In the nineteenth century during the wake of the Industrial Revolution emerged the Romanticism era. The description of Romanticism categories as an artistic and intellectual movement characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's emotion and imagination, and rebellion against established social rules. Authors split Romanticism into two dissimilar paths, light and dark, and many chose the light side of Romanticism; But Nathaniel Hawthorne wanted to leave behind the tangible, rational light and discover the unsettling truth that lies in the dark, irrational depths of the human mind. In his novel The Scarlet letter, Hawthorne concocts the story of a young woman, Hester Prynne, found guilty of adultery and must wear a scarlet A on her dress as a sign of shame while also taking care of her new baby, Pearl. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, he uses various types of symbols in order to convey Romanticism in his novel.
To begin with, the novel starts off describing a prison door that holds much Romanticism. Hawthorne describes, “Certain it is, that, some fifteen or twenty years after the settlement of the town, the wooden jail was already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age, which gave a yet darker aspect to its
Hawthorne was a Dark Romantic who not only wanted to observe the darkness in life, but also the guilt that accompanies a Puritan’s conscience. While opening people’s eye to the blinding truth, Dark Romanticism revealed that life does not always reap a pleasant outcome. Through the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne explains that every story does not receive a happy ending. Even though people only want to perceive the light, darkness will come and suffocate the light; But thanks to Hawthorne and his dark romantic novels, people are now able to understand the darkness and try to keep it out of their
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, a sinner, living in a puritan society. As punishment, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter on her chest. Her daughter Pearl is the product of her sinful ways, and a constant reminder of her wrongdoing. Pearl’s embodiment of the Scarlet Letter causes her hostile relationships with the world and her mother. However, when Dimmesdale kisses her, he frees her from isolation and allows her to form human connections.
“And be the stern and sad truth spoken, that the breach which guilt has once made into the human soul is never, in this mortal state, repaired” (158). Arthur Dimmesdale confesses his sin, but it makes such a big impact on him that he will always be reminded of it. The sin leaves a “breach,” or a hole, in him which cannot be fixed. Living in a Puritan community also makes it that much harder for Dimmesdale to keep his secret. Since the religion is completely strict and absolutely prohibits sins like adultery, he has no choice but to feel guilt and regret. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel of gothic romanticism. It was written in the 1800s, but takes place in the 17th century. Hester Prynne lives in Boston, Massachusetts and commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She is punished by the town and has to wear a beautifully embroidered scarlet “A” on all of her clothes, which stands for “Adulterer.” The Reverend keeps his secret for many years while Hester’s husband, Roger Chillngworth, comes back to town and seeks revenge. Reverend Dimmesdale confesses his sin and ends up dying. The character Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the novel he is a healthy and intelligent minister, but towards the end, he becomes very guilty and emaciated.
The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes imagery to convey that Dimmesdale can represent Puritan Society rather than the round character that can be seen on the surface level. This is seen through the imagery and symbolism of hypocrisy, Dimmesdale as a Christ figure, and the scarlet letter.
The sunlight gives the reader a feeling of exposure and scrutiny. This feeling is later reveled to the reader by Hawthorne,
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne has an immense focus on symbolism and isn’t afraid to place it on nearly every page of The Scarlet Letter, through the darkness of guilt underneath the stellar night sky, to the shining of innocence portrayed through pearl, symbolism covers the pages beautifully, some may criticize the book for possessing too much symbolism, but there must be a main theme to every book, and The Scarlet Letter is no acceptance. Symbolism plays such a story driving part in The Scarlet Letter and yet portrayed subtly and obviously throughout, and without a doubt has seared the book into
“The Scarlet Letter is often regarded as the first novel to be published in the United States that used symbolism”(Voshell Study Guide). Author Nathaniel Hawthorne expressed symbolism in and all throughout The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne uses symbolism for two different reasons. One of the reasons is that the use of symbolism creates a more enlightened effect, and giving the story more of a memorable sense with the images of the darkness and light, the good and the bad/evil, nature and society, and freedom and oppression. The first symbol is the forest and the wilderness which is a symbol for free, wild place, shelter, safe haven, evil and horror. The forest is expressed is different symbols throughout the novel.
