Category: The Scarlet Letter

One of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s main purposes in writing The Scarlet Letter was to show that all people sin no matter who they are or what status they have. Hawthorne also makes it clear that people can learn from the consequences of their sin, and that sin can help a person change for the better. The Puritan community expects sinners to be punished by standing upon the scaffold for the townspeople to ridicule them. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale knows that his soul could not take the public shame because of his status as an important moral figure in Puritan society. He undergoes an internal battle with himself that is shown within the three scaffold scenes. After first denying his sin, he learns to accept it and eventually releases himself from it by public confession.

In the first scaffold scene, while Hester is being publicly deprecated for the sin they both took part in, adultery, Dimmesdale stands by silently. In Puritan society, the townspeople believe public shaming can help a person turn from their sin. Therefore, they are not afraid to publicly share their opinion of Hester and her transgression. As the Puritans converse about her sin, someone remarks “that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation” (Hawthorne 45). The fact that Dimmesdale protects himself while explicating on Hester’s sin, which is the exact same, makes Dimmesdale a hypocrite. He owes it to his congregation to tell them the whole truth. He preaches about repentance and how the truth will set you free, but he does not take his own advice. When various Puritan leaders cannot persuade Hester to expose her fellow sinner, Governor Bellingham calls Dimmesdale to the scaffold to question Hester about the identity of Pearl’s father. When Dimmesdale asks her to reveal the name, she remains silent. Dimmesdale points out that “if he were to step down from a high place, yet better were it so than to hide a guilty heart through life” (Hawthorne 60). He says himself that it is better to live with open sin rather than hidden sin, another example of his hypocrisy. At this point, Dimmesdale wants to confess, but he is too morally weak to do so. He subtly makes a personal plea to her to name him as the father. He says to “take heed how thou deniest to him who hath not the courage to grasp it for himself” (Hawthorne 60). In other words, Dimmesdale tries to subliminally tell her that he wants to confess but lacks the strength to do so. If she reveals him, she would actually be helping him, but since that would ruin his reputation, Hester thinks it would do more harm than good. After the town gathering is over and Hester is led back to her cell, Dimmesdale’s guilt starts to consume him. Since he disappointed God by breaking the laws of the church and staying silent, he begins to take his punishment into his own hands.

After various forms of self-torture in order to do penance for his sin, Dimmesdale realizes it is time to embrace his own sin. For this reason, Dimmesdale wanders to the scaffold in the middle of the night, seeking some form of purgation. Once he was standing on the scaffold, he put his hand on his chest, and “without any effort of his will, he shrieked aloud” (Hawthorne 138). Dimmesdale screamed out of pain from touching the mark upon his chest, and he was afraid people of the town would wake up and see him upon the platform. Luckily for him, the townspeople mistook his scream for the scream of a witch. A little while after, Dimmesdale saw Hester and Pearl walking along the sidewalk. He told them to come and stand with him on the scaffold. After they made there way up on the platform, the three of them joined hands, and Dimmesdale felt a “tumultuous rush of new life” (Hawthorne 142). This was the first time they were altogether alone. Dimmesdale’s only moment of peace was interrupted by Pearl asking him to stand with them on the scaffold the next day at noon. The thought of the public finding out raced through his mind, and he remembered how dreadful it would be. He responded by saying he would stand with them “on the great day of judgment” (Hawthorne 143). Dimmesdale telling Pearl this signifies that he still doesn’t have the courage to take responsibility for his sin. Along with choosing to stand on the scaffold at night because he knew no one would see him. He knows his time to truly confess will eventually come, but he first has to get back his spiritual strength in order to do so.

The final scaffold scene occurs on Election Day, a public holiday for the Puritans. There is a crowd filling the marketplace, and they are all there to listen to Dimmesdale’s Election Day sermon. After he finishes his sermon, the townspeople murmur to each other about how moving, inspiring, and truthful this sermon particularly was. As everyone leaves the meeting all, Dimmesdale hesitates, but walks upon the scaffold and asks Hester and Pearl to join him. As everybody’s attention was turned toward the scaffold, he began to speak. He asks God to give him strength while he does “what he withheld himself from doing seven years ago” (Hawthorne 247). Even though his body is as weak as ever, ironically, his soul is finally strong enough to confess. After losing touch with God for a while, his faith is reborn and stronger than before. He needed God’s help in order to admit his sin to the world. Before actually confessing, Dimmesdale asks Hester to come help support him on the scaffold. While leaning on Hester’s shoulder “he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast, it was revealed” (250). The mark on his chest had been shown to the whole town. After finally being acknowledged by her father, Pearl finally kisses Dimmesdale on the lips, and his grief escaped him. He turns to Hester and informs her of the seriousness of the law they broke. Dimmesdale tells Hester that “it was thenceforth vain to hope that we could meet hereafter, in an everlasting and pure reunion” (Hawthorne 251). He explains how God has continually shown him mercy throughout all his afflictions, and how their relationship would never be right in the eyes of God. After he says all this, Hester’s dream of their happily ever after is crushed. Dimmesdale takes his last breath and dies in front of everyone upon the scaffold, but first he tells Hester how this is God’s mercy in action because God wouldn’t let him die as an unrepentant sinner.

Every part of this novel is important to the plot, but the three scaffold scenes have delicately chosen details that bring more depth and interest to the story. These scenes are a key part of the understanding of Dimmesdale’s improving personality. The scaffold started as a place of shame but ended up becoming a place of triumph, where Dimmesdale had escaped the grasp of sin.

This paper focuses on a construction of a women in ‘Scarlet Letter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the way the woman is shown as a fallen one. Specific methodologies have been chosen to explain, identify and analyse information about this topic – gender, feminist as well as historical methodology. Human beings are differentiated into a man and a woman, women are judged by their looks and actions, and the public never likes them to be even slightly different, sinful or impure. Gender should is fluid variable that can shift and change in different contexts and at different times, gender is what a person does in a specific context and time, one can have more than just one gender assigned as it will be seen in ‘Scarlet Letter’. Furthermore, feminism which is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men will be connected to the controversial image of a woman shown in this essay.

Regarding historical methodology one must relate to Puritanism and their principles of how a woman should be: pure, married, and taking care of children and household. In Puritanism there was a special emphasis on efforts to regulate female sexuality with religious, legal and economic structures, it focused on the idea of subordinating women to men. Massachusetts Bay Colony definitely was a man’s world. Puritan minister’s preached that the soul had two parts, the immortal masculine half, and the mortal feminine half, so they predestined a woman to be the less perfect being and instruments of Satan himself. The Puritans believed in predestination — that God had already chosen who would be in heaven or hell, and each believer had no way of knowing which group they were in but it appears that women were predestinated to be sinful and fallen. Despite the fact everyone is stained with original sin, women carry a heavier burden due to the depiction of Eve’s actions in the Garden of Eden from the Old Testament. Her actions were a corruption extended to all women.

