Scarlet Letter Natural World Quotes

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Author Nathaniel Hawthorne heavily relies upon the natural world to express certain themes through The Scarlet Letter, but makes it almost human-like when interacting with “sinful characters” such as main protagonist Hester Prynne and her very close friend Arthur Dimmesdale, in comparison to their “innocent” daughter Pearl Prynne. Hester Prynne is known throughout her town as the “adulteress” through the piercing scarlet letter “A” upon her bosom. Thinking her husband was dead, Hester became intimate with one of the town’s men and gave birth to her daughter Pearl. The town shunned her and made her the highest symbol of sin in their community for years and years to come. As time progressed, it became known to the public that Arthur Dimmesdale, the …show more content…

As all children do, Pearl was prancing around the forest, and the sunlight responded to her. The light seemed to be “scintillating with the vivacity” (166) as Pearl runs, jumps, and danced with child innocence. However, when Hester drew closer to Pearl and reached out towards the light, the natural world decided that Hester was not worthy of the warmth rays. While Pearl was absorbed by lightness, as soon as Hester grew too close, they were “plunged into gloominess”. Furthermore, once the reader finds out that Dimmesdale is the “sinner” held accountable for Pearl’s birth, the natural world treats Dimmesdale similarly as it treated Hester, since his walk back home from the forest was much harder to get through than the first time he walked through.. The paths were “wilder” and seemed “more uncouth” as “rude natural obstacles” (194) stood in his path between the town and himself. Through these descriptions of the forest, the natural world is reacting to certain characters differently. This may just be the characters own imagination and tying a romantic theme into it, but it is a consistent factor that goes on throughout the

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