The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne

The central theme in The Scarlet Letter is that manifested sin will ostracize one from society and un-confessed sin will lead to the destruction of the inner spirit. Hawthorne uses the symbol of the scarlet letter to bring out this idea. In the novel, Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter A (the symbol of her sin) because she committed adultery

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.

““There was witchcraft in little Pearl’s eyes, and her face, as she glanced upward at the minister, wore that naughty smile which made its expression frequently so elvish.” (Hawthorne 145) This, is a misleading description that Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts of Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne, in his classic novel The Scarlet Letter. Pearl is the living product of sin for her mother. Born out of wedlock, Pearl is a unique child that tends to be very moody and unpredictable. However, Pearl, at such a young age, demonstrates outstanding knowledge and exhibits curiosity to her mother’s scarlet letter, and the hypocrisy of Puritan society. Although Pearl portrays devilish characteristics and performs mischievous behaviour, she

The very scarlet letter from which the novel’s name is derived from is a symbol of sinning; the scarlet letter represents how Puritan society views sinning as unforgivable and something for public speculation. Hester is punished by wearing hers out for the world to see. The letter is “so fantastically embroidered” that one townswoman argues that its intricacy and design defeat the entire purpose of wearing it. The scarlet letter serves as an

Also, Hawthorne juxtaposes motifs to reveal Hester’s point-of-view and understanding. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester forcefully wears the embroidered letter “A” with golden thread representing sin and adultery. Then, her daughter asks, “What does the letter mean, mother?” Her mother responds, “for the scarlet letter, I wear it for the sake of its gold-thread” (163). In this quote, Hester is hiding the real logic of why she is wearing the scarlet letter, because she understands Pearl is still a child, she would not be able to understand the hypocrisy of the society. Furthermore, the community forced her to wear it as a source of a punishment. However, this juxtaposition of wearing the item for the sake of its beauty, is a different idea contrasting the genuine reason of why she is wearing the scarlet letter. Additionally, another symbolism that Hawthorne juxtaposes is the meaning of the allegorical object in the novel. This object is the scarlet letter, which its meaning changed from the beginning to the end of the book. At first, the author represents the idea of the wickedness of the letter it has on Hester, “[that] transfigured [Hester] . . . [and it] illuminated upon her bosom” (51). Not only, the scarlet letter has a peculiar “effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (51). Thus, the author interprets the meaning of the scarlet letter

To start the book, we find that a young woman has committed adultery and when standing in front of a mocking crowd, she is ashamed of her actions. Continuing through the book we find that the adulteress, Hester Prynne, displays many examples of positive outcomes arising from negative situations. She becomes more and more aware of the faults of society and becomes wiser as she deals with the consequences of her actions. Even though Hester made a terrible decision that came with many extremely negative effects, she gained personality traits, perceptions, and people that rose from her mistake.

For example, on page 51 the narrator says, “But the point which drew all eyes, and, as it were, transfigured the wearer--so that both men and women who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time--was that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself.” By so carefully embroidering this letter, Hester reconstructs the meaning behind the letter from criticism and sin to individuality and dictates how she wants herself to appear towards society. The letter becomes apart of her identity and especially her strength. Even though Hester could 've easily given up on herself, she was able to push through the criticism and create an alternate ending for herself and her child and this is represented in the scarlet letter and its beauty. Furthermore, towards the end of the book, the scarlet letter becomes a representation of the overall struggle that Hester had to overcome throughout the book. The initial point of the scarlet letter was to remind Hester of the adulterous act she had committed. However, towards the end of the book the letter “A” stood as a symbol of light. Even the puritan society reflected upon this symbol as relating to “able” and

Nathaniel Hawthorne begins The Scarlet Letter by introducing a theme of sin through the use of two symbols. The prison is described as “the black flower of civilized society” (Hawthorne 46), which is the first symbol, and having “a wild rose-bush” (Hawthorne 46) on one side that showed “the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.” (Hawthorne 46). In The Market-Place, the community gathers around to watch Hester Prynne be punished. The first image of the society in this novel is harsh, as they want “the brand of a hot iron on

The eighteenth-century author, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was most famous for his writings The Scarlet Letter, “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Minister’s Black Veil” and an abundant array of other books and short stories. The stories that are mentioned contain a copious amount of symbolism throughout the entirety of each book. All the stories that he ever wrote have an underlying meaning and the symbolism was hidden within in the names, characters, places, and actions that happened in the books and helped the readers to have a greater understanding about the Puritan lifestyle and the Bible. The dictionary definition of symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. A few

Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of both stories The Scarlet Letter and “The Ministers Black Veil” utilizes symbols to show the lasting impact it leaves on the individual and in the community around them. In The Scarlet Letter and “The Ministers Black Veil” both main characters Hester Prynne and Reverend Mr. Hopper both have symbols in which both are of great significance. Hester’s symbol is an embroidered A on her chest meaning Adultery but later changes meaning by the community’s perspective as the time goes on. While in “The Ministers Black veil” Reverend Mr. Hooper’s symbol is a black veil that covers his face in which he never takes off not even on his death bed. Both symbols start off as something terrible, scary, and dreadful by the community’s view, but later reaching further into both stories the symbols leave a lasting impression not only on the individual itself but also the community. The Scarlet Letter is composed of many different symbols but the two that stand out are Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale hand over his heart and Hester’s Prynne A on her bosom.

       Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter seems to be created around Hawthorne's obsession with the forbidding quality of the scarlet "A", the symbol from which the novel takes its title. Rrom the rose-bush which Hawthorne selects a flower from as an offering to the reader(1) to the "elfish" child Pearl, every aspect of the story is drenched in this letter's scarlet hue. Perhaps this repetition reflects Hawthorne's own repressed desires, as some critics suggest(2). However, what seems more compelling is the function which the symbol serves for Hester Prynne and the community which has condemned her. For Hester the symbol is clearly a literary one; she fashions the scarlet "A" to

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.

The scarlet letter represents Pearl's emotional attachment to Hester. For instance, Pearl is as deeply affectionate to the

The scarlet letter also symbolizes grace and elegance along with punishment. “But the point which drew all eyes, and, as it were, transfigured the wearer - so that both men and women, who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time - was that scarlet letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom.”(Hawthorne, 61). The scarlet letter is one of the most important symbols in the book and the meaning of what it symbolizes revolves around the plot, characters, and their actions.

     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.