Puritans feared that women were much more vulnerable to temptations, and that they possessed qualities that could be exploited and become sinful. A woman was to love and obey her husband. If she was a good companion, she had fulfilled her God-given duty. As will be explained later ‘The Scarlet Letter’ the protagonists challenges traditional gender role norms and shows a feminist desire to exist outside the binary understanding of gender. Lastly, in a period obsessed with the idealisation of female virginity, there were always consequences of sexual experience outside marriage. The term fallen woman was used to describe a woman who experienced sexual activity, including premarital or extra-marital sex which resulted in the metaphorical fall from the grace of God and society’s favour. There was a belief that to be socially and morally acceptable, a woman’s sexual experience should be absolutely restricted to marriage, and that she should always be taken care of by men, whether it was her husband, father, brother or uncle. Female wrongdoing was not only judged by law, but also according to the idealised conception of womanhood. When a woman deviated from the Puritan construction of the ideal woman, she was stigmatised and condemned.

‘The Scarlet Letter’ which is a story of sin, ignominy and punishment was published in 1850, by American romanticism writer named Nathaniel Hawthorne. The author is one of the firsts who understood tragedy of womanhood well enough to create a female protagonist. Choosing Hester Prynne as a main character resulted in the concept of female who is historically and socially determined. The romance is set in the Puritan society, the protagonist is a beautiful and smart woman, living in Massachusetts Bay Colony who gives birth to a child and refuses to give the name of child’s father. Her husband cannot be the father as he was not present in her life at the time of her pregnancy, later the reader learns thar a young and well liked minister named Arthur Dimmesdale is the father of Hester‘ s child. He was too scared to admit and confess to his sin and none suspected him of being the father. In seeking love and affection from another man, Hester appears to have committed one of the worst sins a woman is able to commit according to the Puritan, patriarchal society: adultery, and she becomes stigmatised for the rest of her life as ‘the scarlet woman’. This resulted in Hester being punished and condemned to lead her life as an outcast on the outskirts as she had not obeyed to the rules of Puritanism. As a punishment she was sentenced to spent time in prison and wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ (which symbolised adultery) on her chest. Even when Hester’s prison punishment was ended, but she would still wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ for the rest of her life. It resulted in society looking at her and her baby differently so they were isolated and alone. Perhaps the real tragedy started when Hester decided to reveal the identity of Roger Chillingworth to Arthur. She told Arthur that Roger is her husband and she could not marry Arthur as their love for forbidden but Hester continues to love and desire Dimmesdale (she might have hoped to live happily with her lover after getting a divorce from her harsh and bestial husband). She dreams of a life with Arthur, if not in this world, then perhaps in another one. Reverend Dimmesdale made a shocking decision when he asked Hester and Pearl to come at the scaffold, where after seven years he finally revealed his secret to the world. He revealed the scarlet letter which stuck on his heart and he died moments later.

Hester lost her love and hope for a better future with Arthur. Hester is downgraded even by other women as Hawthorne uses very harsh words for the Puritan women who surround Hester as she walks toward the scaffold and call her disgraceful. As Hester makes her final approach to the scaffold, Hawthorne adds that she does so ‘under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes, all fastened upon her.’ Here, the Puritan women who observe the scene are singularly described as judgmental and entirely uncompromising. Hester is bearing the weight of her sin, she is carrying her infant, the result of her sin, and she is wearing the scarlet letter on her chest, a symbol of her sin. Still, the women are not described to exhibit compassion. An action of a woman judged by other women is hurtful and cruel. But she holds her head high and remains in full public view without shedding a single tea, she shows dignity and grace.. Hester is a character through which the binaries of Madonna/Whore and Saint/Sinner are blurred and refracted into shades of grey, allowing for nuance and the possession of both good and bad traits within an individual. Indeed, she as a character and more significantly as a woman has the ability to simultaneously inh. She was an outcast even before giving birth to pearl bc she was in a foreign land without a husband, all alone. Hester is able to provide for herself and Pearl by needling work and helping others. Hester tears off the scarlet letter and takes off her cap to let her hair down, symbolizing her rejection of society’s attempts to control her. Hester expresses feminist tendencies when she asks Dimmesdale to leave New England and begin a new life with her and Pearl. While the scarlet letter is a punishment designed specifically for her, any respectable woman of the era would have worn a cap, so Hester is rejecting all of the ways that women are subjected to patriarchal control the novel ends with Hester voluntarily returning to New England, and continuing wearing the scarlet letter. This hardly seems like a feminist act of rebellion. But in wearing the letter out of choice, not obligation, she had transformed the letter into a work of art with gorgeous embroidery. Hester actually continues her feminist self-determination. As she goes on to support other women who are struggling in the community, she extends her personal liberation to others suffering under the patriarchy. In living the life she chooses, Hester embodies powerful ideas about female agency and equality. When at the end of the novel Hester returns to New England after 7 years of absence she still wears her scarlet letter but she is treated with awe and respect. She finds an internal peace and after a several-year-long absence, she is strong enough to return to a society that has not treated her kindly. She is a proof for other people that there is no need to suffer in silence as she did and even though she still wears her sign she now has full control of her body and soul. Hester, described by Hawthorne, as a brave, unshaken, independent, and rebellious woman has the characteristics of feminism. Hester has a daughter named Pearl, who is illegitimate from her mother’s transgression, and is also shunned by society, through no doing of her own but because of her mother. This is another important aspect of the fallen woman trope because if the fallen woman does survive in the novel, which does not usually happen because a fallen woman is written to show how the loss of a woman’s purity is the end of her life and that death is the punishment, and she has a child, that child will be similarly rejected. Hester becomes less defined by her sin and more in control of her life as the years go on.

Pear is designated to be a fallen woman as well, perhaps she changes her faith by leaving the Puritan society and finding a husband in a foreign land. Pearl is a fallen woman as well, she was one even before she was born because she came from adultery thanks to her mother’s lawless passion. Ninety percent of puritan children had biblical names representing great virtues, but not Pearl. Maybe it was a way to punish her as she did not deserve a saint’s name. But on the other hand the name ‘Pear’ suggests that there is more to her character than is seen and first and she has some undiscovered beauty on the inside. From a young age Hester sees she can no longer control Pearl. The child is often associated with a devil as she chooses to reject the judgment of others and becomes dangerous for the society, she was often described as wild, black and strange. Pearl is a living symbol of Hester’s adultery and affection, she carries a symbol of adultery even without a scarlet letter on her clothes. Hawthorn painted a similarity between Pearl’s connection with nature and her relationship with the Puritan community, as both of them are impossible to control. The girl At the end of the novel Pear frees herself from sins of her parents as she gets married and leads a happy life, which show that even if she was predestinad to fall she managed to pick herself up and prove the society wrong.

When Hawthorn described the Custom House in which the story about Hester was found he mentioned an American eagle with enormous wings and arrows in it’s claws. It may symbolise both Hester and Pearl as bold, beautiful, hurt by others, yet inspirational.

