Essay on Symbolism of the Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter

One night Pearl asks her unaccepting father, Dimmesdale, to “stand [t]here on the scaffold with [her and her] mother ”(230). Pearl wants the beloved minister to own up to his sin and show the rest of the townsfolk his participation in the sin. However, the mortified priest responds, “[nay]; not so, my little Pearl”(230). Denying Pearl’s request accurately represents one way Dimmesdale tries to avoid the ignominy his moral consequence of sin. Even though Dimmesdale gets to chose whether he stands on the scaffold or not, Hester did not have this choice in the beginning of the novel. One of Hester’s immediate punishments was to stand on the scaffold holding her baby with the scarlet letter “A” on her clothing in front of “a thousand relenting eyes” (54). Hester felt shame when she had to show the rest of the town the ways her sin affected

It was Election Day and Dimmesdale was giving his sermon inside the church. This sermon was his most powerful sermon that he had given. As Dimmesdale was inside the church giving his sermon, Hester was standing outside the church next to the scaffold with Pearl. When Dimmesdale finished his sermon, there was a procession to the town hall. However he did not proceed with the procession. He went to climb the scaffold and called Hester and Pearl to join him. Chillingworth tried to stop him because he knew what he was going to do so he said that he could still save him. Dimmesdale brushed him off and continued to climb the scaffold. Malcolm Cowley states, “Facing the crowd he tears open his ministerial band and shows that there is a scarlet A imprinted on his own flesh” (Cowley 16). He exposed his sin because he wanted to be free of his sin and be with Hester and Pearl. This scene also describes Dimmesdale’s dying words and actions. He asked God to forgive Chillingworth and asked if Pearl would kiss him. So Pearl kissed him on the lips. This was significant because it showed that she accepted and forgave him. Hester also asked him if they would ever see each other again, but he does not think they will because of their

The settings in The Scarlet Letter are very important in displaying the themes of the novel. The settings in this novel are almost characters, for they are an important part in developing the story. The scaffold, the forest, the prison, and Hester’s cottage are settings that show sin and its consequences result in shame and suffering.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter expresses various themes of dark romanticism using symbolism. One of the more obvious symbols is that of the scaffold, which is present throughout the story. Upon in-depth exploration, I discovered this use of symbolism relates both literally and metaphorically to the dark romantic themes present in Hawthorne’s tale. First, let me discuss the scaffold and its constant presence in the story. The townspeople, Hester, and Dimmesdale use the scaffold on numerous occasions; most often, its use is to shame, harass, and isolate Hester Prynne so that she will confess the name of her child’s father. However, at times, the scaffold is used as a sanctuary and a confessional for others.

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author presents three symbols that all reinforce the main idea of the novel. The main idea that reoccurred throughout the novel is that people don’t have to let their mistakes or circumstances determine who they are or what they become; it’s all in how one interprets life. Many symbols may seem as just an ordinary character or coincidental object to some readers, but the symbols have a deeper, underlying meaning. Although there are many symbols in this book, there are three that really help support the main idea: Hester Prynne’s scarlet letter, the meteor, and Hester’s daughter Pearl.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the author uses three scaffold scenes to mark the development of Hester Prynne. The image of Hester atop the scaffolding is a metaphor for her forced solitude; for her banishment from society; and for the futility of her punishment. In the first scene, Hawthorne uses the scaffold to explain how Hester can not believe that the “A'; and the baby are real. In the second scaffold scene, Hawthorne tries to convey to the reader that Hester has fully repented for her sin, however this is not true. In the final scaffold scene, Hester does not yet fully repent for her sin because her love for Dimmesdale is still strong. Through Hester, Hawthorne is trying to communicate to the

Reverend Dimmesdale was a renowned, prideful man stricken with sin and extreme guilt.  From the time Hester and Dimmesdale made love, he was grievous of his sin but he also felt a great love towards her.  Dimmesdale's stubborn pride troubled him greatly, and although he tried many times, he could not confess his sin to his religious followers.  Dimmesdale felt guilt so strongly that he scourged himself on his breast and patterned an “A” into his own flesh, yet he could not confess his sin until his grief grew so great it caused him to perish.  Reverend Dimmesdale's sin was greater than Hester's because he let his pride conflict with his repentance, and let his life be ruined by his anguish.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, symbolsim is constantly present in the actual scarlet letter “A” as it is viewed as a symbol of sin and the gradally changes its meanign, guilt is also a mejore symbol, and Pearl’s role in this novel is symbolic as well. The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and crucial symbols. these devices of symbolism are best portayed in the novel, most noticably through the letter “A” best exemplifies the changes in the symbolic meaning throughout the novel.

