Archetypes In Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne's romantic novel The Scarlet Letter depicts Hester and Dimmesdale, sinners who deserve punishment by the oppressive Puritan society. Dimmesdale, however, avoids punishments through Hester’s silence, and Hester suffers through the punishment alone, broken. Hawthorne presents archetypes of darkness, color red, and star-crossed lover to establish tragedy within the contrasting characters of Hester and Dimmesdale. Hawthorne further informs the readers that consequence depends on the attitude towards punishment.
Hawthorne emphasizes darkness to portray the character of Dimmesdale, who suffers from his guilt internally. Out of self-conviction and guilt, the reverend decides to repent his sin on the scaffold. The passage describes

Hester works towards redemption of her sins after her experience on the scaffold. The townsmen “begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token...of her many good deeds since” (147). The scarlet letter, as the title of the novel suggests, indicates Hester’s death in social status and in spirit. In the beginning of the novel, Hester surrenders to the society’s judgement, thinking about suicide. However, Hester redeems her reputation through labor and receives compliments from the townsmen. The color red symbolizes death but also paradoxically connotes birth. After she commits adultery, Hester gains Pearl as a result of her sin, but her child is the motivation for her to live to redeem her reputation because Hester does not want her child to live such a dark and ruined life of a sinner. The recognition of the society suggests that Hester’s dedication into labor and attitude of redemption is an act of bravery and she deserves compliments and reinterpretation of the scarlet letter as an award for her strive to live. The redness of the scarlet letter, nevertheless, is a sign of sin and death to Hester. In fact, she perceives the symbol as a “red-hot brand” (147). Hester, similar to Dimmesdale, suffers from the wounds that cannot be easily healed but realizes that her sacrifice is necessary to redeem and pay for her sins, as symbolized

After the public accusation, Hester suddenly becomes an adulterous, undesirable woman while Dimmesdale remains still as a well-respected minister. Hester’s miserable state after her experiences with public shame develops such tragedy. Out of guilt and despair, Hester states, “I have thought of death”(65). Death serves as a symbol for the unfulfillable love of Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester’s thought of death implies that she can no longer bear the harsh societal criticisms, demonstrating her defeated, broken stage of her life. Besides an eternal escape from the oppression of Puritan society, her thoughts of suicide indicate an isolation from Dimmesdale, a dignified minister she can never love again. Hester’s surrender to the societal judgment, nevertheless, is also the reason for her suffering. When Dimmesdale admits the adulterous sin he commits with Hester, he does not think about the societal judgment. The fanatical minister instead triumphantly praises God, declaring, “By bringing me hither, to die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people!” (234). Corresponding with Hester’s thoughts of death, Dimmesdale pursues the eternal escape from the Puritan society, and he first fears the consequences he must face. In contrast to Hester, however, Dimmesdale confronts his death willingly, as if it is not a forced decision from societal pressure but his own choice.