It is an important question whether Hawthorn was a feminist or a misogynist as it reflects on the way he constructed female characters in his novel. He states the evilness in woman’s heart and occasionally judges her but he also honors a woman’s rebelling against patriarchy. Furthermore, he uses sympathetic character descriptions, criticises adulatory and speaks highly of Hester in comparison to Dimmesdale as well as he rebels against patriarchy. Hawthorne shows the inner strength, passion, and uniqueness of Hester. In his book he shows misogyny (gender discrimination, patriarchy, social exclusion) but he is a feminist. Hawthorne reminds his readers that for a woman, independent thought and emotion, that is, self-reliance, can be dangerous. Hawthorne’s portrait of Hester Prynne is more complex, she too is portrayed as tempting “others” to her own brand of lawlessness, and she can win a place in patriarchal society and turn scarlet letter into a badge of honour. In addition, the letter helps Hester reach a sphere where women seldom were found, that is, at the center of attention. He might have been influenced by his wife and because thanks to her he was able to create a character with so much substance and individuality. the Hawthorne family lived on money Sophia Hawthorne had saved through sales of her hand-decorated lamp-shades and hand screens. During the time her family lacked money, she did not complain; she gave all her love, patience, and care to Hawthorne and his work. The Scarlet Letter was written in a mood of grief and anger after death of Hawthorn’s mother. Hester Prynne, who, like his mother, was a socially stigmatized woman abandoned to bear and rear her child alone. Throughout his life, Hawthorne became increasingly aware of the effect of how men perceived and treated women.

Hester goes through a gender shift as she does not show dependence and passivity but she becomes more masculine, strong, assertive and independent (at least outside of town). She refuses to name the father of her child, she is disobedient to her husband and the authorities, she provides for herself and Pearl by her needlework. But if Hester had been a man her punishment would have been very different – death or single punishment instead of continuous and lifelong punishment. In contrast to the two distorted male personalities, one obsessed with revenge and the other with his holiness, Hester appears almost a miracle of wholeness and sanity. While these two men struggle with their own egos and fantasies, she starts her own battle of maintaining her dignity in a community that scorns her. She stays whole and sane in the solitude by feeding her and her childand raising her child to adulthood in spite of so many obstacles. The author also reminds the readers that though Hester has been abandoned by the Puritan society, she retains a lot of this world; whereas Chillingworth and Dimmesdale, who are at the very center of society, are totally immured in their self-absorption. Another scene where her independence can be seen is when she meets Arthur in the woods. He pleads with her: “‘Think for me, Hester! Thou art strong. Resolve for me!’” (187). This shows that he needs Hester to act for him in a decisive way. By making plans for them to run away together and start a new life, she takes control over the situation and decides what they shall do next. More than admitting that she is strong, he also shows how independent she is by how dependent he is on her. The fact that she wins her place in the end means that society has been changed by her.

In addition, Hawthorne uses passionate words such as “perfect elegance, abundant hair, beautiful face, richness of complexion” and sympathetic words such as “gentility and dignity” to show this woman’s beauty. However, she complies with some norms and she lives up to the archetype of a Great Mother. Consequently, she embodies both ideals. Hester stands for what she has done and she can manage being at the center of people’s attention, even though this is a place usually reserved for men. While at the center, that is, in a male sphere, she has a chance to influence her community, and she does. She does this by being a caring citizen, comfort and counselling Hester offers to her fellow citizens i but she refuses to be silenced.

Additionally, because of her motherhood and counselling, she embodies the archetype of a Great Mother. Already at the beginning of the novel the narrator refers to her as “the image of Divine Maternity” and she shows her motherly care and devotion to her child through the novel (Hawthorne 53). She is not ashamed of her illegitimate daughter; she is proud of her. She dresses Pearl in the most beautiful dresses; she does not try to hide her (85).

Hawthorne stands out from his male contemporaries among writers of the American ‘Renaissance’ because he does not hesitate to give women a prominent place in his fictional works. He uses ironies of fallen women and stereotypes to rise awareness about the good and the bad sides of a woman. At the very beginning of the story, Hester Prynne is accorded much courage, beauty, , pride but on the other hand She was predestined to be fallen bc of Puritan views of a woman. If the Puritans symbolize the law, then Hester symbolizes the individual person. It was apparent to Hester that there existed no reason in trying to hide herself and what she had done. Admitting to a sin let her ease her guilt. Hester chose to deal with her guilt by helping others and becoming very productive. Her work was so significant that the letter became to be known as representing “able” as opposed to “adulteress”. Hester is Eve as a modern woman. In the novel Hawthorne reopens Eve’s case file, determining the exact fate of a woman who dares to desire.In a world where patriarchal society enveloped woman in her circumspect role as daughter, wife and mother, little space was allocated to the sexualised female.From her rebellious actions, we can see Hester’s feminist consciousness. With this noble character, she becomes totally different from the traditional women who are always obedient to the unfair rules enacted by men. It can be sensed that a new female image is born.

Hester is portrayed by Hawthorne as a victim of society’s religious and gender based views. But what makes her strong is that even though she has been made an outcast by society, she carries her sin with her and doesn’t let the town’s judgment get to her. She was a strong woman who managed to sustain herself and her daughter Pearl by needlework and without help from men and society.norms. By combining expected male and female gender role performances, they are able to live successfully without too much societal punishment for acting out of script, even if it is more allowed for a man to be feminized, than for a woman to step out of her place. Outside of town, the female protagonists are independent and more equal to men. Hawthorne might have disappointed some contemporary feminist readers, but he has given his heroine “the happiest ending he can”. Hester changes the meaning of the “A” through her strong and helpful behavior. She lives independently with her daughter, never complains and does not commit any more sins. The community views the letter as a token of her many good deeds, not as a token of her sin.

Sources

1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
2. Budick, E. M. (1991). Hester’s skepticism, Hawthorne’s faith; or what does a woman doubt? Instituting the American Romance Tradition. New Literary History
3. Male, R. R. (1991). The Tongue of Flame: The Scarlet letter. Boston: Bedford/st. Martins
4. Harding, B. (1990). Introduction to The Scarlet Letter. Oxford World’s Classics edition.

In the iconic book The Scarlet Letter the reader comes across a vague understanding of what it means to be an adulterer. A person who truly represents and shows a sin that most believe to be the absolute uncrossable line that should not even be spoken of unless necessary. Very few readers and fans of the novel understand what it means to be beautiful. A rosebush is merely a beautiful masterpiece created by nature. And in The Scarlet Letter the rosebush represents just that but with a different twist on it. The Rosebush symbolizes hope and beauty and even though it only shows up very little in the book it is still a powerful symbol and should not taken lightly or misunderstood for only beauty.

The opening chapter in the of the Novel the Scarlet Letter shows the rosebush in a interesting light. A light which an average reader wouldn’t understand unless having prior experiences in their or any other association to the matter. It says “ It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow”(Hawthorne, 2). The first part of the quote says it serves to let us hope meaning the rosebush is not just a symbol in the book. It’s more than that it’s like a motive or like a way out, salvation if you will. The rosebush serves as a reminder to the reader and the characters in the book that society is not lost yet and that there’s still reasons to keep going to keep pushing forward. As there was for jesus to die for all sins for all people even though there may have been no hope for us. And that even though it may have seemed to be no hope left he saw a reason to keep going as the prisoners entering the jail in chapter one saw the rosebush and then continued onward walking into what seemed to be a guaranteed death.

