Through Pearl’s, Hester Prynne’s, and Arthur Dimmesdale’s interactions with nature in The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne concedes that the Transcendental belief in the connection between man and nature exists and hints at one’s spiritual purity, but he adds that the connections between man and nature sometimes results in aiding the sinner on the path of attaining salvation and in the individual gaining wisdom and compassion, while other times the sinner receives corrupt knowledge leading to weakness and eventual destruction, death, and damnation. Therefore, sin’s consequences present a paradox because the channeling of sin to salvation results in wisdom, compassion, and strength; conversely, sin can also lead to suffering and eventual destruction, death, and damnation.
Through Pearl’s interaction with nature, Hawthorne depicts how the Transcendental connection between man and nature hints at one’s spiritual purity and whether one will attain salvation, while also illustrating that if on the path to salvation, individuals garner wisdom, strength, and compassion, one side of sin’s paradox. In “A Forest Walk”, Hester attempts to grab sunshine, but “the sunshine vanished” (Hawthorne 144). Yet, the sunshine flees not from Pearl but rather becomes “glad of such a playmate” (Hawthorne 144) because as Ralph Waldo Emerson writes in “Nature”, “The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child” (Emerson). In this case, Hawthorne undeniably espouses this view brought forth by Emerson and the Transcendentalists because Pearl, nothing “but a child” (Hawthorne 144) embodies and takes in the sunshine. In fact, Marjorie J. Elder recognizes this notion saying that the “sunshine sympathizes ...
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...of attaining salvation and in the individual gaining wisdom and compassion, while other times the sinner receives corrupt knowledge leading to weakness and eventual destruction, death, and damnation.
Works Cited
Cirlot, J. E. "Sun." A Dictionary of Symbols. Trans. Jack Sage. 2nd ed. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002. 317-20. Print.
Elder, Marjorie J. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Transcendental Symbolist. Ohio UP, 1969. Print.
Emerson, Ralph W. “Nature.” Boston, 1849. Project Gutenberg. Web. 2 April 11.
Grodzins, Dean D. "Nature." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. Ed. Wesley T. Mott. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. 132-34. Print.
Gura, Philip F. American Transcendentalism: a History. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007. Print.
Samson, M. D. "Landscape Aesthetics." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. Ed. Wesley T. Mott. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. 97-99. Print.
In the novel The Scarlet Letter and the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Nathaniel Hawthorne incorporates romantic elements, such as beauty, truth, innocence, and sin, in his criticism of Puritan societies. In both texts, Hawthorne argues that all people, even those in strictly religious societies with corrupted standards, are capable of sin. Hawthorne uses symbolism and light and dark imagery to convey his argument.
“Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy.” U.S. History Online Textbook. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very symbolic role. Throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line. One example of this is with the character of Pearl. Pearl is very different than all the other characters due to her special relationship with Nature. Hawthorne personifies Nature as sympathetic towards sins against the puritan way of life. Hester's sin causes Nature to accept Pearl.
Life is unpredictable, and through trial and error humanity learns how to respond to conflicts and learns how to benefit from mistakes. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a character who changes and gains knowledge from the trials he faces, but first he has to go through physical, spiritual, and emotional agony. In the midst of all the havoc, the young theologian is contaminated with evil but fortunately his character develops from fragile to powerful, and the transformation Dimmesdale undergoes contributes to the plot’s climax.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the reader is able to observe how one sin devastates three lives. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all guilty of succumbing to temptation, anger, and desire, causing all to fit the definition of a sinner. Yet, Chillingworth's iniquities raise him up above Hester and Dimmesdale on the level of diabolic acts.
In his first chapter entitled Nature Emerson writes “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.”(615) This reflects his feelings towards society and how it must be left behind to truly find God. Later in this chapter he marvels over how God Had made the atmosphere in such a way that we can see the rest of the universe, God’s almighty handiwork. Emerson ponders just what the future generations of people will still appreciate the city of stars God has provided. In Nature Emerson also expresses his love and admiration for the poet when he writes how a woodcutter sees a tree as a stick of timber where the poet sees it for what it is, a tree. Also in this first chapter Emerson expresses his transcendental belief that children are closer to God when he writes, “The sun illuminates only the eye of a man, but shines into the eye and the heart of a child.”(616). From this first chapter we can tell that Emerson had an almost insatiable love of nature, he believed that god was all around us, in our fields, our forests, and our rivers.
Hawthorne flirts with many forms of symbolism through nature, including the innocence and joy sunlight brings, to the fear and guilt of the graveyard weed. Throughout the book, Hawthorne associates Pearl’s childlike wonder with bright scenes and dancing sunlight. A passage with reference to sunlight seldom exists in the absence of Pearl. The reason for this must be that sunlight represents a child’s unadulterated soul and
Nathanial Hawthorne, an American author during the 19th century witnessed the power of sin to wreak havoc not only to an individual but a whole community. His novel The Scarlet Letter expresses this very idea by exposing the follies of mankind and the potentially detrimental effects of sin trough Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth who all affected by sin in different ways. Utilizing powerful symbols and light/dark imagery, Hawthorne conveys to the readers, through these characters, the power of how one’s response to sin can positively change an individual or gradually destroy one by spreading like a contagious disease and ultimately consuming the victim.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel. Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel. In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects. Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters. The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way. Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.
4) Marshall, William. From A Review of the Landscape, a Didactic Poem, 1795. in The Sublime: A Reader in British 18th Century Aesthetic Theory. Ed. Ashfield, Andrew and de Bolla, Peter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Guilt, shame, and penitence are just a few of the emotions that are often associated with a great act of sin. Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister of a 17th century Puritan community, is true example of this as he was somehow affected by all of these emotions after committing adultery. Due to the seven years of torturous internal struggle that finally resulted in his untimely death, Mr. Dimmesdale is the character who suffered the most throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s ever present guilt and boundless penance cause him an ongoing mental struggle of remorse and his conscience as well as deep physical pain from deprivation and self inflicted wounds. The external influence of the members of his society
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, proves to be a sinner against man, against God and most importantly against himself because he has committed adultery with Hester Prynne, resulting in an illegitimate child, Pearl. His sinning against himself, for which he ultimately paid the
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, nature and Pearl are depicted as innocence and evil. Hester brings her daughter, Pearl, to live in the forest because they are not accepted by society due to the Scarlet letter. The relationship between these two is Pearl creates a bond with nature mentally since society rejects her as a product of sin. Nature is viewed in the eyes of a Puritan as a place where witches live to perform witchcraft and where darkness inhabits. However, the relationship between nature and Pearl gives her freedom and growth.
Nature is often a focal point for many author’s works, whether it is expressed through lyrics, short stories, or poetry. Authors are given a cornucopia of pictures and descriptions of nature’s splendor that they can reproduce through words. It is because of this that more often than not a reader is faced with multiple approaches and descriptions to the way nature is portrayed. Some authors tend to look at nature from a deeper and personal observation as in William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, while other authors tend to focus on a more religious beauty within nature as show in Gerard Manley Hopkins “Pied Beauty”, suggesting to the reader that while to each their own there is always a beauty to be found in nature and nature’s beauty can be uplifting for the human spirit both on a visual and spiritual level.
Through the ingenious works of poetry the role of nature has imprinted the 18th and 19th century with a mark of significance. The common terminology ‘nature’ has been reflected by our greatest poets in different meanings and understanding; Alexander Pope believed in reason and moderation, whereas Blake and Wordsworth embraced passion and imagination.