The Scarlett Letter1
The novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an intriguing account of a Puritan community that experiences a breakdown in beliefs. The story deals with a woman, Hester, who commits adultery with a Calvinistic minister resulting in the birth of a child (Martin 110). As compensation for her crime of passion and her refusal to name her lover, Hester is sentenced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter on her bosom. It is this letter, or secret sin, that becomes the emphasis of the novel and assumes many different roles (Martin 111). Hawthorne starts the novel by portraying the literary reality associated with the different aspects of the letter (Martin 110). From the start, "Hawthorne seems to say, this is a scarlet letter; because of that, it is capable of further meaning. The letter will have to carry the burden of the tale" (Martin 111). Hawthorne's use of symbolism is fully developed in the multi-meanings hidden in the scarlet letter through a variety of characters. The scarlet letter represents different ideals to different people and should be given the proper consideration (Martin 114). In the Puritan community, the letter is viewed as a moral obligation to inform others o
It is said that "meager, indeed, and cold, was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for, from such bystanders at the scaffold" (Hawthorne 40). Forced to wear a symbol of shame in public, Hester is left alone behind that symbol to develop, as she will. Hester Prynne is torn in two between the different meanings she possesses towards the scarlet letter. To the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the scarlet letter contains a whole new meaning. The pain inflicted by the letter remains with Hester, while at the same time she takes satisfaction in having the letter. He begins to feel more and more grief and it begins to affect his mental and physical state. Clearly after everything Hester has been put through, she still cannot come to "hate her sin" (Martin 121). Hester's secret serves as an "emblem" of different fates of the Puritan generation. Hester, despite the coldness of the community, chooses to refrain. Everything about Hester from her appearance to her being now all implies a certain contribution to her letter. New York: Stein and Day Publishers, 1966, pp.
Common topics in this essay:
Hester Prynne,
Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Arthur Dimmesdale,
World Fiedler,
Roger Chillingworth,
Hester Prynne-imprinted,
Scarlet Letter,
scarlet letter,
Hester Dimmesdale,
Day Publishers,
University Press,
views letter,
martin 122,
hester's sin,
pain martin 120,
responsibility actions,
hawthorne 43,
hester prynne,
martin 120,
coldness community,
letter brings,
|
Acceptance Essays