The second part speaks of relieving the sorrow basically uplifting the stress off of someone in other words giving them a way out which ties back in to the original point being made in the previous argument that the rosebush is serves as a reminder that society is not lost, in that speck of history called the puritan age it almost was but a rosebush gave everyone then a reason and still gives them one now to keep going. Think about it still at the end of the day the reader finds out that everything still ended not good but better than it could’ve been right? Pearl ended up rich, Hester became a widow and just walked away from everything, Dimmsdale died, Chillingworth died. Now that sounds bad but it’s a better ending than it could’ve been for example Chillingworth could’ve found out for sure who hester was with and done something that most readers wouldn’t enjoy as an ending to the book. Second in the book it says “ Pearl?-Ruby, rather!-or Coral!-or Red rose, at the very least, judging from thy hue!”(Hawthorne, 61). The old minister said this about pearl comparing her to a red rose. Now why would he of all people in the story do that well judging by the way he said it the reader can infer that he wasn’t talking to pearl at all in fact he was talking to Hester probably trying to tell her something. What he was trying to tell her was that was her way out of whatever mess she was in at the time. See what he was trying to tell her was Pearl was like the rosebush near the prison and that though times may have seemed bad for Hester at the moment Pearl was to serve as a reminder for hester a reason to keep going and to hold on to the secret she was keep from Chillingworth and to find a way for her Pearl, and Dimmesdale to get out and finally have peace.

Thirdly the rosebush is meant to be seen as a symbol of Hesterś passion which is a sin even though it became something of value towards the end of the book. It was pearl the wild rose untamed. Pearl was the only character in the book that could fit this symbol in the book, she is the only one uncultivated unlike the rest of the puritan children she was not well behaved at all. For example ¨ a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion¨ (Hawthorne 41). “Out of the rank”, the word rank meaning normal this is suggesting Pearl wasn’t your typical puritan kid. What is Hester’s passion? Hester’s passion is Dimmesdale. She loved him even though she was already married this in the polite puritan society is considered a sin. This being Pearl and Dimmesdale was hester’s passion even though it was wrong and that there was no taking it back. Yet in a weird way to the reader it may be seen as beautiful.

The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story based on the punishment of sin, exclusively, adultery. During this time Hawthorne was moved by the transcendentalist ideas and beliefs, which is evident in his work. The story analyzes Hester Prynn’s committed sin of adultery and the hardships she faced in the Puritan society. Hester went through many hard times; however, nothing could compare to the joy she felt when looking at her daughter, Pearl. Pearl is a young and bright character who serves as a symbol of her mom’s mistakes. However, Hester did not view Pearl as a mistake, but as a blessing. Throughout the novel, Pearl is a direct representation of how a transcendentalist child should be raised, without strict society driven rules, in touch with nature and independent.

Transcendentalism is a way of life, not a religion. It is based around the idea that everyone, men, women, and children are all equal and in touch with nature. In this belief, there are not any strict guidelines or religious entities to follow. While Puritanism is based around strict laws regarding God, transcendentalists believe that God is so much bigger than rules or laws. Their God is so big and mighty that a human’s mind cannot fathom around the idea of him and that there is more to life and God than one can reason with through human knowledge. Transcendentalists strived for independence and truly knowing one’s self through nature. This is exactly how Pearl is represented throughout the novel. The transcendentalists believed children should be raised, not on the strict Puritan beliefs, scared of being outcasts by their mistakes, but to make sense of the material world and beauty through nature.

Since being outcasted, Hester had to raise Pearl on her own. While this was difficult, Hester was able to raise Pearl the way any transcendentalist would. Pearl was a strong, smart independent girl with her own views of the world. With this being said, Hester never made Pearl conform to the Puritan society. In fact, she encouraged Pearl to think on her own and never gave her strict rules or laws. In chapter ten, Chillingworth commented on the lack of rules in Pearls life. He stated, “There is no law, nor reverence for authority, no regard for human ordinance or opinions, right or wrong mixed up with that child’s composition.” Pearl shocked Chillingworth because a Puritan child should not be raised like her, they should be raised follow all of the rules set forth by society and never think for thereselves. However, this is exactly how a transcendentalist child should be raised; free-spirited and to love one’s self.

Another way Pearl is the ideal transcendentalist child, is because of how in touch with nature she is. The transcendentalists believe that to be in touch with nature, is to be in touch with one’s inner self. Throughout the novel, Pearl is referred to as nature. For example, in chapter fifteen, Pearl has a green A on her chest, similar to the red A on her mother’s. This green A, she put on herself with “eel-grass” is a symbol of human life with nature. This shows how Pearl is not weighted down by the Puritan ideology. Also, in chapter eighteen, while, Hester and Dimmesdale are speaking in the woods, Pearl is wandering off and doing her own thing. The narrator states, “The mother-forest and these wild things which it nourished, all recognized a kindred wilderness in the human child.” This quote is a perfect example of how pearl is in touch with the natural world, so much so that a forest can recognize it. A true transcendentalist would be proud of Pearl, especially in these moments as she is truly in touch with nature.

Since Pearl was had out of marriage, she and her mother were exiled form the Puritan church. Because of her mother’s sin, they were outcasts. Outcasted from the town, friends, and the church. They are not allowed to anyone’s home or into the community unless Hester is doing charity for others. This has led Hester and Pearl to be alone most of their lives. Because of this Pearl has been raised to be independent. Transcendentalists argued that being able to be alone and think for one’s self is to be with God. Being outcasted gave Pearl an advantage that the other Puritan children did not have; the ability to think for herself and be free-spirited. So, while the Puritans thought they were punishing Pearl and Hester by shunning them, they were actually doing Pearl a favor, by giving her ample time to be alone with nature.

This novel is a dark perception into what life was like as a Puritan during these times. It was hard and it seemed as everyone had secrets, even the leaders and most Godly people of the community. This is why Hawthorne was moved by the ideas of transcendentalism. He believed that there was more to life than living in fear and going day to day following rules of a society. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, he gives us just a glimpse into the life of a Puritan. His main character Hester has to go through hard times for her sins. However, out of her sin she got the greatest gift she could have gotten, her daughter Pearl. Pearl is a huge character in the book that is a constant reminder of Hester’s sin. But not only that, she is an ideal child of transcendentalism because of her all knowingness, touch with nature, and independence. I believe that Pearl was raised exactly how any transcendentalist would agree with.

During a time of Puritan manifestation in the New England area, the idea of sin and going against any of God’s commandments was indefinitely a crime in which could affect one’s life forever. For Hester Prynne, having committed adultery has brought her shame from the community, and being alienated from her society. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter utilizes symbolism to emphasize that individuals mirror the identity society has given them until one binds enough courage to create a new one for themselves.

