Nathaniel Hawthorne used symbolism a great deal in many of his
works, including Rappachini's Daughter and "The Ministers Black Veil",
but most prominently in The Scarlet Letter. There are differences
between Hawthorne's symbolism and "conventional" symbolism,
Hawthorne flatly stated what his symbols meant on the uppermost level,
when some other authors "beat around the bush" as to the real (or
'subliminal') meanings of certain characters, settings, and important
events. The most important symbols in this book are the prison, the
The first significant symbol is introduced in the very first pages of the
novel. The Cornhill prison, where so much of this novel took place in or
around, is "marked with weather-stains and other indications of
age"(Hawthorne, 45) as it was built along with the first burial ground
when the Puritans first settled in Boston. The prison is a great deal more
than an edifice in the center of town, it shows the harshness and severity
of Puritan law. These people ventured to a new land, and immediately
set up a form of punishment and containment for breaking the law. The
severity of punishment was shown in Hawthorne's mentioning of Anne
Hutchinson, who was banished to Rhode Island for preaching
Antinomianism. The Puritan laws were very impermeable, as seen
through Hester's own punishment. At times too harsh and unforgiving,
the punishments rarely fit the crime... yet the Church and Puritan way of
life refused to abandon their traditional beliefs and offer a more
reasonable and fitting solution. It was just the way of life though, strict
and specific rules that were punishable by the most cruel manners.
There was also a rosebush that lay in the shadows of the prison
which became a very significant symbol in The Scarlet Letter. The fact
that it was dominated by the cold, harsh p...