Use Of Romanticism And Intuition In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter: Romanticism and Intuition

During the romanticism period, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the novel, The Scarlet Letter, which used the romanticist idea of deep intuition and inner feelings, allowing the characters to have insight of the plots and secrets hidden in the strict Puritan community that they lived in. Throughout the novel many of the characters have this intuition, making the book more alluring to readers when trying to figure out what each character really knows.

At the beginning of the novel, we are shown Pearl's natural child-like instincts for the Preacher, who is actually her father. When Pearl was first a baby, Hester and she were shamed on the scaffold while Reverend Dimmesdale, her father, preached to the awed crowd of the deep sin committed by Hester. Pearl reached out for him, "and held up its little arms," (pg. 68) as if reaching for

She first tried to persuade Hester to join the witches by coming to the Black Man's meeting in the woods. Mistress Hibbins knew of the bad circumstances and knew Hester was close to not caring enough to sign her name in the Black Man's book. Hester even answered her saying she would have "willingly gone with thee [Hibbins] into the forest, and signed my [Hester's] name in the Black Man's book." (pg. 119) She also scared Pearl telling her of how her mother had come and signed her name already to the point of Pearl inquiring her mother of it, who admitted it and was not aware that Mistress Hibbins had filled her mind with all these evil thoughts . And she too, knew of her rendevous in the woods with Dimmesdale and made comment of it to him of it the next day in the town telling him, "‘So Reverend Sir, you've made a visit into the forest,' observed the witch lady." (pg.