A major contributor to Hester’s identity is the scarlet letter, it is a clear representation to society that Hester is a sinner, and should not be associated with the pure members of the community. Though the novel does not go into depth about the past of Hester, there are details in which show a stark contrast to her self confidence. At the beginning of the novel, which takes place in the scaffold she is described as a ‘figure of perfect elegance on a large scale.’ as well as emphasizing her ‘dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam’ (Hawthorne 50). Hester is also praised for her cunning attractiveness when she stated: ‘her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped.’ (Hawthorne 50). However, the Scarlet Letter serves as the concealer of her attributes, after seven years of punishment for her sin, she becomes conservative in terms of her beautiful features and her warmth. With the letter essentially being a form of punishment for her, it has affected her in ways that make her feel as though she is not worthy of any form of confidence or self-respect. However, in chapter 18, a significant turning point is incorporated when she removes the letter, replenishing her radiant beauty; “The stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit. O exquisite relief! She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom!” (Hawthorne 182). Symbolically when Hester removes the letter and takes off her cap, she is being released from her internal conflict and embarrassment, releasing her true womanhood, allowing herself to be free in character. Furthermore, with Hester having to opportunity to experience the effects of the scarlet letter, it has opened up her perspective to what it has taught her, “The tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread” (Hawthorne 180). This illustrates how the experience of being exiled from her community has changed Hester and given her a new perspective. Before her penance, she was living a life in which involved having less of an expectation to question roles in society. However, once she became an outcast, she began to truly question why rigid and unfair societal expectations were established. Therefore, through the use of the scarlet letter, Hawthorne symbolizes not only growth within one’s appearance but one’s character as well. Establishing that labeling of one’s shameful sin can put them in a state of humility. With that experience, it can help them grow as a person through their appearance or character.

Another significant symbol in which has allowed Hester to find courage in establishing her own identity is her daughter Pearl. Pearl serves as a constant reminder of Hester’s sin however, she also serves as a reminder for Hester that there is hope for Hester to be accepted in society anew, ‘Pearl was the one, as well as the other; and only in consequence of that identity had Hester so contrived so perfectly to represent the scarlet letter in her appearance.’ (Hawthorne 70). This goes to show that Pearl is seen as a sign of optimism amid sin, as well as a sense of hope for Hester.

How society attempts to conform to one another, can be degrading and manipulative in which can make one believe that they may not be worthy of personal growth due to past actions. However, there is significant importance for individuals to never undermine their value, remembering that regardless of the obstacles that life has put you there’s a chance to redeem yourself to yourself or the public. Through symbolism, Hawthorne was able to communicate this and document the growth of Hester Prynne, establishing that though she may have not been able to completely change her status in society, her self-worth was revived.

In Arther Cleveland Coxe’s review of The Scarlet Letter, he attacks the great American classic by claiming it is offensive towards morality and marriage. Coxe is baffled at how Hawthorne, the author of the book, wrote a story that he believes to be degrading to other pieces of ‘actual’ literature. He even insinuated he thinks the book was written to solely sell copies and to gain riches. Coxe believes the novel to be corrupting to young Christian women of present-day and uses the term “Christian maidens imagination,” to get his point across (Coxe).

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, the main character, commits adultery while being married to another man. Although it was admitted that the narrative was written nicely and in good style, Coxe claims Hawthorne was implying that adultery is moral, due to Hester and her misters’ true love. He also suggested the author used Hesters’ own personal emotions to his advantage, to sway the readers to sympathize with her – in order to make his outrageous statements come across smoothly. I personally feel as if I took a completely different approach than Coxe did, therefore I could not disagree more with the majority of the statements he made regarding The Scarlet Letter’s morality and the novels alleged ‘corruption.’

I believe that Hawthorne was not actually attempting to create a story about morality as Coxe stated. From my perspective, it seems more so that Hawthorne was trying to put a spotlight on how sometimes religious groups can be extremely unfair to those who have made mistakes, especially women. Throughout the novel, Hester was constantly public shamed and had to wear a physical scarlet letter A on her chest, for the sole purpose of dishonoring her for committing the sin that she did. It also focused more on her viewpoint, to show the trials she had to face to make the readers sympathize. Mid-novel, Hester decided to re-decorate the scarlet letter as a way of expressing that it did not define her. “… elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread,” (Hawthorne). I thought this was a brave act of not only feminism but also overcoming the struggles shes had to face, but the book would not let her get rid of this sin no matter how she tried, for the majority of the novel. “Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will always be in her heart,” (Hawthorne). I believe this is proof that Hawthorne’s intentions were to portray the condemnation of religious groups on those who had done wrong, as opposed to whether or not adultery is moral or immoral.

Concerning the supposed corruption of the book, I disagree with the idea The Scarlet Letter is corrupting young Christian women and those who are easily influenced. Even though Coxe holds the viewpoint the novel is claiming morality for an immoral act, we get to see what happens when sin of this nature is committed. I feel as if the novel is clear on the harshness and cruelty Hester received, which should be enough in and of itself to deter those who might be thinking of doing something similar, instead of encouraging their thoughts of doing so.

The word and meaning of sin is a very prominent subject in the book The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne the author likes to delve deep on the meaning comparing it to the context of Puritan society. In puritan society, sin was taken as a bigger deal and a heavy burden on the soul. There was sin going on in Puritan society but it would be dealt with very publicly or privately. It is important how to deal with sin and know the effects it can take on you. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, he mentions sin, if Hester had sinned alone, and the effects that sin can have on different people. The effects of sin are shown very clearly between the two characters Hester and Dimmesdale.

The plain definition of sin is “an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.” This is a very flat meaning and it doesn’t show the complexity of sin. In The Scarlet Letter sin is the worst thing imaginable and you try to avoid sinning at all costs. For example, when Dimmesdale was talking with the youngest sister of the church members she was very concerned with her sin which was that she didn’t listen to her mother. The scenario is described as, “Satan, that afternoon, had surely led the poor young girl away from her mother’s side, and thrown her into the pathway of this sorely tempted, or—shall we not rather say?” (208). These quotes show the harshness that sin had on the Puritan society. Today that wouldn’t be considered as a terrible sin but it is quite literally saying that Satan himself led her away. This isn’t that bad of a sin but there are terrible sins. This is known as different degrees of sin. The types of sin are mortal and venial sins. Mortal sins are very terrible sins that ultimately lead you away from God’s saving grace. You need to repent from every sin but this one especially or you might be strayed away from God forever. Examples of Mortal sins are sins like murder that you have full intent on doing and you plan to sin. Moving onto Venial sins, they are regular everyday sins that don’t completely damage your soul. Examples of these sins are like being lazy and greedy. Hester commits adultery which would be considered a mortal sin but what makes her sin different from a mortal sin she didn’t intentionally plan out her adultery. Going back to when Dimmesdale has his encounters with six people in the community. The six people he encounters are with the deacon, the oldest female member of the church, the youngest sister, puritan children, drunken sailor, and finally Mistress Hibbens. Also, the number six represents something and what it represents is the devil because six is a symbol of the devil. These six encounters in a way represent the degrees of sin. It goes from the holiest which is the deacon to the unholiest which is the witch Mistress Hibbins. This decline in holiness is shown here when Mistress Hibbins is talking with Dimmesdale: old Mistress Hibbins, the reputed witch-lady, is said to have been passing by. She made a very grand appearance;- Whether the witch had read the minis- ter’s thoughts or no, she came to a full stop, looked shrewdly into his face, smiled craftily, and—though little given to con- verse with clergymen—began a conversation. (209).

