During her public prosecution, Hawthorne depicts Hester’s elegant, dignified beauty and the crowd’s eyes being drawn to the scarlet letter by stating, “it had the effect of a spell, taking her out of th... ... middle of paper ... ...ways. While many readers view the scarlet letter as a mark of adultery and Hester Prynne as a sinful woman. Nathaniel Hawthorne evolves the scarlet letter into many elements that transform it into a prideful symbol. In doing so, Hawthorne makes a social commentary on Puritan society by implying they view things in one way. Additionally, he uses the scarlet letter to show good and evil are essentially the same.
But the most important symbol that Pearl reflects is when they are in the forest. In one of the book's most dramatic scenes, Pearl blocks her mother's attempt to escape from her symbol of shame. After Hester has tossed her scarlet letter on the ground, Pearl shrieks in a fit and will not recognize or come to her mother until she proceeds to put her letter back on and puts her hair back up under her white cap.
Theme of Forgiveness in The Scarlet Letter "The public is despotic in its temper; it is capable of denying common justice when too strenuously demanded as a right; but quite as frequently it awards more than justice when the appeal is made, as despots love to have it made entirely to it's generosity." The Scarlet Letter (156) One of themes that Hawthorne conveys in The Scarlet Letter is that society is more willing to forgive people who ask for forgiveness with humility and generosity than those who demanded it as a right. This theme was conveys using Hester Prynne, a young women who committed adultery. This was considered to be one of the worst crime someone could commit in the Puritan society during the eighteen hundreds, where she resides in. As punishment, Hester was required to wear a scarlet letter "A" upon her garment in order for everyone to recognize her crime.
Then it the scarlet ‘A’ means a lot of things to Pearl which many many of which are different than her mother. Finally it the letter means something totally different to Dimmesdale, the father of the Hester’s adulterous baby. The scarlet letter is the back-story for the whole booknovel. It is one of the most symbolic symbols of the whole book. It causes us to really thing what the book is about.
Sin is the main theme in this novel and it is portrayed through each of the main character’s lives. Hester Prynne, the female protagonist in this novel, is a strong, beautiful, lovable woman. Due to her sin of committing adultery, she has to openly wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest. She wears her scarlet letter “A” ashamed because she knows that she committed the sin merely
Pearl is The Scarlet Letter Pearl is the living embodiment of the scarlet letter because she forces Hester and Dimmesdale to accept their sins. The Puritan society looks at Pearl as a child of the devil, and a black hearted girl because she is the result of sin. Hester and Dimmesdale are both in the same situation in Pearl's eyes. Pearl wants Hester to realize that she is not the worst person in the world before she removes the scarlet letter. Pearl wants Dimmesdale to accept his sin, and be part of their life publicly.
147-160) In lines 147-148, she curses this "detested" day on which her lock was "sn... ... middle of paper ... ...the helplessness of a beautiful woman like her in a society of men like the Baron. At times we are given the impression that the mistake was indeed hers when Belinda cites examples of things she could have done and should have done to prevent the rape of her lock. Such a reaction from Belinda reinforces the notion of the rape serving as a metaphor for a sexual rape. The reaction of many women in our time to sexual rape is almost exactly like Belinda's reaction to the rape of her lock. However, it becomes clear that Belinda is only over exaggerating after she goes on and on speaking of radical changes that would have prevented her loss.
As the novel commences, the Puritan officials had deem that Hester is to wear a scarlet "A" on her bosom for the rest of her natural life as a form of punishment for her sin. The Puritan community shuns her for the "A," meaning adultery. The other punishment that Hester received is Pearl. Pearl serves as the prominent symbol of the immoral love affair between Hester Pyrnne and the Reverend Dimmesdale. This realization dawns upon Hester when "her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token."
She shows Hester’s outer guilt and shame. When people look at Pearl they are reminded of Hester’s sin. Just as the book describes the scarlet letter to be beautiful and immaculate, Hester dresses Pearl in the same way. She dresses her with fancy and extrinsic dresses. It would seem as if Hester is trying to cover up her sin a shame with something else.
The people of the town were angry and astonished that Hester, a fair young lady, had sinned. To sin was a shameful thing to do and thus, in the early chapters of the book, Hester’s scarlet letter is perceived as a mark of sin and shame. As time passed, Hester was often referred to by the “A” that symbolized her sin. When she went to the Governor’s home, the young puritan children who were playing saw her approaching and exclaimed “Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter…!” (Hawthorne 93) On one occasion, the scarlet “A” virtually hid Hester, so that all that could be seen of her was her mark of sin. “…the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance…she seemed absolutely hidden behind it.” (Hawthorne 97) For ... ... middle of paper ... ...at have deemed me holy!