Forbidden Fruit In Scarlet Letter

Settled in the cruel and repressive Puritan society, “The Scarlet Letter” is a story about a punishment of a horrible and unforgivable sin, the sin of love, committed by two lovers and their sufferings for tasting the ”forbidden fruit”. In the very heart of the novel the main theme that has being presented and observed is the sin itself.

Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin is very closely connected to the “original “sin, because they are both forbidden and result in knowledge of what is it like to be a human being. While Adam and Eve gain the ability of knowing right from wrong and are expelled from Eden because of that, Hester and Dimmesdale taste the fruit of love and both suffer for that, but only Hester is the expelled one and the outcast. The

At first it is a symbol of Hester’s adultery and sin, but as she grows up in character and individuality, the scarlet letter starts to convey another meaning as well. “A” which once referred to adultery, now refers to “Able”, as Hester being able to go through all obstacles and difficulties in her life away from the society. But the scarlet letter “A” may also stand for an “Angel”, and even Dimmesdale refers to her as an angel twice in the novel. “The angel and the apostle of the coming must be a woman, indeed, but lofty, pure and beautiful, and wise, moreover, not through dusky grief, but the ethereal medium of joy.”The letter embroidered in gold represents a symbol of her golden triumph over the society and their binderies that meant to punish

The use of color in expressing the characters emotions, personality and individuality is also present in the story. The use of colors represented to show Chillingworth’s darkness, Hester’s individuality , and Pearl’s vividness express their personal characteristics more effective than the usage of any other symbol. The red and the black are the two colors that are constantly used for highlighting Hester’s and Chillingworth’s braided characters. While the color black represents Chillingworth, an evil man who often is compared to the devil, the color red represents Hester and her fiery individualist and strong personality. The scarlet, red letter on Hester’s chest melts with her unbreakable and iron individuality. “On a field sable, the letter A gules”, or “On a black background, the scarlet letter burns”, means that even surrounded with all the darkness and not accepted by the society, Hester’s pride sparkles and is not unseen.

"Blackness of your sin,Hester Prynne," said the clergyman….” The sin of adultery is seen as black, as evil and as a devilish act by the members of the Puritan society. But by embroidering the scarlet letter in gold, Hester gives it holiness and purity, showing them that the child in her is a product of love and is pure and nothing to be ashamed