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Critical analysis over the scarlet letter
The relationship between Hawthorne and the scarlet letter
Hawthorne's view on sin and evil in the scarlet letter
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Recommended: Critical analysis over the scarlet letter
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the “A” that Hester wears has significant meanings to all four major characters. In the novel, the “A” that Hester Prynne wears upon her breast represents adultery. The “A” is very important to the story because it represents Hester 's sin. The novel revolves around the “A” so without the “A” there would be no story. Just as the “A” affects Hester it affects Dimmesdale, Pearl, Chillingworth, and the people of the town as well.
To Hester, the main character and the wearer of the scarlet letter, the “A” symbolizes a lot more than the other characters in the novel. The main meaning of the “A” to Hester is that she shall be bound to her sin for life. Hester is judged by all for the letter she wears because of the adulterous sin has she committed. The scarlet letter teaches Hester different things about herself and others around her. “The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other
Chillingworth is Hester’s secret husband. When Chillingworth sees the “A” on Hester’s breast, he is reminded that his wife committed adultery. The “A” proves to Chillingworth he was never truly loved by Hester and is motivated to find out the identity of Pearl’s father. The “A” causes Chillingworth’s physical appearance to change because of his anger and ongoing quest to find identity of the father.
Although, the “A” takes on a significant meaning to the four major characters in the novel, it also affects the community. To the community, the “A” helps them recognize Hester’s sin. The community is also intrigued by the “A” because it provides them with social events to watch and partake in occasionally." 'Never! ' Replied Hester Prynne, looking, not at Mr. Wilson, but into the deep and troubled eyes of the younger clergyman [Dimmesdale]. 'It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!
Through the rhetorical device characterization, Hawthorne is able to promote his motive of exposing the audience to the life lesson: People grow stronger by recognizing their own weakness. Hester Prynne, the female protagonist in the Scarlet Letter charged with adultery, is forced to wear the embroidered letter “A” on her chest to symbolize the stigma of her sin. In the beginning of the novel,
Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter “A” that Hester Prynne was required to wear as an inanimate symbol of her adultery. She had to bear the sin with her as long as she rested in that town. Pearl, Hester’s daughter from the affair, was the living, breathing symbol of her past sin. As many years passed, Hester began to wear the letter with pride and changed the meaning in her mind to ability. This was significant because it demonstrated her capability to overcome the stares and judgements from her fellow townspeople and to learn to be proud of her daughter, a gift from god. The adultery in The Scarlet Letter relates to The Great Gatsby in many ways.
Hawthorn's Novel, The Scarlet Letter, is brimming with many vivid symbols, the most apparent of which is the scarlet letter "A", that Hester Prynne is made to wear upon her chest. Throughout the novel, hawthorn presents the scarlet letter to the reader in a variety of ways. Yet an important question emerges, as the life of Hester Prynne is described, which deals with the affects that both the scarlet letter and Hester have on each other. There is no clear-cut answer to this question, as many examples supporting both arguments can be found throughout the novel. The letter obviously causes Hester much grief, as she is mocked and ostracized by many of the townspeople, yet on the other hand, later in the novel Hester's courage and pride help to change the meaning of scarlet letter in the eyes of both herself and the public.
In the beginning of the novel, Hester Prynne exits the prison of the Puritan community of Boston, a large letter “A” clearly visible on her chest and a child in her arms. This is the first time the letter makes an appearance, and it is here where readers realize Hester has done something terribly wrong. The letter “A” sewn onto her clothes initially represents “adulterer”, but who exactly is the father of Pearl, the child Hester is holding, if her husband has been missing for two years? The townspeople would love to know the answer to that question, too, but it is only revealed to readers a few chapters into the story as being the unexpected Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale faces an
With sin there is personal growth, and as a symbol of her sin, Hester’s scarlet “A” evokes development of her human character. The Puritan town of Boston became suspicious when Hester Prynne became pregnant despite her husband being gone. Being a heavily religious village, the townspeople punished Hester for her sin of adultery with the burden of wearing a scarlet “A” on all that she wears. Initially the...
