The Rosebush In The Scarlet Letter

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, he uses all different sorts of descriptive imagery as well as characterization of a various symbols throughout the entirety of the novel. The vivid and vivacious description of a rosebush in the first chapter isn’t only placed where it is to provide background information and historical context for the reader, it has a much deeper meaning than that, for it sets up a juxtaposition that will deem crucial to the plotline of the novel and it will foreshadow some of the future events that will occur in Hester and Pearl’s lives as well. The rosebush depicted by Hawthorne has various interpretations that enhance and embellish the meaning behind it as a symbol and the novel as a whole. The rosebush

The rosebush itself may also be an embodiment of forgiveness, and while the thorns and the prison represent sin, the beauty of the unlikely rosebush growing next to it may symbolize God’s Grace, beauty flourishing where only sin and judgement were thought to live. At the same time as this, the rosebush also has another purpose for it’s existence in this part of the novel. Not only does it serve as a juxtaposition and as a symbol with various meanings, for it also functions as a symbol of foreshadowing for later in the novel. It is described as “a wild rose-bush, covered… with its delicate gems”, and this wild imagery of the rosebush suggests that it is unkempt and set apart from what is considered to be “normal” in society, as Hester and Pearl will be when they are forced to live their lives outside of their society. The rosebush depicted by Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter foreshadows the future of Hester and Pearl and is also used to create juxtaposition between the rosebush itself and the prison of sin. Not only does it enhance the richness of the novel and the depth and complexity of it, it plays a deeper role in the plotline and how it is shaped throughout the rest of the novel as