Assignment 2: The Use of Symbols in the Scarlett Letter

            The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is permeated with symbols regarding the public degradation and self-resistance of Hester Prynne, the novel’s protagonist. While some symbols linger in the metaphysical world others are physical representations of the burdens and actions Hester carries beyond her bosom.

            The use of symbols in the Scarlet Letter can allude to the perception the author had on Puritanical societies and their ideologies. Having grown up in Salem, with Puritan ancestors who were judges in the famous Salem Witch Trials, Hawthorne’s writings, primarily the Scarlet Letter, are filled with personal opinions about the Puritan society. Almost every page of the novel has some sort of symbol which allows the reader to undertake the thoughts of the writer as well of the generation of Romantic writers. Symbol after symbol, one can infer, are the representation of a hypocritical society where as like in the first scaffold scene, the public ridicules Hester, yet at the same time three fingers are pointing back at themseleves. Hawthorne was trying to make the point that the Puritan society in a sense put up a fight, and created a different persona under the presence of their fellow villagers. They scorned Hester for the act of adultery, yet they themselves were not the part of “ the city upon the hill”. While in the public world the Puritans stood for law enforcement, and socially defined morals, privately each one of them had their own scarlet letter sewn into their soul. It’s seeing beyond what’s there that truly helps us understand the boundaries of the Scarlet Letter and the imbeded messages inbetween words. Distinguishing the difference between the denotation and connotation of human behavior in the Scarlet Letter, allows the reader to understand the emotions and purpose behind the symbols of Hawthorne’s writing.

            Pearl, for example supports just this. While she was the physical embodiment and repercussion of Hester’s actions with Reverend Dimmesdale, Pearl as well in a figurative perspective stands for the bond that brings humans together. Because of Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale are able to in the end, free themselves of socially constructed criticism, even though their liberation lead to death. But it was the connection of birth that maintained both Hester and Dimmesdale at their sanest. It was the ultimate factor of their unending and unconditional love for one another.