This explains that she is very judgemental by saying that she “looked shrewdly into his face”. She is known to be a sinner but still gives judgment upon others. In The Scarlet Letter as shown sin is displayed in different degrees and shows that sin is something that should be avoided.

In the puritan society, sin is taken very seriously and can affect people in different ways depending on how they handle it. The two characters that have the most opposite ways of handing their sin were Hester and Dimmesdale. Beginning with Hester, her sin was adultery. She committed adultery when her husband Roger Chillingworth was away and she thought he was dead. Going back to sin having different degrees Hester had committed adultery which was a very punishable sin during that time. In Hester’s case, she didn’t plan to commit the act right when her husband left and she didn’t think about it at all until she fell in love with Dimmesdale. She did it out of love and it just happened and she didn’t do it to spite him either. This sin was a sin of passion that happened in the moment. Hester didn’t do this out of malice and planning. The consequence of her sin was wearing the scarlet letter A and standing on the scaffold in front of the public. The letter A is described as, “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surround- ed with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A.” (47). This is explaining that she tries to make a bad thing good by being strong and confident against the judging eyes of the people. The effects that this sin had on Hester is that she felt guilt for what she had done. This shame is displayed on her chest for everyone to see. In the beginning, this has a very negative effect on her by her feeling alone because no one wants to associate with her. This is shown by the author saying, “to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes! these were her realities—all else had vanished!” (53). This quote is saying that other aspects of her life weren’t as important anymore because she was full of shame. Her daughter Pearl which was a product of sin was a very negative aspect of her life because she was a constant reminder of her adultery. Also, the fact that Pearl didn’t really fit in with the other puritan children and that didn’t make Hester’s life any easier. Then in later chapters, Hester’s sin became more positive than a negative. The letter A no longer means adulterer it now is described as, “that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” (152). This is saying that Hester was no longer known for being the adulterer and people didn’t want to call her that anymore. It now meant able because she did so many positive things for the community. This letter once meant something unholy now it doesn’t. Hester took a negative situation and made it positive. She grew from the experience and became a better person. Hester finally became the rose that she was meant to be and getting rid of some of her thorns. Her having this transformation helped these things continue in a positive light.

On the other hand, Dimmesdale took things in an opposite route. The sins that Dimmesdale committed were adultery and lying. He committed adultery with Hester but continued to keep that part of his life a secret even though it killed him inside. I think that him keeping it a secret was another way to torture himself. Dimmesdale does not turn this into a positive experience like Hester. The effects these sins have on him is he can’t take the pain in his soul so he tortures himself. He goes in the darkness of the night and stands out the scaffold to think about what he has done and he holds all of this inside. Also, the fact that his clergymen think he is perfect eats him alive even more. He whips himself because he wants to suffer while he is alive. Dimmesdale is so sick from sin that he laughs while whipping himself then does it even more and he fasts until he can’t barely stand up. Lastly, he holds these nightly vigils while he prays in agony. These sins have a physical toll on him by him looking weaker and sickly. Each chapter he looks worse and worse. While standing on the scaffold he experiences this event: And thus, while standing on the scaffold, in this vain show of expiation, Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great hor- ror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart. On that spot, in very truth, there was, and there had long been, the gnawing and poisonous tooth of bodily pain. (139).

This quote is describing that Dimmesdale feels like there is a scarlet letter on his heart and this pain of this has been eating him alive. Even when talking to Mistress Hibbins he feels the guilt by saying, “Have I then sold myself,” thought the minister, “to the fiend whom, if men say true, this yellow-starched and vel- veted old hag has chosen for her prince and master!” (210). In this quote, Dimmesdale is questioning whether he has sold himself to the devil because he believes he has done the worse thing imaginable. He keeps his sin a secret until the end of the book where he gives a sermon in front of everyone. He reveals the truth that he is Hester’s lover. Dimmesdale calls up Hester and Pearl when he does this. While continuing he is getting iller and then says that God is merciful and that is shown in the example of Dimmesdale. Suddenly Dimmesdale while on the ground dies. This is explained by him saying, “Farewell!” That final word came forth with the minister’s expiring breath.” (242). This quote explains that said farewell and dies right there. His death was ultimately caused by sin and him making himself sick over it but it also helped him stay alive. He revealed his sin and knew it was time to go home to God. He was shaken up because he couldn’t be the perfect puritan they thought he was which ultimately led to his demise. The guilt fully engulfed him until it ultimately took his life and didn’t turn it into a positive like Hester.

The main question of The Scarlet Letter that goes towards sin is if Hester had sinned alone? Hester hadn’t sinned alone because of the sins of the townspeople and other characters of the book. Characters such as Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Dimmesdale had the sins of adultery and lying. Roger had the sin of seeking and planning revenge towards Dimmesdale and is even depicted as the devil. When the question, “Had Hester sinned alone?” (81), is asked she feels alone and that she is dealing with this by herself. Hester then soon realizes when Pearl looks at her that she isn’t alone. She also realizes by mentioning that, “She shuddered to believe, yet could not help believing, that it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts.” (81). This is explaining how she comes to terms with the fact that other people have sins hidden in hearts which proves she isn’t the only sinner. In chapter 5 it discusses that the scarlet letter gave her a special power by saying, “she felt or fancied, then, that the scarlet letter had endowed her with a new sense.” (81). This quote is describing that the scarlet letter gave her the ability to see other people that had sins hidden and she could help them with that. It is shown through the entire text that the Puritan society is full of sin but people keep it in their hearts. This shows that Hester did not sin alone and deeper into the book she doesn’t feel as alone anymore.

As expressed sin is a prominent subject in The Scarlet Letter. It can show how people can rise and fall from sin. Comparing Hester and Dimmesdale it is evident what they struggled with the most. I feel like many could learn what to do and what not to do from these two characters in their experiences with sin. It’s important to repent and recognize your sin but you shouldn’t make yourself crazy over it. Hester turns the scarlet letter into a positive then other people see it as positive as well. With positivity, it can outshine the bad going on in your life and Hester is a living example of that. Pearl helped her regain the hope and strength that she needed. Even though she wasn’t seen so positively, in the beginning, she proved herself to be a bright person. Pearl could always see the good in Hester when people couldn’t look past her sin. She has always been by Hesters side, keeping her aware of her actions in the good and bad. Hester is truly a strong character and made things happen by her own will. She finally fully became the rose that she was meant to be while dropping some of the thorns that were weighing her down.