As a technician, Hawthorne’s style in literature was abundantly allegorical, using the characters and plot to acquire a connection and to show a moral lesson. His definition of romanticism was writing to show truths, which need not relate to history or reality. Human frailty and sorrow were the romantic topics, which Hawthorne focused on most, using them to finesse his characters and setting to exalt good and illustrate the horrors of immorality. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s experiences as a man, incite as a philosopher and skill as a technician can be seen when reading The Scarlet Letter.
The Scarlet letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The plot focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale, which means they are adulterers and sinners. As a result, Pearl is born and Hester is forced to where the scarlet letter. Pearl is a unique character. She is Hester’s human form of her scarlet letter, which constantly reminds her of her sin, yet at the same time, Pearl is a blessing to have since she represents the passion that Hester once had.
Hawthorne was a talented and skilled writer, who was greatly influenced by the the community in which he lived. Instead of giving in to society dashing his hopes of becoming a successful writer, he wrote about Hester to express himself and explain his conflicts with the crooked, oppressive society and beliefs of the time. He discusses the problems in a way that every reader can relate to and sympathize with the characters. He skillfully transforms a symbol of shame and sin into a symbol of maternity and nurturance. The Scarlet Letter is truly a symbol of believing in people's capabilities. It is a symbol of resistance to society if all it causes people to do is reject their identities and who they really are.
Hawthorne immediately utilizes diction in the opening sentence of “The Prison-Door,” depicting “a throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats… assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.” Using words such as “sad-colored” and “gray” to describe the gathering’s clothes, Hawthorne brings a somber and morose
The Scarlet Letter is about the Hester Prynne, a woman who was married, but got pregnant while the husband was away. This causes the town to ostracize her, especially because she does not reveal the identity of the baby's father. Then, Hester's husband comes back to town and tries to weed out the priest who has been the father the whole time, and make him sick with guilt. This book has many Romantic concepts throughout. The importance of the individual and the significance of nature are both very Romantic ideas that are strewn all throughout The Scarlet Letter. Romanticism was a movement that originated in the late 18th century. It was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Reason. Romanticism is mainly about the primacy of the individual and the importance of nature . Much of the big plans in the plot are made in the forest. Hawthorne almost always spends a little bit more time talking about nature when it appears. “This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness...” (42) Nathaniels spends about half of a page describing the past of the rose-bush. This shows how he cares about the importance of nature, which is one of the main concepts of Romanticism. The way The Scarlet Letter is written in first person-omniscient also shows how Hawthorne believes in the primacy of the individual. The focus on Hester explains the way this book has the Romantic concept of the primacy of the individual. Although the story is mainly focused on Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale, the adultering priest has many Romantic themes about him.
Hawthorne is a dark romantic because of his early life, dismal adulthood. He grew up without a father, when he was four his father died, leaving his mother and two sisters (Pearson 1). Pearson said the woods helped young Hawthorne heal, when he was young he was considered to be “delicate”, and Hawthorne became a reckless child injuring himself leaving him laid up for almost a year (1). While he was healing he developed a strong love for reading (1). When he was old enough he added a W to his name to escape his ancestor’s background because his great-great-grandfather was a judge at the Salem Witch Trials, and he was the only man to not apologize for sentencing innocent people to their deaths (Allen 454). “I take shame upon myself for their sakes and pray that any curse incurred by them…may now and henceforth removed” (454). Hawthorne was also fascinated by common man because he saw himself different from them, and he avoided failures daily (Bloom 33). Hawthorne didn’t waste his time “chatting” with people especially people who he thought of as fools (33). Hawthorne’s methods were to love and pity mankind more than he mocked them, he never created a character which didn’t possess a soul; another method was to write with a noble respect for his own...
The Scarlet Letter is a blend of realism, symbolism, and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses historical settings for this fictional novel and even gives historical background information for the inspiration of the story of Hester Prynne in the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, ‘The Custom-House’. The psychological exploration of the characters and the author’s use of realistic dialogue only add to the realism of the novel. The most obvious symbol of the novel is the actual scarlet letter ‘A’ that Hester wears on her chest every day, but Hawthorne also uses Hester’s daughter Pearl and their surroundings as symbols as well. Allegory is present as well in The Scarlet Letter and is created through the character types of several characters in the novel.