is forced to wear the scarlet letter as remembrance for the crime and the sin that she has committed. This letter completely ruined her reputation in her community. How could a small piece of fabric do so much harm? This letter was a representation of something much greater than the letter ‘A’. This letter was originally made to stand for adulteress, as physical reminder of her sins. The vibrant scarlet red is meant to shame Hester, to make her feel sorry for her mistakes. Most importantly it was a symbol for change and an emblem of identity. In short, the scarlet letter meant much more than a letter of shame, it was simply a piece of fabric with meaning that could easily change.

     In the novel, there are four different versions of the letter “A”. The first is presented at the beginning of the book, where Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her breast. The second occurrence is during the second scaffold

The scarlet letter could also be looked as a quality of Hester's character. This quality defined the views of the townspeople regarding Hester, and in time also changed in meaning. It was at the beginning of the book that the letter embroidered on her bosom only stood for adultery, and the common consensus of the people, in respects to Hester's actions, was "this woman has shamed us all and ought to die" (50). In time, and through the actions of Hester Prynne, the letter 'A' upon her chest was understood to be something different, and "many people refused to interpret the