In the first scaffold scene, Hester is led out of prison and has to stand with her baby on the scaffold to be publicly humiliated for committing adultery, in the second scaffold scene, Dimmesdale goes to the scaffold where he comes clean to his sin in private and later Hester and Pearl join him on the scaffold, and in the third scaffold scene, Dimmesdale confesses to his sin to the town with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold. The first scaffold scene is extremely important in the story because it is the first time Hester and her baby are introduced, and it is when the reader finds out the reason for her punishment. The scene gives specific details about the scarlet letter’s elegance, describing it with “an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread” (Hawthorne 46), contrary to the fact that it is worn for punishment. In this scene, Hester reminisces about her past to distract her from the painful situation, and she mentions a “man well stricken in years” with a “pale, thin scholar-like visage” that had “strange, penetrating power, when it was their owner’s purpose to read the human soul” (Hawthorne 50). This man is important because he is someone Hester is extremely fond of and hints that he is her husband, although he is nowhere to be found yet. The second scaffold scene is extremely important because it is when Dimmesdale finally confesses to his sin, although he does it in private at night. The readers truly feel Dimmesdale’s suffering because “while standing on the scaffold..Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror of mind” and “on that spot..there was..the gnawing and poisonous truth of bodily pain” (Hawthorne 123). In this scene, the readers truly see how the guilt is taking over Dimmesdale’s life because he felt “overwhelmed with shame” when he was “standing where Hester Prynne had stood!” because he felt guilty that he should have been standing there alongside Hester the day she was publicly humiliated (Hawthorne 126). A little after this occurs, Dimmesdale sees Hester and Pearl and he tells them “come up hither once again, and we will stand all three together!” (Hawthorne 126). Dimmesdale held Pearl’s hand and once he “felt for [Pearl’s] other hand and took it” he experienced“what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life” within him, and soon after “the three formed an electric chain” (Hawthorne 126). This evokes an immense feeling of happiness and intimacy within Dimmesdale for Pearl and Hester. Pearl also is described as a symbol that acts as the connecting link between Dimmesdale and Hester, which is the first time where they all seem like a real, happy family. Lastly, when Pearl asks if he will stand on them with the scaffold the next day, he politely declines which shows that although he loves them and feels a connection between them, he is still afraid of judgment within his society and will not do it. Along with this, when the meteor shower occurs and Dimmesdale sees an “A” that he believes is directed towards his sin, Dimmesdale feels especially guilty that he thinks God knows his sin and is paranoid that everyone will find out his secret and judge him. The third scaffold scene is one of the most important scenes throughout the whole novel. In this scene, it is a special day for Dimmesdale because he finally time for him to deliver his Election Sermon. Shortly after, Dimmesdale finally gathers the courage to stand on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, and come clean with his sin and tell everyone in the town. He reveals his secret and then shows his own “scarlet letter.” Later on the scaffold, Dimmesdale kissed Pearl, in which a “spell was broken” in her, and she is transformed into a real woman, and the pain she has been causing Hester ends forever (Hawthorne209). This is the first time he recognizes her after his true daughter. Shortly after this, Dimmesdale dies on the scaffold in Hester’s arms.

Pearl is a physical representation of Hester’s sin and passion committed by Hester and Dimmesdale which is shown in various ways throughout the novel. When Pearl and Hester visited Governor Bellingham, it is stated that when Bellingham saw Pearl he was “looking at the scarlet letter figure before him” and she is described as the “scarlet letter endowed with life” (Hawthorne 91, 84). This shows how much Pearl’s appearance and personality resembled the scarlet letter. Hester even admits to herself that Pearl “is the scarlet letter,” and “is [her] happiness” and “her mother’s only treasure” which is a reason why Hester feels so close to Pearl, especially because Pearl was meant to “preserve [Hester] from blacker depths of sin into which Satan might else have sought to plunge her” (74, 94, 95). Pearl resulted from “the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion” but was put into the world with a purpose, which was to bring Hester joy and prevent her from getting in trouble she would have gotten into without Pearl (Hawthorne 74). Pearl also represents sin because she is described multiple times as being devilish and elf-like, and Mistress Hibbins even goes to the extent of saying that her father is the devil. This shows how Pearl has certain characteristics that show she was born out of good faith as the result of sin. Pearl also has a very close connection with the scarlet letter, which is seen immediately because the “first object of which Pearl seemed to become aware was.. of the scarlet letter” and when Hester took it off for the first and only time in the book, Pearl “suddenly burst into a fit of passion” with “piercing shrieks” (74, 173). Pearl feels a disconnection with Hester when she takes off the scarlet letter because Pearl knows that the letter is a part of her, just like she is herself. This represents how Pearl feels very close to the letter because she knows that it represents her in some form.

The effects of sin on Hester are what the entire story begins with. Due to committing adultery, Hester must be publicly condemned and wear the scarlet letter “A” on her dress forever. This causes Hester to feel extremely excluded from Puritan society because everyone thinks that she is a terrible, sinful person. Since she does not feel welcome anywhere, she decides to live with Pearl in a small cottage on the outskirts of town (68). Although she was kind and helpful to her community, even the “poor.. often riled the hand that was stretched forth to succor them” (71). However, Hester was most positively affected by the sin because it made her a stronger person and she learned from her mistake. Also, as a result of her sin, she got Pearl, who helped her become a better person and brought joy into her life. Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin affected Chillingworth in a negative way, but the way he responded to the situation was in his control. Chillingworth was an evil person, and he did everything in his control to ruin Dimmesdale’s life and cause him to suffer. It is understandable that he was angry, but his only goal in life was revenge for Dimmesdale. The sin affected Chillingworth in the least negative way. Dimmesdale fares the worst in the book because of how negatively affected he is by the sin. The guilt Dimmesdale felt by committing the sin and keeping it a secret was causing him to “[suffer] under bodily disease,” because he was “gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul” (117). The guilt was so extreme that it caused Dimmesdale to get sick which “manifest[ed] in [his] bodily frame” (113). Chillingworth even realized that the root of Dimmesdale’s sickness was caused by a “wound or trouble in [his] soul” (113). Dimmesdale felt so alone, that he even tortured himself by whipping himself, unhealthily fasting for long periods of time, and depriving himself of sleep, as an attempt to repentance for his sin. Due to the fact that he was the town reverend, Dimmesdale questioned how “a ruined soul, like [his], [can] effect towards the redemption of other souls-or a polluted soul, towards their purification” (158). Dimmesdale felt guilty that the town looked up to him and loved him when he did not deserve it and was lying to their faces about how pure and good of a person he truly was. Dimmesdale could not take the pain and suffering because of how the guilt haunted his soul, which caused him to become ill.

