Some Type of Scarlet Strength The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is as a whole, a story about the strength in kindness and forgiveness. Two symbols were referenced quite frequently throughout the novel; one of them is the wild rose bush outside the prison building and the other is the scarlet “A” that Hester wears upon her chest. Firstly, to touch upon the symbolism of the wild rose bush, Hawthorne describes the rose bush as having been kept alive throughout history and as a symbol of relief from the darkness of human frailty and sorrow. Meanwhile, Hester’s scarlet letter contrasts greatly in meaning from the wild rose as the scarlet letter symbolizes sorrow and shame.
It was not just this symbolism that Hawthorne used to present his argument, as he also utilized tone as well as word choice.
This leads into the evolution of the scarlet’s letter meaning as the character that had the most amount of character development in the novel was actually not a real person and that is the scarlet letter itself. The main quote that best supports this is as follows: “Never after did it quit her bosom. But, in the lapse of the toilsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester’s life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon in awe, yet with
…show more content…
The “A” that labeled Hester as an adulterer became recognized as meaning “able”. However, most items are not able to change their meanings by themselves. It is by interaction with other objects and people that they are altered. Without Hester’s strength and perseverance, if she had been weak willed and easily bullied, then the scarlet letter would have remained a negative symbol instead of the reverent one that it eventually