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Critical analysis of scarlet letter
The symbolic meaning in the scarlet letter
Introduction to American literature
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American literature often focuses on the wrongs in human existence. Many of America’s greatest works of literature were written during the Romantic Period (1820 -1900).One novel that is consider a classic written during the Romantic period is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter is a great example of the asperity of sin. The novel ,The Scarlet Letter demonstrates the theme that deception and secrecy can be destructive through Hester Prynne ,Dimmesdale , and Chillingworth
First, Hester’s deception and secrecy lead to a destructive mark. Hester’s involvement with a man that was not her husband made her a symbol of women’s frailty and sinful passion. Hester’s mark is “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread, appeared the letter A . (50) Her creativity of making a symbol of sin appealing was not allowed by the grim Puritans . Hester decide to stay where her sin was committed , alienating her from the Puritan society making her even more of an outsider than she already was.” Lonely as was Hester’s situation, and without a friend on earth who dared to show himself, she, however, incurred no risk of want.’’ (75) Hester was lonely with only Pearl to share her life with. Hester at once beautiful had lost her beauty in the aftermath of her sin. “Even the attractiveness of her person had undergone a similar change.” (150)Hester decision to hide the fact that Chillingworth is her husband leads him to torture Dimmesdale.“ Your clutch is on his life , and you cause him to die daily a living death; and still he knows you not.” (156)
Next, Dimmesdale concealment of his guilt makes him deceive others and himsel...
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... by developing himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence, and adding fuel to those fiery tortures which he analyzed and gloated over. ( 155-56) His strength and energy withdrawing from him after the death of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth “ positively withered up, shriveled away and almost vanished from mortal sight. (236
The theme that deception and secrecy can be destructive was demonstrated
through Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter.
Hester Prynne ‘s secret of not telling Dimmesdale that Chillingworth was her husband made him torture Dimmesdale to his death. Dimmesdale deceives himself in not telling his sin and sacrifices his daughter, Pearl and his love for Hester. Chillingworth turns his scholarly nature into a devil. On the whole, be true to yourself.
Every action reaps its consequences. This veracity is revealed in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, published by Ticknor, Reed, and Fields in 1850. Categorized into the genre of romance, The Scarlet Letter has a solemn, dark, mysterious, and almost eerie mood. The historical novel is set in the strict Puritan society of seventeenth century Boston, Massachusetts. When the book begins, the past action of adultery has already been committed. The story then follows the characters involved in the dirty deed and skillfully details their responses to the consequences.
Hester Prynne had been tainted with sin once she had committed the crimme of adultry. Mistress Prynne has "raised a great scandal" in the town of Boston.(chapter 3) Hester left to the new world before her husband had. Her husband has not returneed in the past two years, and she had a daughter of three months. Meaning Hester has sinned by cheating on her husband and having anothers man's child. This goes against the Puritians ways of being holy which means Hester is not only a sinner but a criminal as well. Prynned had commited one of the seven deadly sins which is lust. She is put onto a platform so society may look down at her for commiting a sin. However Hester doesnt view herself as the worst sinner in the town of Boston but, views Chillingsworth as the worst sinner of all. In chapter 15 Hester states how Chillingsworth has "done me worse wrong than I have done him." Hester believes all of her memories with Chillingsworth have been her ugliest remembrances. She views him as a monster for marrying her and thinking that they could be happy since she was young and he was a old scholar. hester no longer see's her old husband but a deformed monster in his place. She disregards any happy memories she ever had with and believes he has deeply wronged her which makes him the biggest sinner of all for ruinnig Hesters life. Hester tries to seek justice by escaping to the o...
Normally when most people think of vampires, they envision a deathly, pale creature with fangs. But Thomas Foster seems to think differently, who argues that it is not necessary for a vampire to embody a stereotypical vampire. Surprisingly enough, even humans can be these types of monsters. From Foster 's perspective, being a vampire not only includes an individual 's aesthetics, but also their actions, personality, intent, and overall representation of personal identity. The classic novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, presents an excellent example of this occurrence, where the character Roger Chillingworth meets the criteria of a vampiric figure, based on Thomas Foster 's ideas of vampirism, found in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthrone masterfully weaves many themes and uses character development to format the plot of this novel. The themes of The Scarlet Letter are carried out through the four main characters -- Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingsworth, and Pearl -- and also through symbolism. In this novel, Hawthrone hoped to show that although Hester and Dimmesdale sinned, they achieved the wisdom of self knowledge and inner growth through their suffering.
Roger Chillingworth is Hester’s husband, and an eminent scholar. After seeing Hester in disgrace and refusal to identify her fellow sinner, Chillingworth vows to find out who Hester’s fellow sinner is and punish him, which he eventually does. As indicated by his name, Roger Chillingworth brings a “chill” to Dimmesdale’s life, freezing Dimmesdale’s soul and endlessly tormenting him. Chillingworth represents Unpardonable Sin, because he sets himself up as God, punishing Dimmesdale for sinning with his wife. Just as the others physically change to mirror their internal transformation, so too does Chillingworth. He becomes more demonic as the novel progresses, morphing from a curious scholar to a caricature of the devil. Even Hester pondered “whether
Had Chillingworth returned to see Hester with open arms, he might have lived out a full and happy life; Hearing that Hester was impregnated with another man’s child by a complete stranger was terribly painful and emotionally distressing. It drove him to dedicating his life to hunting this man down and murdering him with his own hands. Hester knew he was a very intelligent man, a scholar and a kind and thoughtful person, but she watched him throw away his talent and skill while he pursued Dimmesdale. The readers feel empathy toward Chillingworth because they know that he could have led a very successful life with a family, but he watched from the sidelines as his own wife raised her child without him. Chillingworth returned to Boston expecting a warm welcome and celebration, but instead hid behind a new identity to find out who ruined his life and put his wife on display on the scaffold. Being revealed to his full story changes the readers’ impression of him, because the author shows the audience a side to him that is hidden beneath his cruel exterior. Every character has depth and even though one must dig deep to unveil Chillingworth’s broken and fragile heart, it is still there, and proves him to be a sympathetic
At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...
