How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Walking In The Scarlet Letter

Within The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes “walking” as a symbol to fulfill multiple narrative purposes--as such, walking is significant in The Scarlet Letter, and Hawthorne relies on it to fully explain his characters, events, and settings. Initially, in Chapter 2, Hawthorne uses walking as a means to establish Hester Prynne’s character and her relationship with the Puritan community. The beadle escorting Hester out of the prison has his hand on her shoulder, and he leads her out, until she repels him, and “step[s] into the open air as if by her own free will,” (40). The beadle, symbolizing the Puritan community’s harsh rules, has control over Hester, but evidently, it is not strong enough to truly restrain her. Hawthorne’s description

The aforementioned scenario parallels the pretense of a power transition later in the novel, when Hester seems to no longer be entirely within the iron grip of the Puritan community--she retains her strong will, and she is able to cast off the scarlet letter and mentally move beyond its immediate influence. However, Hester does not gain any power when she decides to take the symbol off her chest, since Pearl’s violent anger and blatant refusal to walk towards her mom (122) symbolizes the hold the community still has upon Hester--through the scarlet letter, and thus, through Pearl. Moreover, Hawthorne employs walking to again emphasize the continuing power of the Puritan community in Chapter 22, with the purposeful use of intense words to describe the parade. The ordeal is described as being “slow and stately,” as well as “[having] a brilliancy of effect which no modern display can aspire to equal,” (136). In

Particularly, Reverend Dimmesdale’s walking is an important symbol for Hawthorne’s text. On the walk to the forest meeting with Hester, Dimmesdale’s gait is described as “listless...as if he saw no reason for taking one step further,” (Chapter 16, 111). Since Dimmesdale is struggling with his passion and his guilt, this lifeless walk symbolizes the Reverend’s loss of faith, as his internal conflict dominates his every waking moment and he becomes increasingly distraught and powerless. Later, after the conversation with Hester, Dimmesdale is reinvigorated, and filled with a sense of power. Chapter 20 is named The Minister in a Maze, and therefore, evidently symbolizes Dimmesdale’s spiritual journey. In religion, labyrinths often represent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, or the “path to Jerusalem.” Consequently, Puritans refer to the New World, specifically Boston, as New Jerusalem. Also, Christianity references mazes multiple times again--Stations of the Cross are a sequence of pictures following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. These stations are intended to assist Christians in making a spiritual pilgrimage, as the Reverend does in his journey from the forest to the town. Beforehand, Dimmesdale was lethargic, and lacking in faith. Dimmesdale is emboldened after his talk with Hester, which “lent him unaccustomed physical energy,” (125). Therefore, the minister’s