The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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, different characters experience passionate emotions like hatred, anger, and love. Hawthorne often describes characters in the heat of passion as fiery or glowing. When Chillingworth is enraged with his hatred of Dimmesdale it is as if his soul was on fire, and the glowing flames shone through his eyes with red light. Chillingworth had so little passion in his life before he reached the colony that this new intensity is like a blazing flame in his soul. Pearl is always alight with an enormous range of emotions from anger to sadness to joy. Hawthorne writes that she is, “the brightest jet to ever dance across the earth” (92). Pearl’s spirited emotions are like an ever-burning fire in her heart that shines out her soul and lights up her whole being. These descriptions show Hawthorne’s use of fire to represent the passionate sentiments that his characters experience.

The scarlet letter serves as a punishment for Hester’s adultery, an act that grew out of her passionate love with Dimmesdale. Like a burn, it is a painful reminder of the affection and intimacy they once shared. The symbol is ...

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...e fire of passion, and the stern gray of judgment can be found in the charred remains of punishment and pain.

Choices that are made because of passion set the course of The Scarlet Letter, from Hester and Dimmesdale’s adultery to Chillingworth’s fierce hatred. The character’s emotions are the fire that fuels the plot of this novel, and without them there would be no story. The consequences each character must bear as a result of their emotions are also an essential part of the plot; they are their physical and emotional scars. The metaphor of fire as passion can be found in countless places in literature, but Hawthorne expands on the comparison to include every aspect of fire and an enormous range of human emotions. Although they may be consumed with love or hatred, joy or rage, the flame of passion shines through all the main characters of The Scarlet Letter.