What Does The Rosebush Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, which was published in 1850 and takes place in the 1640s, Hawthorne uses symbolism to convey the themes of good and evil coexisting and the effects of sin and shame on the soul. Hester Prynne, the main character in The Scarlet Letter, is a beautiful woman who acted on her desire and was rejected by her puritan town because she committed adultery. Pearl, Hester's daughter from their adultery, is a very dark but intelligent child who slowly figures out who her father is, and her existence adds another layer of complexity to the themes of sin and shame explored in the novel. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Wild Rose Bush, The Scarlet Letter, and Hester’s Cabin to prove that everything in nature

It also foreshadows the societal shame and punishment that Hester Prynne and other characters will face for their transgressions. The Rosebush is growing outside the prison door and is described as being covered in "delicate gems" and thorns. Hawthorne narrates, “But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems…” (Hawthorne 52). The prison door represents the strict Puritanical beliefs and laws of the time period. The “delicate gems” represent the good in nature, while the thorns represent the evil. But is this balance between good and evil really possible, or is it just an ideal that can never be achieved? Hawthorne continues, “This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history…survived out of the stern old wilderness…” (Hawthorne 52). The fact that the rosebush has survived out of the "stern old wilderness" indicates that nature itself is at a balance between good and evil. By starting the novel with this symbol, Hawthorne sets the stage for the rest of the story and shows that the characters will also experience a balance of good and

As an anti-transcendentalist, Hawthorne was critical of the transcendentalist belief in the inherent goodness of humanity and nature. Hawthorne chronicles, “On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage” (Hawthorne 94). By placing Hester's cabin at the edge of the town, halfway between the ordered, civilized community and the wild, untamed forest, Hawthorne shows that Hester embodies this balance between the civilized and the natural, the good and the evil. The forest, as a symbol of freedom and escape from Puritan society, represents Hester's desire to break free from the strict social expectations placed on her. On the other hand, the town represents Hester's need for connection and acceptance within society, as well as her guilt and shame over her sin. By choosing to live in a cabin that is both physically and symbolically situated between these two worlds, Hester embodies the struggle to balance these conflicting desires.Hawthorne continues, “It stood on the shore, looking across a basin of the sea at the forest-covered hills, towards the west” (Hawthorne 94). The cabin's location on the shore, overlooking the sea and the forest-covered hills to the west, reinforces the idea that Hester is situated at the intersection between the town and the wilderness, between the