The three scaffold scenes bring great significance to the plot of the Scarlet Letter. The novel is based on repenting the sins of adultery. The scaffold represents a place of shame and pity but also of final triumphs. Each scene illustrates the importance of the scaffold behind them with many potent similarities and differences.

The transgressions that Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale perpetrates all begin when he commits adultery, and that causes him to reject his own daughter Pearl and her mother Hester. However, he still puts forward various different forms of atonement to pay for the awful wrong doings. When Hester is standing upon the scaffold Dimmesdale along with the other clergymen “stood in a

The situations of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale are changed during each of the three scaffold scenes. There were three scaffold scenes. In the first scaffold scene, Hester stands on the scaffold holding her baby in her arms. In the second scaffold scene, Dimmesdale goes to the scaffold to perform a vigil and is later joined by Hester and Pearl who stand with him in the darkness. In the third scaffold scene, Dimmesdale confesses his sin after giving his election day sermon.

In the third scaffold scene, Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale reunite together on the scaffold. As others recognize who her secret lover is, the community perceives Hester as a sympathetic figure. When Hester is standing with Dimmesdale on the scaffold, he confesses his immoral actions and shows his version of the scarlet letter on his chest. After seven years the Reverend proclaims, “In the name of Him, so terrible and so merciful, who gives me grace, at this last moment, to do what---for my own heavy sin and miserable agony---I withheld myself from doing seven years ago, come hither now, and twine thy strength about me!” (226).

Symbolism is a literary style that uses symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Symbolism plays a very important part in The Scarlet Letter because it uses the characters to develop the main idea of the story. The symbols used by Nathaniel Hawthorne help the reader to visualize and understand the meaning of the story. Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale as symbols throughout the book. They are the main characters of the story and they all overcome some difficulties by the end. The lives of the characters help to serve as symbols of the Puritan religion that existed during this time.

When the romantic novel begins in Boston, Massachusetts, Dimmesdale, a local minister, stands with one hand over his heart in shame. Hester’s unknown partner, Dimmesdale, keeps his identity secret, afraid of disgrace to his holy name. As he watches Hester Prynne, former lover, suffer on the scaffold, he suffers himself. The scaffold is a raised platform, placed in the center of the town, for public humiliation. Hester, a known perpetrator for adultery, has the punishment of jail time, scaffold humiliation, and the wearing of the “A” embroidered on her clothing. Although these seem like terrible punishments for what seems like a not so terrible crime, these are far better than the original punishment for this crime of adultery, death. Despite her situation, Hester stands proud with her daughter in her arms. Hawthorne reveals numerous emotions throughout the three scaffold scenes to invite the reader to look at the text from different perspectives (Swisher). As the novel progresses, each scaffold scene is manipulated to show the different factors chosen to set the scene. Sunlight and darkness are used by Hawthorne to create the tone of the novel (Swisher). The “A” stands for pride, embarrassment, and shame (Swisher). Finally, the relationships between main characters change during the entirety of the novel to show how they develop as characters dealing with the situation presented (Swisher). Throughout the three scaffold scenes, Hawthorne emphasizes public humiliation,

In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, three major scaffold scenes piece the novel together. Hester Prynne plays a crucial part in these scenes. She mounts the scaffold in the first scene for public humiliation for the sin she commits. The second scaffold scene is where Reverend Dimmesdale tries to confess his sin at night. The Puritans believe that darkness is evil, so they suspect something is wrong with Dimmesdale. In the third scene Dimmesdale confesses what he has done wrong, he falls out dead now that the burden is gone from his life. Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale commit a sin that holds a weight on their life; however their wrongs are the glue that holds the novel’s morals together.