Contrasts of night vs. day are used multiple times throughout The Scarlet Letter. During the day, characters must conceal their honest feelings and actions in fear of being punished or judged, while at night, people can reveal their true selves and guilt. Dimmesdale is a character that changes the most throughout the night and day. At night, Dimmesdale asks Hester and Pearl to stand with him on the scaffold (126). However, when Pearl asks “wilt thou stand here with mother and me, tomorrow noontide?” Dimmesdale says “not so, my child. I shall, indeed, stand with thy mother and thee one other day, but not tomorrow!” (127). During the day, Dimmesdale must hide his true relationship with Hester and Pearl in fear of the town finding out about his and Hester’s affair. At night, he can openly express his authentic feel to them and speak his mind when nobody is watching. The contrasts of the marketplace vs. the forest are very similar to the contrasts of night and day. A forest is a place that represents sin and evil in the Puritan society which diverges from the marketplace, where there are laws and rules put in place, and where everyone is protected from reality and evil. Due to the fact that Hester and Dimmesdale “need the whole wide world to breathe in, while they [talk] together” and Hester “never thought of meeting him in any narrower privacy than beneath the open sky” because a forest is a place free of judgment and it is a private place where nobody would know about their meeting (Hawthorne 151). Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest to tell him the truth about Chillingworth’s identity. Contrasts between the Old World vs. the New World show how restrictive and strict the Puritans are. At the end of the book, Hester and Dimmesdale determine “that the Old World..offered them a more eligible shelter and concealment than the wilds of New England, or all America” (176). They decided to move to England to start a new life, where nobody would know their identities and it would be easier to hide than in America. The Puritans in the Old World treat Hester and Pearl with much disrespect because of their strict religious beliefs. The New World was a much less stern society where they decided to go because they knew they would not be judged or treated poorly.

Symbolism of color in The Scarlet Letter is used to represent many different things. First of all, red is used to represent sin and wrongdoings in the book. At the beginning of the book, Hester’s scarlet letter is described as having “fine red cloth” and her letter is supposed to represent her sin and act as a symbol of shame (Hawthorne 46). Hester’s letter was a constant reminder of her sin and the shame that comes along with it, and it also set her apart from society. Along with Hester, Pearl is distinguished by usually being dressed in the color red. Pearl is also referred to as “the scarlet vision” and how her name should not be pearl but “Ruby, rather! or Coral! or Red Rose, at the very least, judging by [her] hue” (91). This is extremely important in the book because it represents how Pearl is a physical representation of the sin Hester and Dimmesdale committed. Red is also a color that represents passion, and Pearl is a symbol of the sin of passion that they committed to have her. Along with that, natural objects also have many different meanings in the book. At the beginning of the book, the narrator talks about a “wild rose bush” that “has been kept alive in history” outside of the prison (42). The rose bush is supposed to “symbolize some moral blossom..or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (42). The rose bush also represents Hawthorne’s beliefs of Romanticism in the novel by showing that the “deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to [the prisoners]” who walk by and see the rose bush (41). The rose bush is a representation of goodness and hope in a society full of sin and disorder, like Hester’s. A different natural object in the book is the weeds on a grave that Chillingworth saw and believed “grew out of [the deceased man in the grave’s] heart,..[that] may be some hideous secret buried with him” (Hawthorne 108). The weeds are supposed to be a physical representation of the man’s sin because he did not reveal his secret during his lifetime. The weeds are also seen as black to show that the unconfessed sin harms the person (Hawthorne 109). The weeds are important because they resulted from the same issue Dimmesdale is struggling with since he is too scared to confess to his sin. Along with that, the letter is also an extremely important symbol in the book. The scarlet letter initially represents the sin Hester committed, and the shame that comes along with it. The letter is an “A” and it stands for Adulteress in which Hester has to wear the letter for punishment. However, the meaning changes when the town’s views of her change, and “they said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, was a woman’s strength” (134). The letter even went as far as “[having] the effect of the cross on a nun’s bosom” and “imparted to the wearer a kind of sacredness” (135). The letter eventually becomes an important symbol of Hester’s capability and strength, which is ironic because it was meant to be worn for punishment and to represent Hester’s sin and shame.

This quote is stated by the narrator. The quote is telling the readers Pearl’s response to Reverend Wilson’s question: “Canst thou tell me, my child, who made thee?” (92). The quote is important because the magistrates have been asking who the father of Pearl is since the day Hester was publicly humiliated. Wilson thinks that maybe Pearl will finally reveal the father’s identity, but Pearl responds by saying she was only plucked by the rosebush as her response. Her specific answer to Reverend Wilson’s question is extremely important because Pearl is comparing herself with the rosebush itself, and how they are so similar. At the beginning of the novel, the rosebush is first mentioned outside of the prison door and is supposed to represent hope in a chaotic society. When the rosebush is mentioned the narrator states that some people believed it had “sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchingson” who was punished for heresy and eventually excommunicated and banished from the Church (42). This shows how something so beautiful, could have come from something so sinful. This is parallel to one of the many things Pearl symbolizes in the book. Pearl symbolizes hope to Hester because she helps Hester stay strong and was the only person to bring happiness to her life after she was shamed by the Puritan community. Pearl, like the rose bush, resulted from a sinful act as well.

This quote was stated by the narrator about Hester. This quote was said because Hester felt that the letter had not done its job of punishing her enough. She felt this way for many different reasons. First of all, the letter was meant to be worn as punishment for committing adultery, but the townspeople started to view Hester differently and instead saw the letter as a symbol of strength. The purpose of the scarlet letter failed because it was supposed to be seen as a symbol of shame, not admiration. The letter was supposed to make Hester learn from her mistakes and become a better person, but she just became a passionless and depressed person. Hester also starts thinking thoughts of suicide, because of the burden Pearl has brought upon her. Suicide is a sin, and since she was having these suicidal thoughts, the scarlet letter had not been effective in making her a better Puritan.

This quote is stated by Chillingworth and it is directed toward Hester. Chillingworth says this quote because he is upset that Hester is going to tell Dimmesdale the truth about his identity. He is stating that he felt it was necessary to make Chillingworth suffer for revenge. It was the darkness within him that made him feel like he needed to punish Dimmesdale. He is also saying that although she did him wrongly, she is not a sinful person, in the same way, that he is not Devil-like because he has been torturing Dimmesdale. He feels this way because he believes their fate is in control of the situation. Lastly, he is saying that Hester needs to let the darkness within him do what it wants to do.

This quote is stated by Hester to Dimmesdale. In this situation, Hester had just told Dimmesdale the truth about Chillingworth’s identity and he is extremely upset and feels that he can never forgive her. He eventually realizes he is overreacting and forgives her. Hester then tells Dimmesdale that although they both committed a sin, it was not intended to hurt others nor was it evil. Chillingworth’s sin, on the other hand, was committed intentionally to harm Dimmesdale so his sin was a lot worse than theirs was. Although they committed adultery, Hester states that they loved each other and agreed to keep it a secret, so their sin was not completely bad, and she does not feel guilty about it.

This quote is stated at the end of the book by the narrator and is supposed to represent the moral of The Scarlet Letter. The quote is saying that it is important for people to be honest with the world, and even if they do not reveal their worst traits, at least show that there are flaws within themselves. This quote is teaching the readers a lesson to learn from Dimmesdale’s mistakes and not be like him. This is because Dimmesdale waited extremely long to reveal the sin he committed, and the guilt he felt by holding it inside made him physically ill and ruined his life. He waited until the end of the book to reveal the truth to the townspeople, and felt proud of who he was and extremely relieved until he died shortly after he told them.