The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Research Paper Example

Insert The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Introduction It is June 1642, in Boston the town of puritan, Hester Prynne an adulterous woman is punished in the presence of a mob. She is to wear a scarlet with letter “A” on it and stand on the gallows for three hours to shame by the public. However, despite all the humiliation, she refuses to name the father of her child, Pearl. Hester notices his long-gone husband who cried out that the partner to Hester in the adulterous act should also be punished he embarked on a mission to look for that partner. Hester is later released and to earn a living she did needlework. Her lover Reverend Dimmesdale whom she had chosen to protect later confessed at the gallows where Hester was punished earlier and dies. Chillingworth, who was Hesters husband, also dies leaving Hester and pearl alone. After several years, Hester died and buried near Dimmesdales’s grave; they shared the gravestone with writings “"On a field, sable. The letter A, gules" (Hawthorne). In Chapter one, the prison door is symbolic, it is introduced in this chapter, and it is used when a crowd of people was standing outside the prison. It is built with heavy oak and is studded with iron spikes. There is a rose bush that grows near the same prison door; this shows how nature is kind despite being criminal it is said to provide “sweet moral blossom” (Hawthorne). The character Hester Prynne is introduced in chapter two. Sin, social order, and knowledge are clearly shown. The writer uses the symbol to depict sin, and that sinner must be punished in public according to puritan customs and belief. Hester’s punishment was to be an example to other people who were planning to commit adultery. However, only the woman was punished, and the man left, the women did not seek to pity, Hester instead they condemned her as a sinner, an adulterer. They saw her as a great sinner, they never imagined they being sinners. Hester fights it by accepting the condemnation for the need for love after his husband going along with the possibility of being dead. The perfect embroidery of the “A” letter on her dress was a sign of acceptance the women saw it as Hester was proud of the sin she had committed. She accepted the reality rather than resisting since her child was the fruit of the act. Resisting it was like opposing her child, Pearl. Hester from the beginning was different from other women she was said to be beautiful, tall and radiates natural dignity, unlike other women. The third Chapter introduces Hester punishment as an act against humanity; the puritan order makes her unclean and excommunicated. The quest to make her confess in public was disrupted by Dimmesdale, who spoke of such an act in terms of rape (Hewthome). Bellingham and Wilson, who conducted Hester’s judgment, were ignorant and insincere, they no less about human dignity they used old volumes of sermons. They “had no right” to “meddle with a question of human guilt, passion, and anguish” (Hawthorne) because they did not understand it. In chapter four, Dimmesdale being passionate is also arrogant and threatening in some situations; she forces Hester to reveal the identity of his lover whom he was in order just to save his soul. Chillingworth, the long-lost Hester’s husband, comes in and shows support for Hester despite being branded an adulterer; he takes the blame but also forces Hester not to reveal his identity as his husband. Hester remains tied up because of the secrets she had to keep. Hester brands Chillingworth “black man” since he drives people to sin. Chapter five and six, Hester chooses to stay in Boston despite the humiliation; she argues that since Boston was where the crime took place then she must accomplish her punishment at the same place. It is also true that she stayed there because of Pearl’s father. Her resistance makes her a hero against the society, her flee could have uplifted the cruelty of the society against other humans. Hester endured all this because of Pearl, who is a sign of consolation to her despite being the fruit of the sin and the punishments she accrued. Despite the cruel environment Hester and Pearl lived in, romance was visible; the forest was a symbol of freedom the two acquired. They lived in love, and humanity was a reality. In Chapter seven, Pear and the scarlet letter are all signs of adultery to the public but are loved and cherished by the owner; Hester. Hester ensures that Pearl and the letter “A” are attractive opposing the nature of the sin as perceived by the Puritan society. Pearl is dressed in “a crimson velvet tunic of a peculiar cut, abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread” (Hawthorne). The sin Hester was accused of was a combination of love and evil, the love of the scarlet and her daughter and the evil seen by the community. Pearl is to be a companion to Hester despite the challenge they are to face together. Governor Bellingham’s mansion is symbolic it symbolizes an English nobleman’s home, and Bellingham himself symbolizes his ancestors’. Bellingham incorporated the English culture with his culture to intertwine the two worlds, the past and the present. The presence of a decaying garden symbolizes the inability of Bellingham and his society to maintain the gardens, the growing of cabbages and pumpkins on the farm excluding aesthetic crops. Chapter eight, the governor’s suit of armor is also symbolic it indicates war and violence. Though he is a trained lawyer, he misguides the society, he advises soldiers to leave their occupation and fight for the country. Mistress Hibbins, the witch, is a symbol of injustice; she forces Hester live as an outcast. Pearl symbolizes the truth and spiritual help to Hester. Chapter nine, ten and eleven talks about the two men Chillingworth and Dimmesdale, Chillingworth signifies “science” and Dimmesdale signifies “spirituality.” The both are capable to restore a person’s happiness but were incapable of restoring their own happiness. Dimmesdale’s illness was an inner ailment, and he was to cure himself by confessing his sins. He was the cause of Hester’s misfortune and wanted to pay it back by not marrying any other person. Chillingworth is named, “the leech” for he was seen to be very attached to Dimmesdale. He wants to use his scientific knowledge to get “deep into his patient’s bosom” (Hawthorne). Chillingworth is evil, he is the cause of Hester’s evil by deciding to move away from her, and he forced Dimmesdale to confess his sins. He tortured Dimmesdale by asking, “Is Hester Prynne the