The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne's background influenced him to write the bold
novel The Scarlet Letter. One important influence on the story is money.
Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his
first daughter added to the financial burden ("Biographical Note" VII). He
received a job at the Salem Custom House only to lose it three years later
and be forced to write again to support his family (IX). Consequently, The
Scarlet Letter was published a year later (IX). It was only intended to be
a long short story, but the extra money a novel would bring in was needed
("Introduction" XVI). Hawthorne then wrote an introduction section titled
"The Custom House" to extend the length of the book and The Scarlet Letter
became a full novel (XVI). In addition to financial worries, another
influence on the story is Hawthorne's rejection of his ancestors. His
forefathers were strict Puritans, and John Hathorne, his
great-great-grandfather, was a judge presiding during the S! alem witch
trials ("Biographical Note" VII). Hawthorne did not condone their acts
and actually spent a great deal of his life renouncing the Puritans in
general (VII). Similarly, The Scarlet Letter was a literal "soapbox" for
Hawthorne to convey to the world that the majority of Puritans were strict
and unfeeling. For example, before Hester emerges from the prison she is
being scorned by a group of women who feel that she deserves a larger
punishment than she actually receives. Instead of only being made to
stand on the scaffold and wear the scarlet letter on her chest, they
suggest that she have it branded on her forehead or even be put to death
(Hawthorne 51). Perhaps the most important influence on the story is the
author's interest in the "dark side" ("Introduction" VIII). Unlike the
transcendentalists of the era, Hawthorne "confronted reality, rather than
evading it" (VII). Likewise, The Scarlet Letter deals with adultery, a
subject that caused much scandal when it w! as first published (XV). The
book revolves around sin and punish
ment, a far outcry from writers of the time, such as Emerson and Thoreau,
who dwelt on optimistic themes (VII). This background, together with a
believable plot, convincing characterization, and important literary
devices enables Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to the develop
the theme of the heart as a prison.
The scaffold scenes are the most substantial situations in the
story because they unify The Scarlet Letter in two influential ways.
First of all, every scaffold scene reunites the main characters of the
novel. In the first scene, everyone in the town is gathered in the market
place because Hester is being questioned about the identity of the father
of her child ( Hawthorne 52). In her arms is the product of her sin,
Pearl, a three month old baby who is experiencing life outside the prison
for the first time (53). Dimmesdale is standing beside the scaffold
because he is Hester's pastor and it is his job to convince her to repent
and reveal the father's name (65). A short time later, Chillingworth
unexpectedly shows up within the crowd of people who are watching Hester
after he is released from his two year captivity by the Indians (61). In
the second scene, Dimmesdale is standing on top of the scaffold alone in
the middle of the night (152). He sees Hester and Pearl wal! k through
the market place on their way back from Governor Winthrop's bedside (157).
When Dimmesdale recognizes them and tells them to join him, they walk up
the steps to stand by his side (158). Chillingworth appears later standing
beside the scaffold, staring at Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl. In the
final scaffold scene, Dimmesdale walks to the steps of the scaffold in
front of the whole town after his Election day sermon (263). He tells
Hester and Pearl to join him yet again on the scaffold (264).
Chillingworth then runs through the crowd and tries to stop Dimmesdale
from reaching the top of the scaffold, the one place where he can't reach
him (265). Another way in which the scenes are united is how each
illustrates the immediate, delayed, and prolonged effects that the sin of
adultery has on the main characters. The first scene shows Hester being
publicly punished on the scaffold (52). She is being forced to stand on
it for three hours straight and listen to peop! le talk about her as a
disgrace and a shame to the community (55)
. Dimmesdale's instantaneous response to the sin is to lie. He stands
before Hester and the rest of the town and proceeds to give a moving
speech about how it would be in her and the father's best interest for her
to reveal the father's name (67). Though he never actually says that he
is not the other parent, he implies it by talking of the father in third
person (67). Such as, "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and
that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to
salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and
fellow-sufferer" (67). Chillingworth's first reaction is one of shock,
but he quickly suppresses it (61). Since his first sight of his wife in
two years is of her being punished for being unfaithful to him, he is
naturally surprised. It does not last for long though, because it is his
nature to control his emotions (61). Pearl's very existence in this scene
is the largest immediate effect of her parents' cr! ime (52). She
obviously would never had been there had her parents resisted their love
for each other. The second scene occurs several years later and shows the
effects after time has had a chance to play its part. It begins with
Dimmesdale climbing the stairs of the scaffold in the middle of the night
because it is the closest that he can come to confessing his sin (152).