Chillingworth and Dimmesdale stood in the crowd watching her. Chillingworth is incensed over her sinfulness and vows to find out the identity of her partner so that he can have his revenge. is tormented by Chillingworth. As a result, Dimmesdale suffers from failing health as well as from guilt. He tries to confess and cannot find the courage to do it.
Chillingworth is trying to convince Dimmesdale not to confess he’s Hester’s lover because he’s afraid of losing his source of power. Once Dimmesdale refuses Chillingworth and confesses to everyone, “Old Roger Chillingworth knelt down beside him, with a blank, dull countenance, out of which the life seemed to have deported.” (Hawthorne p. 251) Chillingworth feels worthless and becomes lifeless once Dimmesdale confesses. It’s as if Chillingworth’s soul (or whatever was left of it) left his body and he became nothing. Chillingworth allowed his obsession to consume him so much that once he lost that source, he lost his life. After Dimmesdale’s death, Chillingworth shrivelled away because he no longer felt a need to stay. He’s described as, “This unhappy man [who] had made the very principle of his life to consist in the pursuit and systematic exercise of revenge, and when… there was no more devil’s work on earth for him to do, it only remained for the unhumanized mortal to betake himself whither his Master would find him tasks enough…” (Hawthorne p. 254) Chillingworth was wrapped in a cloak of corruption, and once his revenge was finished, he felt unfulfilled and empty. He allowed his obsession to become his only aspect in
When Chillingworth learns that Dimmesdale was the man who commits the adulteress act with his wife he becomes fixated on getting revenge. His thirst for revenge was the only objective on his mind “This unhappy person had effected such a transformation by devoting himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence,” (Hawthorn 157). Due to his fixation on revenge Chillingworth’s physical features have declined as he is now appearing as a mere replica of the devil as he begins embracing the evil that lurks within him. Dimmesdale has no other objectives each day besides causing chaos and this takes a toll on his body. After Dimmesdale delivers his sermon Chillingworth attempts to stop Hester and Dimmesdale from sharing the truth about their relationship in fear that they become happier than him. As Chillingworth rushes to the marketplace and his appearance is noted as he “thrust himself through the crowd, --or perhaps, so dark, disturbed, and evil was his look, he rose out of another region, --to snatch back his victim from what he sought to do!,” (235). Now, there is no point of return for Chillingworth not a glimpse of his previous self can be found in the fiend standing in the marketplace. The devil has crawled into his heart clutching it, causing his physical
Although perceived as two utterly different men, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth share some remarkable similarities. Lying is one of these connections, as both men lie to one another concerning their connections to Hester and she conceals the secrets of their connections to her as well. Inquisitive as to whom Hester loved Chillingworth questions her, and she replies, “That thou shalt never know!” (86), so Chillingworth says to Hester “Breathe not, to any human soul, that thou dost ever call me husband!” (88), and she replies, “I will keep thy secret, as I have this” (88). Even though one would suppose both men to have significant roles in Hester’s life, they distance themselves and pretend as
“A bloody scourge…rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance.” (Hawthorne, 141) In the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Minister Dimmesdale starved himself, whipped himself, and tortured himself to get rid of the guilt caused by his sin with Hester Prynne. Hawthorne describes the minister’s guilt as the evil that anchored him down and shows how Dimmesdale tortures himself but can never get rid of it. His guilt came from many things. First was his guilt for committing the crime with Hester Prynne. Second is his guilt for not being with her at the time that she was put upon the scaffold. Last was his guilt from not revealing himself to his own daughter and from having to stay out of her life due to fear of being shamed by the community. Hawthorne’s views on guilt and Dimmesdale are mostly that his guilt controlled his life completely until the very end when the power of the sin and guilt took over to the point where he couldn’t control himself.
He who plays with fire is bound to get burned. This commonplace expression outlines the painful outcome of trifling with things as wild and uncontrollable as fire. Sometimes, powerful, passionate sentiments are like a fire that we lose control of, and lead to unintended outcomes. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, characters’ emotions in the heat of the moment often cause them to make decisions with devastating consequences. In the novel Hawthorne uses fire to symbolize the passions in the hearts of his characters, and the results of fire (cinders, burns, embers) to symbolize the repercussions of those passions.
Throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester’s experiences in and out of the Puritan society and the weight of the scarlet letter change her in many ways, including her level of confidence, her appearance and her outlook on the Puritan people, and the way she feels about the letter “A”. Due to the sin committed by Hester she became the outcast of the Puritan community. She was forced to begin a new life on her own with no support from anyone. The sudden vicissitudes in her life cause a great transformation in Hester.
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.