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Ambiguity In The Scarlet Letter

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Ambiguity in the Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, ambiguity is used to enrich the definition of the conflicts and symbols throughout it. Hawthorne leaves the meaning of the letter “A”, the true father of Pearl, and the cause of the mark on Dimmesdale’s chest left to be answered to provide a deeper understanding of the views and flaws of Puritan Society. From the beginning to the end of the novel, the meaning of the scarlet letter can only be assumed by the reader because it is never explicitly written by Hawthorne. He uses this undefined letter to illustrate the views of sin in Puritan society. In the beginning of the novel, a woman describes to a stranger, who is later revealed as Chillingworth, that Hester …show more content…

Hawthorne does this to elude to the reasons why Dimmesdale, the assumed sinner, chooses not to openly state his connection to Hester. Dimmesdale never truly reveals his sin because of his position as a leader of the Puritan society and his fear of the punishment that society inflicts on sinners. His role as a leader is significant because his duty was to abstain from sin and live a model life. When Hester and Dimmesdale decide to leave the community, it is revealed what has kept Dimmesdale within its confines: At the head of the social system, as the clergymen of that day stood he was only the more trammeled by its regulations, its principles, and even its prejudices. As a priest, the framework of his order inevitably hemmed him in (190). In this quote, Dimmesdale is tied to the community through his profession as a priest and cannot leave because of his position in leadership. Also, he does not reveal his identity because of the way Puritan society treats sinners. His fear may sprout from the treatment of Hester at the beginning of the novel when she is used, as has been done for generations, as an “agent in the promotion of good citizenship.” This points to the flaw of society in which sinners are made scapegoats of the community, allowing the rest of the community, allowing the rest of the citizens to ignore their own

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