This scene is especially important because it shows how pitiful he has
become. Dimmesdale shows just how irrational he is when he screams aloud
because he fears that the universe is staring at a scarlet token on his
breast (153). It also shows how much guilt he is carrying by the way he
perceives the light from a meteor as the letter A. He believes it stands
for adulteress while other people think it stands for angel since the
governor just passed away (161). This scene also shows how Hester is
managing her new situation. When Dimmesdale tells her to come up the
scaffold and asks her where she has b! een, she replies that she has been
measuring the robe that the gov
ernor is to be buried in (158). This statement implies that Hester's
reputation as a talented seamstress has spread. Ironically, her first
well known piece of work was the scarlet letter that she wore on her
chest. As a result, she owes her own success to her infamy. Besides
growing older, Pearl's most significant change is in her perceptibility
(158). In this scene, she constantly asks Dimmesdale if he will be
joining Hester and herself on the scaffold tomorrow at noon and accuses
him of not being true (162). Neither Hester nor Dimmesdale ever told
Pearl who her father was, but she figures it out by the way he always
holds his hand over his heart (159). Chillingworth's derangement is
evident in this scene also. His contempt for Dimmesdale is so acute that
he risks his cover when he gives him a look so vivid as to remain painted
on the darkness after the bright meteor that just passed, vanishes (161).
The third scene is very critical because it is the last glimpse int! o
every characters' mind and the last time that everyone is alive. At this
point in time, Dimmesdale's fixation on his sin has utterly corroded him
to the point of death. After he gives his election day sermon, he goes to
the scaffold and asks Hester and Pearl to join him because he is so weak
that he can hardly support himself (265). He finally exposes the truth
and tells his followers of how he deceived them (267). The only good that
comes out of conceding his guilt is that he passed away without any
secrets, for he was already too far gone to be able to be saved (269).
This scene is important to the characterization of Hester because it is
the first time that she is not in complete control of her emotions (264).
Her dream of escaping to England with Dimmesdale is lost when he decides
to confess (264). The unanticipated arrival of Chillingworth and
Dimmesdale's feeble appearance distresses her, and for the first time, she
can not control the outcome (264). The greate! st transformation in
Pearl's life occurs in this scene. While sh
e used to be perceived as elfish, she now shows the first signs of normal
human emotion. After Dimmesdale confesses his sin, she kisses his lips
voluntarily (268). "The great scene of grief…had developed all her
sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the
pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do
battle with the world, but be a woman in it" (268). Ultimately,
Chillingworth takes a severe turn for the worse when Dimmesdale reveals
his sin. Since Chillingworth based the rest of his life on playing games
on Dimmesdale's mind, he was left without any goals, and his life became
meaningless (268). On that account, it is clear that Hawthorne uses the
scaffold scenes, not only as a unifying device, but as a means to keep the
reader interested in the novel by providing plenty of action.
The main characters sharply contrast each other in the way they
react to Hester and Dimmesdale's sin. To begin, Hester becomes stronger,
more enduring, and even more sympathetic. She becomes stronger because of
all the weight she has to carry. She is a single mother who suffers all
of the burdens of parenthood by herself. They live on the edge of town,
and Pearl has no one to give her food, shelter and emotional support
besides Hester. Pearl is especially difficult to raise because she is
anything but normal. Hawthorne gives a pretty accurate description of
Pearl when he writes:
The child could not be made amenable to rules. In giving her
existence, a great law had been broken; and the result was a being whose
elements were perhaps beautiful and bril- liant, but all in disorder; or
with an order peculiar to themselves, amidst which the point
of variety and arrangement was difficult or impossible to be
discovered (91).
Hester's endurance is proven when the people of the colony completely
change their opinion of her. While a lesser person would run from the
hostile colonists, Hester withstands their insolence and pursues a normal
life. After years of proving her worth with her uncommon sewing skills
and providing community service, the colonists come to think of the
scarlet letter as "the cross on a nun's bosom," which is no small
accomplishment (169). Hester also becomes more sensitive to the feelings
and needs of other people. She feels that her own sin gives her
"sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts" (87). So even
though the people she tried to help "often reviled the hand that was
stretched forth to succor them," she continues her services because she
actually cares (85). While Hester tries to make the best out of her
situation, Dimmesdale becomes weaker by letting guilt and grief eat away
at his conscience. Dimmesdale punishes himself by believing that he can
neve! r be redeemed. He feels that he will never be seen the same in the
eyes of God, and that no amount of penitence can ever return him to God's
good graces. He is so touchy on this subject that when Hester says his
good deeds will count for something in God's view, he exclaims, "There is
no substance in it! It is cold and dead and can do nothing for me!" (202).
Dimmesdale also believes that his sin has taken the meaning out of his
life. His life's work has been dedicated to God, and now his sin has
tainted it (202). He feels that he is a fraud and is not fit to lead the
people of the town to salvation. The feeling is so oppressive that the
chance of escaping his work and leaving with Hester and Pearl makes him
emotionally (and probably mentally) unstable. He walks through the town
with twice as much energy as normal, and he barely stops himself from
swearing to a fellow deacon (229). When an old lady approaches him he can
not remember any scriptures whatsoever to tell he! r, and the urge to use
his power of persuasion over a young maide
n is so strong that he covers his face with his cloak and runs off (230).
