Scarlet_Letter

Josh Rogan Mr. Evans English Honors 25 January 2010 Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterful use of symbolism is employed many times throughout The Scarlet Letter. We are quickly introduced to Hawthorne's symbolism in the very first chapter, with both the prison door and the rosebush. In chapter two we are introduced to, arguably the two most important symbols in this novel, the scarlet letter and the scaffold. These two symbols appear over and over throughout the novel, and continue to advance the plot along with creating deeper conflicts throughout the novel. The scarlet letter's meaningchanges throughout the novel from adulterer to awe with different meanings in between. The scaffold's meaning also changes throughout the novel from isolation and humiliation to Dimmesdale's feeling of near comfort. Pearl also becomes a symbol herself in the novel by becoming a living embodiment of her mother's scarlet letter. The meteor the Dimmesdale sees when he is standing upon the meteor also is a symbol that has dual meanings because Dimmesdale interprets in his own way that differs from the rest of the community.Throughout the novel Hawthorne continues to shows his skill with his use of symbolism. In Chapter One of the Scarlet letter we are introduced to Hawthorne's use of symbolism. Hawthorne in chapter one states "The [prison] door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes"(54). The prison door is a symbol of puritan punishment and authority which is evident in Hawthorne's description, which included heavy timber and iron spikes. It also symbolizes loneliness and detachment from the rest of the world which is clear in Hawthorne's description "black flower of civilized society"(55). The rosebush also makes its first appearance in the novel in chapter one. It is surviving next to the prison which shows that beauty is able to survive despite the worst conditions that man creates. It also takes pity on the prisoners entering and exiting the jail. Hawthorne uses this rosebush in the novel so the reader could take a moral lesson from the novel so that it may have many different interpretations. Hawthorne states that "It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom,"(55) which is evidence to support that fact that he wanted his readers to draw their own moral lesson from his novel. Chapter two may be one of the most important chapters in the novel, in terms of symbolisms. Two of the most important symbols in the novel appear in this chapter, the scaffold and the scarlet letter. Both the scaffold and the scarlet letter change during the novel. The scaffold's original symbols are shame, humiliation, and isolation in the beginning when just Hester and Pearl were on it for punishment so that others would not follow their path, "This scaffold constituted a portion of a penal machine…in the promotion of good citizenship, as ever was the guillotine among the terrorists of France"(63). But each scaffold scene adds another human being and it changes for different people. When Dimmesdale was on it he perceived it as a safe haven and would eventually feel comfortable enough to repent, confess his sins and admit to being the father of Pearl. The scarlet letter changes even more dramatically than the scaffold. Hester is forced to wear the scarlet "A" because Puritans thought that their misdeeds should be shown to everyone to create fear, "Blessing on the righteous Colony of the Massachusetts, where iniquity is dragged out into the sunshine!" (62). At first, the scarlet letter symbolizes adulterer for Hester's punishment and is meant to create shame and humiliation for the rest of her life. To some of the people of the town, especially the older, less attractive women, the symbol of the letter was jealousy. One women said, “if we stripped Madam Hester’s rich gown off her dainty shoulders; and as for the red letter, which she hath stitched so curiously"(61). This is evidence that they were jealous. Several years later the meaning begins to change. She brings food to the doors of the poor, nurses the sick, and provides help in times of need. These actions begin to change the public opinion of the letter "A" and now believe it symbolizes "able" because of the strength that it took to make it through the humiliation It is clear that this is the first change of the meaning when Hawthorne states, "Such helpfulness was found in her…that many people refused to interpret the scarlet "A" by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength" (177).The symbol changes again at the end to mean "Awe" and most people now consider it to be a legend " the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too"(289). The symbol to Dimmesdale is completely different. It portrays the guilt in Dimmesdale because he went unpunished and this guilt makes him weaker throughout the novel, "Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart" (163). Hester's illegitimate child, Pearl is another symbol throughout the novel. To Hester she is the living embodiment of the scarlet letter and continually reminds her of the sin she had committed. Even her name is a symbol that means that she came at a great price. Hester even dresses pearl like the scarlet letter with bright beautiful colors against the puritan tradition. She is both a blessing and a curse to Hester, because even though she is the reason that she has to go through torture she represents the spirit and passion that came from the sin and gives Hester a reason to live. Pearl is also a symbol for Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale sees Pearl also as a constant reminder of his sin and this brings him deeper into his own guilt. Dimmesdale knows that Pearl will not accept him until he publicly admits his sin and when he does Pearl kisses him and he feels great joy and Pearl now gains a sense of human identity, Hawthorne says, "Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it"(282). Her sense of humanity is a symbol that confession and admittance In chapter twelve, after Dimmesdale said to pearl that he will not stand with them until judgment day, a meteor illuminates the sky and the surroundings. Dimmesdale believes that he sees an"A" in the sky that stood for adultery. He believed that since both Hester and Pearl have to suffer through the pain of the sin he should too.Hawthorne states" with an awfulness that admonished Hester Prynne and the clergyman of the day of judgment," which clearly shows that he felt that he should have to live with the same misery as Hester had gone through. While the rest of the community believed it has nothing to do with Hester or Dimmesdale, but that it stands for "Angel" and it means that Governor Winthrop is in Heaven. Throughout the novel Hawthorn shows his excellent use of symbols. Some symbols are dynamic and have multiple meanings, such as the scarlet letter, while others remained static and had only one meaning throughout the novel. The symbols in the novel allow the reader to get more from reading it and alloweach individual reader to take their own personal moral lesson from the story.