Characterizatio_and_Plot

Setting and theme One of the central themes in the Scarlett Letter is truth and the fact that the truth doesn't stay hidden. Certain elements of the setting reflect this theme throughout the story. The story is set in puritan time, when people lived life solely based on the good book. Since honestly is a main point in the bible, it was a common virtue in puritan times. Hawthorne even establishes a certain place for some characters temporarily free themselves for falsehood. The forest is the place where people went to shed the illusions the kept, in the public eye and be true to themselves. The theme is revealed to us again through Arthur Dimesdale. In the origin of Dimesdales illness and, inevitable, the cause of his death, the reader can see that concealing the truth can be lethal. Thought the scarlet letter we see the setting is an important part in defining the theme and decoding the author message to the reader. The scarlet letter takes place in America during the mid 1600s. This was a time when the new world consisted mostly of puritans. As you may know the puritans lived life based on the bible, so the Ten Commandments were essentially law. The one commandment in particular that applies to the theme in question is “ thou shall not lie”. By not naming pearls father Hester was lying by omission. The reason the people of Boston were so malicious to Hester is because they were predisposed to value truth so highly. The townspeople put so much pressure on Hester for the name of her fellow sin because honesty was a sacred ethic back then. Hawthorne sets the book in that time period because he knew that the social environment of that time would be conducive to our theme of truth. The forest is another part of the setting that connects to the truth theme. Hawthorne makes the forest an escape from the scrutiny of the puritan townspeople. A place to cast off all facades and be who you truly are. For instance, at the end of chapter 7, when mistress Hibbons says “ Wilt thou come with us tonight …in the forest” ‘she is inviting Hester to go into the forest and meet the devil with her. Mistress Hibbons could neither openly proclaim herself a witch nor practice witchcraft in public so she takes refuge in the forest. It was the only place that she can be herself and not get caught. The forest is also an escape for Hester and Dimesdale. After trying to stifle their feelings toward one another for so long, they meet in those woods and can no longer sustain that artificial contentment. In chapter 18, when the narrator describes their love as “ aroused from a deathlike slumber” he is describing the release they feel when they are honest, not only to one another but also to themselves, about their emotions. In the privacy of the forest thy no longer need to be ashamed. Authur Dimesdale himself is a parallel of the truth theme. The longer he conceals the truth the more his mental and physical health deteriorates. In chapter 23, as Dimesdale is dying in Hesters arms he make his final proclamation “ behold me here, the one sinner of the world”. In speaking the truth he is attempting to free himself. Hiding the true has already cost him his life but illuminating the truth could possibly save his soul. Furthermore, this shows that one cannot be false forever. The truth must always come out. Hawthorne expresses multiple themes throughout the scarlet letter yet none were so clearly mirrored in the setting as this. He sets the story in a distinct time and place with characters that connect to the truth theme and portray his message to the reader. Being true to oneself can lay demons to rest, while dishonesty can be the catalyst to ones destruction.