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Scarlet Letter Symbolism Essay

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“It straggled onward into the mystery of the primeval forest.” ( Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter 86 ) Claiming the forest as a vast location of mysteries; illustrating its endless symbolism among the town’s people, Nathaniel Hawthorne starts off by portraying the forest as a place of temptation towards sin in Young Goodman Brown. As the reader transition from Young Goodman Brown to the The Scarlet Letter the original symbol of the forest is substituted with the thought of happiness. It’s shown to become the only place where Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale can be with each other without the thought of being punished by Puritan laws. The reader is initially introduced to the dual symbolism of the forest in Young Goodman …show more content…

In the novel it seemed as if it was the complete contradiction to its original symbol. Mentioned in the novel it says "Doth the universe lie within the compass of yonder town, which only a little time ago was but a leaf-strewn desert, as lonely as this around us? Whither leads yonder forest-track? Backward to the settlement, thou sayest! Yes; but, onward, too! Deeper it goes, and deeper into the wilderness, less plainly to be seen at every step; until some few miles hence the yellow leaves will show no vestige of the white man's tread. There thou art free! So brief a journey would bring thee from a world where thou hast been most wretched, to one where thou mayest still be happy! ” (Hawthorne, Scarlet 92) the forest is shown as a relief from the Puritan rules and authority. Later on the forest was set as a place where Hester and Dimmesdale can truly communicate with one another without the suspicion of someone revealing the truth. Not only did it serve as the location of where Hester and Dimmesdale can talk among one another, but as well as a significant representation of Hester’s cottage. The location of her cottage “It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned, because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already

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Just like the crucifix is where Jesus faced his trials and was saved through his faith, the forest is where Goodman Brown faces his and it’s also the stage where the Misfit faces his. By contrast however, Goodman Brown does not conquer his demons and the Misfit rejects God’s love, using a bullet rather than words. In a lot of literature, legends, and fairy tales, nature, more specifically, forests, represent places where one will undergo trials or tests; where unconsciousness and mysteriousness stand. "The forest harbors all kinds of dangers and demons, enemies and diseases” (Biederman) In Hawthorne’s story, the forest symbolizes thought and self-regulation. Within the forest, the Puritan civilization ends as the darker forces of the shadow express themselves.

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The above symbols vary from person to person and from time to time in Hester’s settlement. These symbolisms are not unusual attributes for people to associate with a forest today, depending on one’s mindset and personal experiences. The pristine quiet of the woods is largely underappreciated at the present time. Perhaps Hester was onto something when she strolled through the trees to find peace of mind and sift through her thoughts effectively. One can do so today to temporarily avoid the noise, the bustle, and the prying fingers of modern

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Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer. Hester acknowledges her sin in her puritan faith but swears to secrecy on the father of Pearl.

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne explores recurring themes of suffering surrounding the main characters, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale both commit adultery with each other, and, as a result of this, both experience gruesome and occasionally unbearable forms of suffering. Though they undergo different forms of pain, both of their experiences are highly reliant on how the Puritan society treats them. Hester 's pain stems from the shame and estrangement she receives from the community, while Dimmesdale’s is due to the reverence with which the community regards him. Although, in spite of the fact that both Hester and Dimmesdale receive harsh penalty for their sin, by the end of the book, Hawthorne shows how their suffering is, in fact, the key to their salvation.

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