The largest cause of Dimmesdale's breakdown is the fact that he keeps his
sin a secret. As God's servant, it is his nature to tell the truth, so
the years of pretending are especially hard on him. His secret guilt is
such a burden that instead of going with Hester to England and perhaps
having a chance to live longer, he chose to stand, confess and perish on
the scaffold (268). Ultimately, Chillingworth responds to his wife's
betrayal by sacrificing everything in order to seek revenge. After he
discovers that his wife bore another man's child, Chillingworth gives up
his independence. He used to be a scholar who dedicated his best years
"to feed the hungry dream of knowledge," but his new allegiance becomes
finding and slowly punishing the man who seduced his wife (74). He soon
becomes obsessed with his new mission in life, and when he targeted
Reverend Dimmesdale as the possible parent, he dedic! ates all of his time
to becoming his confidant in order to get his retribution (127).
Vengeance was also one of the reasons that Chillingworth gives up his
identity. The only way he can truly corrupt Dimmesdale is to live with
him and be by his side all day, every day. The only possible way to do
that is to give up his true identity as Roger Prynne, Hester's husband,
and become Roger Chillingworth. Since the only person who knew his true
identity is sworn to silence, he succeeds for a long time in tricking
Dimmesdale until Hester sees that he was going mad and finally revealed
Chillingworth's true identity (204). His largest sacrifice is by far, his
own life. After spending so much time dwelling on his revenge,
Chillingworth forgets that he still has a chance to lead a life of his
own. So accordingly, after Dimmesdale reveals his secret to the world,
Chillingworth dies less than a year later because he has nothing left to
live for (272). In conclusion, Hawthorne's use ! of characterization
gives the book a classic feeling by showing H
ester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth's feelings indirectly through acts.
The novel revolves around two major symbols: light and darkness
and the scarlet letter. The book is filled with light and darkness
symbols because it represents the most common battle of all time, good
versus evil. When Hester and her daughter are walking in the forest,
Pearl exclaims:
Mother, the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides
itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now see! There
it is, playing, a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch
it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me, for I wear no- thing on
my bosom yet (192)!
Hester tries to stretch her hand into the circle of light, but the
sunshine vanishes (192). She then suggests that they go into the forest
and rest (193). This short scene actually represents Hester's daily
struggle in life. The light represents what Hester wants to be, which is
pure. The movement of the light represents Hester's constant denial of
acceptance. Hester's lack of surprise and quick suggestion to go into the
forest, where it is dark, shows that she never expected to be admitted and
is resigned to her station in life. Another way light and darkness is
used in symbolism is by the way Hester and Dimmesdale's plan to escape is
doomed. Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the shadows of the forest with a
gloomy sky and a threatening storm overhead when they discuss their plans
for the future (200). The gloomy weather and shadows exemplify the fact
that they can't get away from the repressive force of their sins. It is
later proven when Dimmesdale dies on the scaffold!
instead of leaving with Hester and going to England (269). A final
example occurs by the way Hester and Dimmesdale can not acknowledge their
love in front of others. When they meet in the woods, they feel that, "No
golden light had ever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest
(206). This emotion foretells that they will never last together openly
because their sin has separated them too much from normal life. The
scarlet letter also takes many different forms in the novel. The first
and clearest form that the letter A takes is "Adulteress." It is apparent
that Hester is guilty of cheating on her husband when she surfaces from
the prison with a three-month-old-child in her arms, and her husband has
been away for two years (53). Hence, the people look at the letter
elaborately embroidered with gold thread and see a "hussy" who is proud of
her sin (54). The second form that it takes is "Angel." When Governor
Winthrop passes away, a giant A appears in the sky. !
People from the church feel that, "For as our good Governor Wint
hrop was made an angel this past night, it was doubtless held fit that
there should be some notice thereof!" (16). The final form that the
scarlet letter take is "Able." Hester helped the people of the town so
unselfishly that Hawthorne wrote:
Such helpfulness was found in her,--so much power to do, and power
to sympathize,--that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by it
s original significance. They said that it meant Able; so strong was
Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength (167).
In closing, one of the most important reasons that The Scarlet Letter is
so well known is the way Hawthorne leaves the novel open to be interpreted
several different ways by his abundant use of symbolism.
This background, together with a believable plot, convincing
characterization, and important literary devices enables Nathaniel
Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to the develop the theme of the heart as a
prison. Hawthorne describes the purpose of the novel when he says, "Be
true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worse, yet
some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!" (272). The theme is
beneficial because it can be put into terms in today's world. The Scarlet
Letter is one of the few books that will be timeless, because it deals
with alienation, sin, punishment, and guilt, emotions that will continue
to be felt by every generation to come.
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Title: Scarlet Letter 2 |
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