Scarlet Letter Symbolism

The Scarlet Letter is perhaps the greatest novel ever written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel is set in Boston, Massachusetts, during the middle of the seventeenth century and centralizes on one specific sin – adultery (“Key Facts” Web). As well as focusing on the sin committed by Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, the town minister, Hawthorne includes the internal, physical, and social consequences of such a sin within a Puritan society. In writing a novel such as The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne exposes the flaws within the Puritan society. Hawthorne incorporates much symbolism and irony into the The Scarlet Letter in order to help justify his reason and understanding of the flawed Puritan society.

The most notable and obvious symbol within The Scarlet Letter is the scarlet letter itself. The scarlet letter “A”, first appearing on the breast of Hester Prynne, “embodies the social aspect of Hester's sin,” being the reason of why “the townspeople reject her existence upon seeing the design” (M. Web). The Puritan society forces Hester to wear the scarlet letter, letting everyone know that she is an adulteress. By including a situation as this, Hawthorne shows how their faulty society works. According to Nina Baym, the Puritans “do not doubt the accuracy of their transcription” of God and His Word, and “In devising Hester’s particular punishment they plan to mark her in the human world as, in their view, God has already marked her in the invisible world” (Web). It is evident that they take sins, even the ones that do not involve them in any way, and broadcast them to the public. They feel like it is their part to intervene for God on earth to “mark” Hester with an “A”; therefore, instead of letting God be the only judge, they judg...

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...or example, in chapter twelve, Dimmesdale goes upon the scaffold at night while everyone is asleep in order to try to relive himself of his anxiety; however, during the day, he acts as his normal self and as if he never met Hester or Pearl.

Another theme that is significant in The Scarlet Letter is the difference between civilization and the wilderness. Civilization (Boston) is seen as a place of confinement, where everyone’s actions are watched and therefore limited. The wilderness, on the other hand, is seen as a place of freedom from the confinement of civilization – an escape; there are no rules in the wilderness. For instance, the wilderness is where Dimmesdale and Hester, along with Pearl, meet to talk. It would look bad on Dimmesdale’s reputation if he was seen talking to Hester and Pearl inside the town, resulting in their having to meet in the wilderness.