What Does The Prison Door Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

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Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter Many authors use symbolism. Some authors for example are William Shakespeare and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Also, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, he uses symbolism in the first chapter one he talks about a prison door. The prison door symbolises the Puritan community, at a door that's "heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes" (1.1). Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism in every chapter including chapters 1-8,9-16, and 17-24.
In more ways than one Nathaniel hawthorne uses symbolism a lot throughout chapters 1-8. In chapter one The Prison Door, the novel begins with Hester Prynne standing on a scaffold in front of a prison in Boston in the 1600s. Near a prison door, a rosebush was growing. …show more content…

Chapter Thirteen – Another View Of Hester , several years have passed since pearl was born, Hester has changed in many ways. The village people no longer view the A as a symbol of adultery. They now believe it stands for “Able.” Hester begins to question aspects of her life such as her feelings about Pearl and her decision to keep Chillingworth’s identity a secret. And again in chapter fourteen, Hester And The Physician- Hester decides to tell Chillingworth to stop causing the minister pain. Here, we learn that Chillingworth knows that Dimmesdale was the man Hester had an affair with. Chillingworth becomes the epitome of evil in this chapter, and Hester begs him to no longer exact revenge on the minister. Chapter Fifteen – Hester And Pearl After the meeting with Chillingworth, Hester finds Pearl near the beach. Hester asks Pearl what she thinks the scarlet letter stands for and is surprised when Pearl makes a what it means.. Chapter Sixteen – A Forest Walk- In “A Forest Walk,” Hester and Pearl wait in the forest for Dimmesdale so that Hester can reveal Chillingworth’s secret identity to him. Pearl wonders if the man her mother is waiting for is the “Black Man” that she keeps hearing about, many believe that the “Black Man” is Satan. Hawthorne chose the man to be black because black is usually a symbol of death so it would only fit right if the man was

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