What Does The Meteor Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

Symbols:

The Letter A

The scarlet letter is a red letter A that Hester is forced to wear as punishment for her crime of adultery. It is of deep scarlet color, so it is very striking and alluring. It represents the sin she has committed, adultery. Hester wears this letter of shame throughout the whole beginning of the novel. When Hester and Pearl went to the Governor's Hall, “Hester looked by way of humouring the child; and 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. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it” (103). Hawthorne explains that after committing the crime, Hester’s life was hidden by the scarlet letter. She was no longer seen as Hester Prynne, but as the scarlet woman; she was viewed differently by society and

It shoots across the sky, abnormally illuminating everything within Dimmesdale’s view, “and there stood the minister, with his hand over his heart; and Hester Prynne, with the embroidered letter glimmering on her bosom; and little Pearl, herself a symbol, and the connecting link between those two” (151). Arthur then sees it form a red letter A in the sky; he believes the meteor represents his sin and is a message from God. There the 3 characters stood, for the first time in forever, looking like a family, all bound together by the relatively same symbol, the scarlet letter. However, the meteor is sort of a dynamic symbol because the meaning changes. When it is mentioned again at the end of the chapter, it has been interpreted by the townspeople to mean “Angel,” in honor of Governor Winthrop. It all depends on your point of view; the town sees the positivity and pureness in the symbol, while Dimmesdale sees the negativity in the symbol because of his