Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Essay Example

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Complex Symbolism of the Letter A.The Scarlet letter ‘A’ refers to or symbolizes quite a few things throughout the novel. The latter takes quite a few forms throughout the essay. It is intended that the interpretation of the essay by the townspeople would be discussed here. The beginning of the novel sees the symbolization of the letter A as to mean an ‘Adulteress’ for Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne was a young woman who had been abandoned by the old husband.

He would rarely come to see her and had left her to stay alone for a very long period of time. It was in his absence that the young lady had committed her sin and was now being symbolized with a letter A being put on her chest so as to let everyone know what sin she had committed. This was how the townspeople interpreted the letter. To them Hester was worthy of shame and hatred since she held the proof of her sin in her arms. In her arms was her daughter who was an illegitimate child. Hester is made to feel ashamed and disrespectful of her child and herself owing to her affair with a man whose name she was not willing to reveal.

The magistrates, representing the townspeople believed that Hester’s recognition as being singled out due to her sin would pressurize her to reveal her lover’s name but in vain. The townspeople were filled with hatred for her and a statement from a few women revealed that they not only wanted her to feel guilty but also wanted her to keep on feeling it for the rest of her life and thus wanted her to never take of the Scarlet Letter A that had been put on her chest. Hester’s personality filled with shame and humility gave the townspeople the edge over her to be shouted over by them and being imposed by them.

They felt that she wouldn’t be sinned if she ever took off her scarlet letter off her chest. The behavior of the townspeople can also be assessed by the fact that once she had retired into a slum with her daughter kids would often run by to her place only to catch a glimpse of the so-called sinned woman as had been interpreted to them by other members of the town and what they had understood from the entire happening. Thus the embarrassing torment for Hester continues.The scarlet letter put onto Hester’s chest is often referred to by ministers in their sermons.

Even after the passing of several years Hester continues to live in the outskirts of the Boston city. The hatred of the townspeople continues and they try to take Hester away from her daughter by trying to snatch away the little child. The interference of another minister, who is later identified as the child’s actual father, restricts the townspeople from taking Hester’s daughter away from her. Over the passage of time Hester begins to get out of her house a little. She has passed her days of shame and was now regaining the built in vigor in her personality to help the poor and the suffering.

She starts visiting the community often and works for the welfare of others. The townspeople, having seen her intermingle after a long period of time, agree to withstand her position in their surroundings but they are still not comfortable with the thought of Hester being made to take her Scarlet Letter. It is with the progress of change over the years that the acceptance of Hester’s presence is taken as the meaning of the scarlet letter A being transformed into ‘Able’ rather than ‘Adultress’.

Conclusively it may be said that the author has perfectly symbolized the letter A to narrate the feelings of townspeople towards Hester in a very ideal manner.WORKS CITED:Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.