In a story about sin, passion, guilt, and punishment an assumption would be that Nature wouldn’t have that big of a part in The Scarlet Letter, but in fact it does and an important one. Within the first chapter it is already established that Nature will be an important figure by providing clarification and, in some cases, beauty when the scene requires. These cases range from the sun casting down upon Hester as she first steps out from the prison to a red flash lighting up the sky after Dimmesdale holds hands with Pearl and Hester on the scaffold. Nature is used by Nathaniel Hawthorne within The Scarlet Letter to emphasize important events throughout the novel by including elements that add significance and symbolism. In The Scarlet Letter, …show more content…
When Hester first steps into the thick trees with Pearl at her side, a dark, almost gloomy mood is sensed by the reader. The sunlight is hidden by vast amounts of heavy foliage preventing all, save a ray or two, from peeking through the leaves. Hester and Dimmesdale have a “chance” meeting during which they divulge their regrets and guilt. This emotional expulsion causes the forest scene to change dramatically, new hope and the rekindling of old love replaces the mood setting that was once filled with sadness and shame. This is especially true when Hester removes her cap and the scarlet letter from her bosom and Nature seems to respond, “All at once, as with a smile from heaven, forth burst the sunshine [...] The objects that had made a shadow hitherto embodied the brightness now” (pg. 199). It would seem that Nature sympathized for Hester and approved of the love between the two. Add …show more content…
One of our very first encounters with it is in the form of a red rosebush growing just outside the prison doors, “But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rosebush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.” (pg. 46). This line indicates that the rosebush is the first and last thing any prisoner will see as they walk across the threshold through the oak doors. The bush cannot be ignored and isn’t, it is acknowledged by the townspeople and believed to be there as a reminder of Nature’s beauty along with it’s forgiveness. The flower provides just a sliver of hope to its observer among its condemning, Puritan
The Scarlet Letter is a tale of constant trial and punishment. For Hester Prynne, there is no escape from the shame and belittlement she has been forced to endure within puritan society. However, like the puritans who had escaped prosecution by migrating from England to the New World, characters in The Scarlet Letter can escape the prosecution of puritan society by visiting the forest. It is a symbolic realm that embodies freedom and privacy, and the only sanctuary for those who seek liberty to express their true nature, whether it be through acts of love, or heresy. The forest as a symbol of escape from puritan society is persistent throughout the novel through its use by the witches and the Black Man, Dimmesdale and Hester?s interactions there, and Pearl?s union with nature there.
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism several times in the book, The Scarlet Letter. Some examples of this are when they talk of the scaffold, the brook, the forest, and the sunshine. The one that I will discuss is the sunshine. Hawthorne uses sunshine in the novel to symbolize purity and hope several times throughout the book. In one scene of the book, Pearl requests that Hester grab some sunshine and give it to her to play with. Hester then replies, "No, my little Pearl! Thou must gather thine own sunshine. I have none to give thee." (p.104) Hester has no sunshine to give Pearl because she has committed adultery and is not pure. Another example is when Hester and Pearl are taking a walk through the forest when a dark cloud came over the sky and Pearl said, "Mother," said little Pearl, "the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom." Pearl says this just innocently playing around, not having a clue of exactly how right she is. She says that the sun fears the "A" and avoids the impurity of it at all costs, even disappearing from the sky. Later in that walk, Hawthorne again shows how the sun refuses to be around Hester and her sin. Hester tells Pearl to run off and catch the sun and so she sets off at a great pace and, in her innocence, she seemingly catches it and stands right in the midst of it. Hester comes over and attempts to come over bask in the sunshine and Pearl says, while shaking her head, "It will go now." Hester replies, "See! Now I can stretch out my hand and grasp some of it," but "As she attempted to do so, the sunshine vanished." This shows how the sun, being pure, adorned the Pearl in her innocence, while it shunned Hester for her impurity. Hawthorne shows the symbol of sunshine best in the chapter appropriately titled, "A Flood of Sunshine." In this particular scene, Dimmesdale and Hester are discussing what Dimmesdale will do about the current situation with their relationship. Dimmesdale announces that he will leave the community, and he must do it alone. In the heat of the moment Hester declares that he will not have to go alone, and she takes off her bonnet and throws down the
In the early pages of the first chapter of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne is already using personification involving nature. “But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush…which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him” (Hawthorne 41). This personification of the rosebush serves as a
The Symbolic Use of Nature in The Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very important and symbolic role. Hawthorne uses nature to convey the mood of a scene, to describe characters, and to link the natural elements with human nature. Many of the passages that have to do with nature accomplish more than one of these ideas. All throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line.
Present day churches can be filled with hypocrites. Some members and religious leaders go to church to look nice and appealing to someone else. They present themselves as holy and perfect and incapable of doing wrong, but they know they are far from that. As hard as they may try to look and act like the perfect being, the truth of their imperfect ways will be revealed for all to know. This is the case with the character or Arthur Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale appears incorruptible, revered and strong, but in reality he was corrupt, dishonest, and weak.
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.
First of all, in the town Hester and Pearl are looked down as sinners. Hester does a lot of charity work for the poor, but even the needy look down on her because of the letter upon her bosom. The town is where Hester gets bullied for her identity in the Puritan society. To contrast that, the forest differs because that is where there isn’t anybody to judge her . Pearl can play happily there without anybody looking at her as if she’s the devil’s child.
