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What Does The Forest Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

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In The Scarlet Letter, the forest is a prominent symbol used throughout the book to represent freedom from society. The forest is where Dimmesdale and Hester chose to meet because it is secluded from the rest of the Puritan civilization. During their meeting, they discuss that they want to run away to Europe together to escape their current living situations. This is an example of how the forest is being used to represent freedom from society. It is where Hester and Dimmesdale feel they are free to speak about whatever they want, even plans of running away together, because they cannot be seen by their fellow townsmen. In Chapter 20, when Dimmesdale returns from the forest, one of his friends greets him and he responds by saying, “I am not the man for whom you take me! I left him yonder in the forest, withdrawn into a secret dell, by a mossy tree trunk, near a melancholy brook!” (261; ch. 20). Dimmesdale responds this way because when he is in the forest, he is able to act a different way than when he is back in the town. …show more content…

The narrator says, “She thought of the dim forest, with its dell of solitude, and love, and anguish, and the mossy tree trunk, where, sitting hand in hand, they mingled their sad and passionate talk with the melancholy murmur of the brook” (287; ch. 22). Hester feels that when she is in the forest with Dimmesdale, he acts like a completely different person. This is because they are away from society and able to show their affection for one another. If they were to be affectionate in the town, Dimmesdale’s sin would be revealed and they would both face major punishment. The forest once again acts as a symbol of freedom from society because it is where Hester and Dimmesdale can be their true selves. No one from the town is around to judge them for their sins, and they are able to love each other without being in fear for their

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Mentally, his guilt strains his mind, which causes his physical deterioration, and the weakening of his body. As Dimmesdale finally admits his sin to the townspeople, his guilt is lifted, and he is able to release himself from his captivity. Though he deteriorated both mind and body from his guilt, by telling the townspeople of his sin, it was as if “a spell was broken” (238). He no longer needed to force himself to hide his sin, which was what was hurting him. By finally dealing with his sin in a similar way to Hester, Dimmesdale was able to free himself of his self-imposed captivity and

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In the first few chapters, the scaffold serves as the exposition of the novel to introduce Hester’s “walk of shame” and Dimmesdale’s absence from the very same fate. During the first scene, Hester is “dragged out into the sunshine” and displayed to “the crowd of spectators” (38). Hester likely feels dreadful as she is like a circus animal viewed upon by people uncaring about her physical well being and only worried about the entertainment. She is “dragged” into the sunlight; hence, she is being forcibly extracted from her one hiding place, the dark jail, and exposed so that everyone can see her guilt. By likening

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“And the infectious poison of that sin had been thus rapidly diffused throughout his moral system” (Hawthorne 174). In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale serves as the holiest person many people meet in their moral lifetime, and as the purest embodiment of God’s word. However, Dimmesdale has a wounding secret, a cancer, that tears his soul apart throughout his time in America. Dimmesdale falls prey to sin in a moment of passion with Hester, resulting in her condemnation by the townspeople, and the birth of their child, Pearl. For years, Dimmesdale’s life is defined by an internal conflict - his job demands his purity in the eye of the townspeople, but he desires the acceptance of herself that Hester achieves through her sin being made public.

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When Dimmesdale states it “burns in secret”, he is using a metaphor to describe how the guilt from his hidden sin is burning inside him and ruining his life. The guilt isn't literally burning inside of him, but the author uses figurative language here to describe the severity in which Dimmesdale's emotions are in. This guilt has progressive gotten worse the longer Dimmesdale has kept it in and the only thing he can do is reveal it. Lastly, Dimmesdale describes people struggling with guilt, while truly describing himself, as he states, “They go about among their fellow creatures, looking pure as new-fallen snow; while their hearts are all speckled and spotted with iniquity of which they cannot rid themselves” p 91. Although Dimmesdale is describing to Chillingworth what happens to people who struggling with guilt and sin, he is truly describing himself and what is happening to him.

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