Scarlet Letter Essay

Angela Tanzer                                                                                                 808

            Symbols are often used to develop the readers understanding of a certain circumstance in a book. The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne, is a story set in a 17^th century Puritan community, about a woman named Hester Prynne who must face consequence for her deemed not only criminal but deeply sinful actions, by wearing a scarlet letter on her bosom, a marking that titles her “Adulterous.” Hester has chosen to stay in Boston, the place of her community, and has chosen to face punishment individually, unable to admit to anyone the partner in her actions. However by choosing to do so, Hester also creates a life marked by solitude, on the edge of town, her isolation interrupted mostly only by her little daughter Pearl, who is too, a major symbol of Hester’s actions-in fact the result of them. In the book, aside from the most obvious symbol, the scarlet letter, Hawthorne uses a number of symbols, which all serve their own important purpose in enhancing our understanding and interpretation of the overall situation. They help us understand the severity of Puritan law, and Hester’s relation to it, and to her community. 

           

            One important symbol in the Scarlet Letter is where Hester and Pearl live, a small cottage on the very edge of town. Overall, this serves to represent Hester’s isolation and seclusion from her community, however there are very specific ideas which Hester’s cottage brings about. Hester is of course, separated and isolated physically from the people in her community. Also, as described, “A clump of scrubby trees, such as alone grew on the peninsula, did not so much conceal the cottage from view, as seem to denote that here was some object which would fain have been, or at least ought to be, concealed.” This quote shows there is an aspect of living in this cottage, which Hester clearly desires, something sort of private and concealed. Aside from this, Hester living on the edge of town can also be a symbol of a sort of boundary between her and her community, as well as Puritan society in general, as Hester is not like them. It shows how little she shares with them. For example, on page 153, it says, "Standing alone in the world-- alone, as to any dependance on society, and with little Pearl to be guided and protected-alone, and hopeless of retrieving her position, even had she not scorned to consider it desirable,-she cast away the fragments of a broken chain. The world's law was no law for her mind." This helps to prove Hester's mental separation from society, from others, even shows that she is slightly indifferent and doesn't care to preserve her reputation. Lastly, the wilderness by which Hester's cottage is surrounded can represent Hester's passionate personality, and her opposition to what would be considered conventional Puritan, which was straightforward and strict. It can represent how out-of-order or different she might appear in comparison to people around her.

            Another central symbol to this book is the scarlet letter. A line that really showed how much Puritans in Hester's community thought of such a punishment as the scarlet letter was, "They averred, that the symbol was not but a mere scarlet cloth, tinged in an earthly dye-pot, but was red-hot with infernal fire, and could be seen glowing all alight, whenever Hester Prynne walked abroad in the night-time." It is made clear, throughout the novel, that people who do live in Hester’s community, at first scorn and look down upon her as the wearer of the scarlet letter, and even as time goes on, use the scarlet letter as a way to define who she is, whether or not in different ways than they first had. For example, when Hester is kind and helpful to people who are poor, they are unable to look beyond the meaning or power that they believe the scarlet letter has, and change it to mean "Able" instead of "Adulterous". While Hester has changed greatly as a person over time, and has chosen to do good things, they are only able to see her in terms of the scarlet letter, and think that it has worked in forcing Hester to think about her sin, and reevaluate her life, the only obvious reason for the positive actions she brings to others. What people in her community don't realize is that they are wrong--the two are completely separate, her actions are mostly independent of her punishment. Maybe she is able, but it's not really because the scarlet letter has "served it's purpose." Hester is a passionate and driven woman, as was her sin. She has channeled this passion, almost minimized it to her thoughts.  Maybe now her thoughts have led her to make these good choices. She is a changed woman, but not for the reasons they believe. 

           In conclusion, the author does a good job of using symbols to better the reader's understanding of circumstances in The Scarlet Letter. They give us insight not only into Hester's life and inner thoughts, but also into her relationship to her community and to Puritan society as a whole. People choose to judge Hester for her one big mistake, although we know everyone does make them, and most likely a number people in Hester's community. The phrase "The punishment must fit the crime," is a way of saying the severity of the punishment depends on that of the crime, and should be fitting of it. However, in this book, this doesn't necessarily always seem to be the case for the protagonist, Hester. Overall, this book is filled with lessons and messages about making mistakes, about the consequences of them, and about relationship between an individual and a society or community. Symbols help to add to this.