When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest, they discuss their true feelings about their experiences since Hester was branded with the scarlet letter. Hawthorne describes how, “No golden light had ever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest” (192). The rare presence of light in this otherwise dark situation symbolizes the relief both Hester and Dimmesdale feel after sharing the truth about Dimmesdale’s torturous guilt and Hester’s marriage to Chillingworth. In every scene previous to this one, the forest is associated with witchcraft, evil, darkness, and secrets. This prior association is contrasted by the shedding of sunshine on the sinful pair after releasing the last of their secrets. This scene is a turning point in the novel and shows how despite Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin and the consequences they’ve had to suffer for it, they are able to find some peace in the fact that they have confided in each other and fully admitted their
When Hester first realizes that Dimmesdale will run away her she is ecstatic. It seems as if in that moment she is surprised but enlightened. From the quote “The decision once made, a glow of strange enjoyment threw its flickering brightness over the trouble of his breast.” It is evident that some light be it natural or figurative begins to creep its way across Hester. Her happiness and excitement seem to overcome her as she realizes her new life is about to being. Another example of the couple’s newfound freedom is clearly visible in the next paragraph as Hester unpins her letter and undoes her headwear. The couple’s love is re emerging and they finally have the burden of sin and guilt lifted off of them. Dimmesdale exclaims “This is already the better life! Why did we not find it sooner?” And to no surprise “as if the gloom of the earth and sky had been but the effluence of these two mortal hearts, it vanished with their sorrow. All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest”. This displays how the gloom in their lives has been lifted and a new brighter age in on their horizons. Also, the influx of light emphasis the way that all these happy and joyful emotions, which they are feeling for the first time, have flooded into their lives like light into the
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very symbolic role. Throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line. One example of this is with the character of Pearl. Pearl is very different than all the other characters due to her special relationship with Nature. Hawthorne personifies Nature as sympathetic towards sins against the puritan way of life. Hester's sin causes Nature to accept Pearl.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, nature and Pearl are depicted as innocence and evil. Hester brings her daughter, Pearl, to live in the forest because they are not accepted by society due to the Scarlet letter. The relationship between these two is Pearl creates a bond with nature mentally since society rejects her as a product of sin. Nature is viewed in the eyes of a Puritan as a place where witches live to perform witchcraft and where darkness inhabits. However, the relationship between nature and Pearl gives her freedom and growth.
C/I: There has to be a reason why the townspeople would put such a beautiful thing (the rosebush) next to something so depressing (the jail).
Hawthorne consistently places Hester in shade to portray her as sinful and hiding the truth. In the beginning of the novel, Hester spends days in prison with Pearl. When Hester and Pearl are finally released, Hester is described as "a black shadow emerging into the sunshine"(49). Within the sunshine is a sinless group of plebeians awaiting the emergence of Hester. In another important scene, Pearl and Hester visit Governor Bellingham's mansion. Bellingham greets Hester with four men at his side. One of the men is Hester's "partner in crime," Arthur Dimmesdale. As soon as he enters the room, a shadow from the window curtain is cast upon Hester. Both Hester and Dimmesdale are trying to conceal Dimmesdale's sin just as the shadow is concealing Hester. Even in Hester's own secluded cabin, she is not welcome into light. In chapter 13, Hester can only be contained in her "darkened house"(148). When sunshine is present, she is not and her shadow fades "across the threshold"(148). Hawthorne continues to impound the idea of Hester's concealment in a scene taken place in the forest. As Hester and Pearl walk through the forest to meet Dimmesdale, sunshine is erased with each step Hester takes. Even Pearl notices this and says, ."..The sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself..."(168). Hawthorne cannot get any more apparent with his symbolism of dark involving Hester.
Throughout history, imagery has been used in literature to provide an emotional depth and prevalence to literary works that would otherwise be lost in time. The Scarlet Letter is an emotional, Puritan-era novel that focuses on the harsh and controversial topics of adultery, sin, hypocrisy, and judgment. The Scarlet Letter tells the sentimental story of Hester Prynne, a young Puritan woman who has been condemned to wear a scarlet A after she commits adultery and creates an illegitimate child, Pearl, with the holy Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, employs a unique and nonpareil style that incorporates antiquated words, thought-provoking symbolism, and rich irony. Hawthorne’s writing style provides a deep meaning to many everyday objects such as a rosebush and a prison door. One of the most important objects, the scarlet letter, experiences many transformations in its symbolism. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, the eponymous scarlet letter assumes the role as a beautiful symbol of sin and adultery, a material representation of Pearl, and a manifestation of holiness and strength.
One of the central themes of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the idea of how nature bridges a connection with human beings. In the novel, Hawthorne can be thought to portray nature as a human like entity. That is, in the novel, nature, much like a human, is capable of observing, responding, reacting to, and interacting with the characters. That being said, in this case, nature goes by both definitions of the word. For instance, nature as the wild, untamed outdoors, as well as human nature. As each day cycles through night and day (or light and darkness), so do the events (of the novel) take place during the light of day or under the cover of darkness. What should be noted is that these