less miserable, think you, for that scarlet letter on her breast?” Dimmesdale answers, “I do verily believe it.” Meaning his inner suffering is much worse (Hawthorne). Dimmesdale is more affected by the sin than Hester who from the beginning accepted and lived by it; she wears the scarlet, the symbol of sin on her chest while Dimmesdale sin is locked on his chest, which is more painful. He does what he can to get out the pain, but it is only until he makes a confession. He fasted, scourged himself with the whip and held vigils throughout the night but in vain. He finally decided to hold a vigil at the arena where Hester got her punishment. Pearl though small had a big mind, she was able to realize her mother’s agony, and she covers the letter “A” with burrs to fade the humility caused by the letter (Silver, Rollo, and Hawthorne). In Chapter twelve, the scaffold clearly differentiates Hester and Dimmesdale’s situations. It creates an ironic difference between the public torment on Hester and the inner torture of Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is meeting with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold revives Hester’s public shaming seven years ago. Chapter thirteen, Hester’s good work in the community could not forgive her sins, once identified as a sinner she remains a sinner until her death. The good charitable work done by Hester is seen because of the punishment; the Boston people believed their system had worked well due to this. In real, the punishment drove her to more evil, though of suicide. Given a chance to remove the scarlet she refuses since her identity, as an adulterer will never change, but she believes that her salvation lies in God. Chapter fifteen, Peal though young demands to know why her mother was rejected by the society, and her mother tells her that the mark on their chest was a “Black Man” mark. The “Black Man” was a sign of evil brought by men. Chillingworth married and abandoned Hester brewing sin from her loneliness, deception and others selfishness. Dimmesdale is another “Black Man” he takes advantage of the loneliness Hester was going through and led her to adultery. The witch, Mistress Hibbins to cause sin, invoked the “Black Man”. The puritan society supports her work and takes advantage of that. She is a symbol of crisis and wickedness she threatens the stability of the puritan society. Chapter sixteen, Both Mistress Hibbins’s nighttime activities and Hester’s and her daughter’s examination are done in the forest, a place very near the town that chased them away. The forest territory is free thus; Hester was able to meet with her lover there since no rules govern the forest. Both evil and good can co-exist with less conflict. Chapter seventeen, Hester and her lover got a chance to meet in the forest; they had a chance to uplift their romance despite the condemnation waiting from the society. They had a good time and planned for their exit to Europe with their daughter. Chapter nineteen, their plan made Hester get rid of her scarlet which was a sign of refusing her past identity. Her daughter forces her to wear the scarlet back she felt her mother was defiling the laid down rules. She did not accept to go to Europe, she felt that their escape was a sign of defeat and they had to fight and win the society (The Critical Response to Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter’). Chapter twenty-one, the Election Day festivities offer a suitable background for the plot’s suspense the flamboyant music, the outfits, and the parade of power are reminders of the pretense of Puritan society. The display shows how the images have power. Hester, the sailors, and the Native Americans are meaningful symbols of rebellion against the puritan society. The Native Americans thought the scarlet letter as a sign showing how important is the person in the society. Chapter twenty-three, Dimmesdale finally confesses before the people, and this is not punishable this saw Chillingworth lose a chance for revenge. This shocked the congregation and showed that no person is pure even the ones who are supposed to teach chastity. The society must change its view of sin. This victory is pearls as she convinced her father to confess and be free of inner torment. This frees the whole family from the exclusion. Pearl later returns to Europe and she gets married to a noble family. Her mother becomes a minister and is given a task of attending to the spiritual welfare of her fellow beings. She later dies and was buried near her lover a sign of togetherness even in death. The scarlet letter she wore during her lifetime gave her respect and authority. Though it was a sign of sin, righteous woman, Hester possessed it. The society determination of sin and morality, hate and love was the opposite. Civilization versus the wilderness The town in the novel represents civilization while the forest represents the wilderness a place where authority does not exist. It allows evil and good to happen in its jurisdiction but the town is quick to judge, no peace but torment exists in a great way. Night versus Day The day’s events are socially acceptable, but the events that take place during the night are unacceptable. Night conceals sin from the eyes of the public that is why the witch worked at night; Dimmesdale visited pearl and Hester at night. During the day, all night secrets remain secrets. Works Cited Gill, J. The Influence of Nathaniel Hawthornes the Scarlet Letter on Sylvia Plaths Daddy. Notes and Queries 52.1 (2005): 107-108. Web. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter [Excerpt]. Academic Medicine 87.8 (2012): 1084. Web. Herbert, T. Walter, David B. Kesterson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Critical Essays on Hawthornes "The Scarlet Letter." South Central Review 5.4 (1988): 91. Web. Herbert, T. Walter. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Una Hawthorne, and the Scarlet Letter: Interactive Selfhoods and the Cultural Construction of Gender. PMLA 103.3 (1988): 285. Web. Nathaniel Hawthornes the Scarlet Letter: A Critical Resource Guide And Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography Of Literary Criticism, 1950-2000. Choice Reviews Online 42.10 (2005): 42-5600-42-5600. Web. Silver, Rollo G., and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter. American Literature 35.4 (1964): 538. Web. The Critical Response to Nathaniel Hawthornes the Scarlet Letter. Choice Reviews Online 30.01 (1992): 30-0123-30-0123. Web. Thorp, Willard, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter. The New England Quarterly 36.3 (1963): 405. Web. Read More