Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter as an exemplum on pride. His creation of Hester Prynne, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, and her selflessness was the moral behind keeping her alive. The characters in The Scarlet Letter are nothing more than symbols representing abstract qualities and are dispensable.
Names play an important role in The Scarlet Letter it is Hawthorne’s way of distinguishing not just the characters but their personalities. The latter is the most important when considering Hawthorne’s characters as abstract symbols. Dimmesdale is especially noted for his dark nature of concealing his association with Hester’s scarlet letter. His extreme selfishness and pride blinds him from what the Bible ahs taught him and in this aspect is a one dimensional character as are the Puritans. “Whom, but the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, half-frozen to death, overwhelmed with shame, and standing where Hester Prynne had stood!” (Hawthorne 139). His extreme fear of someone discovering his secret and losing his high status is just one way Hawthorne manipulates the characters to make the novel more didactic rather than a stream-of-consciousness.
“Hester recalls Hestia, the Greek goddess of the hearth and home, and Esther of the Old Testament, a woman who intercedes for her people and is often considered and image of inner strength coupled with beauty”(Pennell 83).
Each character is abstractly represented differently; Pearl as nature, Chillingworth as pure evil, Hester as selflessness and Dimmesdale as pride. Roger Chillingworth's…expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now there was something ugly and evil in his face” (Hawthorne 117). Hawthorne again is manipulating the characters to fit the exemplum. The easiest way to understand that the characters are in fact a symbol is to take into account the amount of themes, symbols and motifs Hawthorne incorporates in his novels. “The book is a moving series of symbols within a larger symbol from beginning to end…It is true that these characters are arbitrary manifestations of specific urges…They are not made of flesh and blood so much as they are made of moonlight and abstract qualities” (Gorman 7).
The characters are just disposed of when their purpose has been served. When Dimmesdale confesses his sins on the scaffold, the pride element of his character leaves so Hawthorne kills him off. “"The law we broke I--the sin here awfully revealed!--let these alone be in thy thoughts... God knows; and He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions…Had either of these agonies been wanting, I had been lost for ever! Praised be His name! His will be done! Farewell!"(Hawthorne 233).
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a truly outstanding author. His detailed descriptions and imagery will surely keep people interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years to come. In writing this book he used themes evident throughout the entirety of the novel. These themes are illustrated in what happens to the characters and how they react. By examining how these themes affect the main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, one can obtain a better understanding of what Hawthorne was trying to impress upon his readers.
Pearl is an example of the innocent result of sin. All the kids make fun of Pearl and they disclude her from everything. She never did anything wrong, but everyone treats her like she committed the sin also. Pearl acts out against the children that make fun of her and acts like a crazy child. She cannot control the sins that her parents committed.
People often keep secrets in an effort to hide their sins from others. This is a risky since secrets have a way of manifesting themselves externally, and thus, letting everyone know of their owner’s sins. Hidden sin is a prominent theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. Names like Chillingworth and Dimmesdale let the reader know how, in reality, these characters are, before ever really encountering them. Characters whom the reader will encounter in this novel are going through some type of dilemma on the inside, which begins to show itself in the exterior of the particular individual. In The Scarlet Letter, two studious individuals, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale, two of the main characters in the novel, each possess their own sins which begin to show themselves in their outermost features, each brought apon themselves for their own respective reasons.
In his essay On the Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence explores Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne. Lawrence focuses on and condemns Hester’s sin itself rather than its consequences. Instead of supporting Hawthorne's depiction of Hester as an innocent character, Lawrence sheds light on what he believes is her true character, a deceiver. He argues that Hester Prynne has a false appearance of purity through his use of critical diction, sarcastic tone, and biblical allusions.
Hester Prynne is seen by many as worthy of respect and admiration throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. She is ultimately seen as a hero in many areas of the novel. Literary critic Mark Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne is a heroic citizen who rises above the consequences of her sin. Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne should be seen as a noble hero through his use of repetition, praiseworthy diction, and admirable tone.
He defies the system of education by leaving the institution and starting his own school. He did this because he believed following a set system with rules would hurt his integrity. This similar act plays out in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the novel, main character Hester Prynne cares for her child despite what others think. She puts little importance to the townspeople's ridicule and judgement and continues to walk through the marketplace with her head held high. Hester keeps her integrity and continues to focus on her most important goal, which is to look after her daughter Pearl and give her all the love she deserves. Like Henry, Hester showed strength through her determination of keeping her strong moral principles and making her own decisions. Despite being judged and hated, Hester stayed sane and together because she had her integrity and knew the importance of defying against all external forces to be able to stick to what she believed
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon.
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 Scarlet Letter involves many characters that go through several changes during the course of the story. In particular, the young minister Dimmesdale, who commits adultery with Hester, greatly changes. He is the moral blossom of the book, the character that makes the most progress for the better. It is true that Dimmesdale, being a minister, should be the role model of the townspeople. He is the last person who should commit such an awful crime and lie about it, but in the end, he confesses to the town. Besides, everybody, including ministers, sin, and the fact that he confesses illustrates his courage and morality.
... the story. Dimmesdale is torn apart by the guilt of his concealed sin and his concealed letter A and ends up dying as a consequence. The leech, Chillingworth, is partly responsible for Dimmesdale’s agony and he himself suffers from his sinful leech-like actions of sucking another man's life force away. Pearl is born of sin and is a reminder of sin to her mother. She is airy and wild while the sin still traps her, but after Dimmesdale confesses and frees her from the sin, she represents hope because she can lead a normal life. While sin means something different to everyone, belief that one has sinned often has emotional consequences that are difficult to get past. Although our own experiences may not be as dramatic as those of the characters in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne reminds us that sin and its consequences are significant in shaping our lives and ourselves.
Symbolism is using a character or object to represent an idea. Hawthorne displayed much of it in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. He displays it in his characters and objects in the novel. He even symbolizes the book by calling it, “A tale of human frailty and sorrow.” Other displays of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, are like, the rosebush, the scaffold, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Symbolism can sometimes be hard to understand, or difficult to figure out what a character or object is symbolizing.
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.
In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth are portrayed as light and dark characters. Hawthorne portrays light and dark in these characters very well. It must have been a hardship trying to figure out how to write about such complex characters, and their journey from light to dark throughout the novel. This just goes to
One of Hester’s greatest qualities is her unrelenting selflessness. Despite her constant mental anguish due to her sin, the constant stares and rude comments, and the
The "human tenderness" Hester exerts shows how she did not care what the Puritans thought and acted. Her sin is also an example of her independence; Hester acted on her feelings and didn’t allow the Puritan’s views to interfere with her emotions.