Scarlet Letter 3
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, life centers around a rigid Puritan society in which one is unable to indulge his or her innermost thoughts and secrets. Every human being needs the opportunity to express how he or she truly feels, otherwise the emotion builds up until they become volatile. Unfortunately, Puritan society allows no expression of this kind, so the characters have to seek alternate means in order to relieve their personal anguishes and desires. Luckily, at least for the four main characters, Hawthorne provides such a sanctuary in the form of the mysterious forest. Hawthorne uses the forest to provide a kind of ‘shelter’ for members of society in ...
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his love for her. It is also here, in the forest, that Hester does the same for Dimmesdale. The forest is where the two of them engage in conversation, without the constraints that Puritan society places on them.
The forest is the very embodiment of freedom. Nobody watches in the woods to report misbehavior, thus it is here that people may do as they wish. To independent spirits, such as Hester Prynne's, the wilderness beckons her: “Throw off the shackles of law and religion. What good have they done you anyway? Look at you, a young and vibrant woman, grown old before your time. And no wonder, hemmed in, as you are, on every side by prohibitions. Why, you can hardly walk without tripping over one commandment or another. Come to me, and be masterless” (Hawthorne 186). Truly, Hester takes advantage of this, as soon as Arthur Dimmesdale appears. She openly talks with Dimmesdale about unmentionable subjects which seem inappropriate in any place other than the forest: ...
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his heart] by himself. With this plea comes an interesting sort of role-reversal. People believe that he is morally higher than Hester, but here, he admits that she is an equal, or even above him. These political positions are possibly one of the reasons that Puritans refuse to accept these emotional displays- because the social status is their basis of society. Hester assumes her “new position of power” and gives a heartfelt, moving speech. The eloquence of her words is simply beautiful, and the most powerful statement that she makes. Hester's speech turns out to bear a remarkable resemblance to one of Dimmesdale's sermons: “Begin all anew! ... Preach! Write! ...
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"Scarlet Letter 3." Essayworld.com. January 29, 2006. Accessed April 27, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Scarlet-Letter-3/40389.
"Scarlet Letter 3." Essayworld.com. January 29, 2006. Accessed April 27, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Scarlet-Letter-3/40389.
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