Gross shows his in depth interpretation of the novel by analyzing parts that we just assume and move on. “In Hester’s view, as we have already said, she has not sinned against community, husband, or God; but she has sinned against Dimmesdale (it is a convenient coincidence that the “A” she wears is the initial of her lover’s first name)”. (337) Gross brings across an aspect of the novel most people overlook, most people when analyzing the novel assume the “A” stands for Adultery, and don’t go in depth with the meaning of it. Gross, however analyzes the symbol more in depth and finds another important meaning of it. “ The absence of pain is not happiness, yet the absence of pain is all she allows herself to hope for. Hester accepts this life…for herself because she loves the man she ruined.” (339) This quote shows that gross believes Hester does not feel pity for herself, but for what she did to Arthur Dimmesdale. It shows the in depth thought process and reasoning behind his belief, by showing her acceptance yet unhappy state she is in.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “ The Scarlet Letter’’ is a classical story about sin, punishment and revenge. It all began with a young woman named Hester Prynne who has committed adultery, and gave birth to a child in a Puritan society. Through the eyes of the puritans Hester has gone against their religious ways. Hester must now wear the symbol of the letter “A” on her clothing for the rest of her life as act of shame. Hester Prynne faces a long journey ahead and her strength enables her to continue on.
Six Works Cited In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the meaning of the letter "A" changes throughout the novel. This change is significant as it indicates the personal growth of the characters as well as the enlightenment of the townspeople. When the novel begins, the letter "A" is a symbol of sin. As the story progresses the “A” slowly transforms to a symbol of Hester’s strength and ability. By the end of the novel, the letter “A” has undergone a complete metamorphisis and represents the respect that Hester has for herself.
The scarlet "A" is the most important symbol in the Scarlet Letter. The letter "A" does not have a "universally symbolic relationship" with adultery. The letter "A" was the first letter of adultery and the Puritans put the negative connotation on the letter. The community interprets the cosmic "A" as Angel, signifying the passing of Governor Winthrop. The letter on Hester's bosom represented the sin of adultery, yet as that it meant different things to Hester, Dimsdale, Pearl, Chillingworth and the Puritan community. To Hester it represented "alienation and unjust humiliation" .
In The Scarlet Letter, symbolism in the symbolism in this novel plays a large part in the novel, in the scarlet letter “A” as a symbol of sin and then it gradually changes its meaning, guiltiness is symbolic in the novel, and of course the living evidence of the adulterous act, Pearl. The actions of Pearl, Dimmesdale and fate all return the letter of Hester. They give Hester the responsibilities of a sinner, but also the possibility to reconcile with her community, Dimmesdale and the chance to clean her reputation.
Now, Hester may have been successful in her lack of common sense, but she wore the letter “A” proudly, as is shown in the following quotation from the novel: “... The point which drew all eyes and, as it were, transfigured the wearer-so that both men and women, who had been familiarly aquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time--was the Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself (61).” I believe that although it caused her much pain and suffering it could also be a token of her love for Dimmesdale. She wears the letter as a consequence from loving Dimmesdale. She might have made the letter so lovely as to vibrate positive feelings from it, however, which may or may not have been a good thing.
The “A” or scarlet letter is the ultimate symbol of the entire novel. Initially, the letter symbolized shame then shifted later in time. The differences that Hester and Dimmesdale have with the “A” are the ways that they display it towards the moralistic society. Hester did not fight with society when indicted of the crime that she
(Elbert, 258). One may refer back to the scene at the beginning when Reverend Wilson is trying to get the name of the other sinner. As Hester refuses, one may see this as a foreshadowing of other events. Hester is a strong woman who would not tell a soul the secrets that interconnect Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. The secrets however begin to take a toll on Hester especially as Chillingworth comes to town and is dying to know who the father of Pearl is.
In the first chapters of the novel, Hester was punished to wear an "A" on her chest at all times. The "A" is a punishment for the adultery she committed with the towns own Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Instead of making it into something that people looked down upon, as something horrific and disgusting on her chest, she made it look like a beautiful, gleaming gem. She made it out of the most gorgeous sparkling gold threads that caught everyone's eye. A quote in chapter two described the scarlet letter as "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself." That shows how she is a confident and very individual person. No other woman would have as much courage as she did to make a punishment into an attraction.
‘The Scarlet Letter’ illustrates the lives of Hester Prynne, her daughter Pearl, local preacher Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester’s husband (whom uses the alias of Roger Chillingworth in order to disguise his true identity), and how they are affected after Hester committed an adulterous act with Dimmesdale, hence conceiving Pearl. This mother and child are then ostracized by society, and Hester is sentenced to jail, forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her chest as a symbol of her sin. The novel continues to narrate the four characters’ story for the following few years, until Hester passes away and is buried near Chillingworth (whom had died earlier on), both sharing a letter “A” on their gravestones.