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Scarlet Letter Symbolism - Papers Online

Scarlet Letter Symbolism

The book The Scarlet Letter is all about symbolism. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the course of the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify Puritanical and Romantic philosophies.
Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For this unalterable harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanical beliefs. She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no ...

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than not, she shows her intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics. One of Pearl's favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees. (The reader will recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans. To Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.) "And she was gentler here [the forest] than in the grassy- margined streets of the settlement, or in her mother's cottage. The flowers appeared to know it" (194) Pearl fit in with natural things. Also, Pearl is always excited and joyous, which is definitely a disapproving act to the Puritans. Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the Romantic ways.
To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most important members of a community is the religious leader; Arthur Dimmesdale is no exception. He was held above the rest, and this is proven in one of the first scenes of the book. As Hester is above the townspeople on a scaffold, Dimmesdale, Governor ...

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Scarlet Letter Symbolism. (2005, February 8). Retrieved January 24, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Scarlet-Letter-Symbolism/21924

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 2/8/2005 09:06:16 AM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 510
Pages: 2

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