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Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter is filled with many important symbols such as Hester's daughter Pearl, the meteor, and the scarlet letter "A" itself. This symbol "A" has a major effect on the plot, theme, and attitude of the characters in the novel. Hester, the protagonist, is forced to stand on a scaffold in front of the townspeople of Boston while wearing the scarlet letter "A" on her chest. She is wearing this symbol because she committed an act of adultery which is a sin in her community. Because she committed such sin, she is ridiculed and humiliated on the scaffold. Contrary to what is expected, Hester stays in Boston in order for Pearl, her daughter, to have a normal life and her love for Dimmesdale, the minister, as well as Pearl, also convinced …show more content…

After learning why she is bearing the "A", he dedicates his life to finding out who participated in the sin. Chillingworth believes it is Dimmesdale who took part in it, therefore he poses as a physician in order to become closer to Dimmesdale and get revenge. Chillngworth keeps Dimmesdale alive in order to make him suffer from his deteriorating health and guilt for his sin. One night while Dimmesdale is asleep due to Chillingworth's "treatment", Chillingworth discover the letter "A" on Dimmesdale's chest. This revelation solves Chillgworth's suspicions about who Hester committed her sin with, thus, his need for revenge increases. Dimmesdale is also affected by the scarlet letter. He too is guilt of adultery since he committed the act with Hester. Because he did not admit his part, he tortured himself mentally and physically. He whips himself with scourges and has vigils that include visions of Hester, Pearl, and the scarlet letter. His health is gradually getting weaker and he believes it is God punishing him for not coming forward with his confession. After years of self-torture and suffering, Dimmesdale confesses his sin during his Election Day sermon which relieves him of his

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He was suffering from chest pain because of the secret he was hiding from the Puritan society. He was dying every day from inside because he could not carry the weight of his sin. He was totally consumed by guilt; his “form grew emaciated; his voice ...... his hand over his heart, with first a flush and then a paleness, indicative of plain” ( Hawthorne 13 ). This quote shows that Dimmesdale’s guilt had an impact on his health.

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Initially, Dimmesdale does not appear incongruous to the Puritan society but acknowledges that vengeance will come upon him. He maintains his good

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Dimmesdale is the biggest jerk of The Scarlet Letter. From the beginning of the book, Dimmesdale is a hypocrite. Although it is implied that he preaches against premarital sex as a Puritan pastor, Dimmesdale commits adultery with Hester. After getting Hester pregnant, he avoids visiting Hester and his daughter for seven years.

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“Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret! Thou little knowest what a relief it is, after the torment of a seven years' cheat, to look into an eye that recognizes me for what I am!” (Hawthorne 180). Dimmesdale had tortured himself with his mistakes.

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He is now starting to come down with an illness not of the body, but of the mind and heart. Guilt has consumed the young Dimmsdale and it is starting to show in his attitude. The book says that Dimmsdale is starting to constantly whip himself in the place where his scarlet letter should have been. The book also talks about the numerous vigils that Dimmsdale is holding, perhaps the most telling one being the night that he, Pearl, and Hester were standing upon the scaffold one night because of his overwhelming cowardice and guilt. The book even talks about how when Dimmsdale looked up that night he saw a meteor make the letter “A” in the sky, to him this was a divine sign that God knows his sins.

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686 Words | 3 Pages

Eventually, the stress and pressure in Dimmesdale’s heart lead him to death. In comparison to Dimmesdale’s death, Hester’s ending is way different. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, but Hester eventually comes back to town without Pearl. Hester puts on the letter “A” again, and she starts to help people deal with their mental stress. “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 with awe, yet with

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523 Words | 3 Pages

Many characters from The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, changed throughout the progression of the novel, — including Chillingworth, Hester, and even Pearl herself. No character, however, has changed as much as Dimmesdale has. Towards the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale tries to ignore his sinful actions. Near the middle of the book, the clergyman, with the ‘help’ of Chillingworth, is able to realize his wrongdoings, and starts obsessively thinking of those wrongdoings. Around the end of the novel, with the help of the forest’s freedom, is able to finally repent correctly for his sin.

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616 Words | 3 Pages

Symbolism Within The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne created symbolism throughout The Scarlet Letter in order to develop the theme throughout Hester’s life. Hester is portrayed as a sheltered soul, shunned from society due to her adulterous acts. The red A and her daughter, Pearl, are symbols of Hester’s shame which she bares proudly despite society's harsh judgements. Hawthorne is able to use symbolism to develop themes, characters, and analogies in the Scarlet Letter.

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Secondhand smoke is a cause of many children 's deaths all over the world. Children of parents who smoke are exposed to SHS and are more likely to become ill and even die suddenly. The image chosen shows the use of rhetoric through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos by its appeal to society. People perceive smoking as a sign of weakness; weakness as in that the addictive product can cause lives to end but the consumer is too negligent to see that. Therefore, parents who smoke, tend to forget about the secondhand smoke their kids inhale.

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Dimmesdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it, indeed, in great part by his sorrows. (Hawthorne 128) The guilt of his sin has eaten him alive, so much that his visage and demeanor are almost cadaverous. Dimmesdale does not confess his sin until the end of the novel because he does not want to disappoint his congregation.

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In Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen, of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester recognizes her true hatred of Chillingworth just before she finds Pearl, playing at the beach, and creating a green letter A on her own chest out of seaweed. Later, Hester goes to hopefully “run into” Dimmesdale in the forest to reveal to him the truth about Chillingworth’s identity. Pearl comes along, and as they wait, she curiously asks her mother about the Black Man. When Pearl sees Dimmesdale’s figure appear in the distance, she asks whether the approaching person is in fact the Black Man himself, which Hester rejects. Pearl, however, ponders if Dimmesdale clutches his heart, as he does, because the Black Man has left his mark on him, similar to how the

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640 Words | 3 Pages

Hester was sentenced to wear the scarlet letter "A" for the rest of her life and Hester was forced to stand on the scaffold, so she could be publicly humiliated for her sin. Hester and Pearl will go through life, being shamed by others. The townspeople want to see Hester suffer. Hester and Pearl are strong enough to receive the looks and the talks that they will be getting from the

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480 Words | 2 Pages

Chillingworth came back into town and learned his wife had conceived a child with someone. He then made up his mind to find the other adulterer and seek revenge on him. When Chillingworth learned that Dimmesdale was the other adulterer, he did everything he could to make Dimmesdale feel worse. This crime was directed at causing pain and suffering to another, making this a terrible sin (“Who”). Chillingworth and Dimmesdale committed two completely different sins.

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Some of the differences between these two characters are also what makes them alike, as well as setting them apart from the rest of the characters in the book. Hester and Dimmesdale’s need to repent and face their punishments in their own ways leads the reader through the book with surprises at every turn. The characters face challenges from holding in a secret, and facing a punishment all relating to the same actions taken before the book begins. Hester, the mother of Pearl ,as well as the main character, was

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959 Words | 4 Pages

Receiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.

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