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The Scarlet Letter: Darkness Illuminated - Online Term Paper

The Scarlet Letter: Darkness Illuminated

Since the conception of humanity, man has been fascinated with that
presence which illuminates, yet cannot be touched. Mankind has brought it into
his religions, giving it a great deal of importance in his creed. Following in
the footsteps of his ancestors, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses light as a tool of God
that illuminates the darkness of human iniquity and exposes its permanence. He
studies the psychological theme of the impossibility of eradicating sin from the
human heart in his novel The Scarlet Letter. The use of light in order to
fortify this psychological theme confirms its significance in the novel. As
though he were weaving an elaborate tapestry, Hawthorne meshes light's ...

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it: "...though
partly muffled by a curtain, it [the hallway] was more powerfully illuminated by
one of those embowed hall windows..." (Hawthorne 101). One can envision the
brilliant sunlight streaming though the immense window, slicing through the
facade of the Governor's feigned sanctity. Is not simplicity one of the
fundamental tenets of the Puritan faith? Yet Bellingham, the very person that
passed judgment on Hester and her sin is laid bare to the reader's opened eye.
Here, light shows Governor Bellingham to be corrupt due to his improvident
lifestyle.
In his genius, Hawthorne defines light not only as a presence, but as an
animate consciousness. Still acting as a tool of God, light seems to run away
from Hester when she tries to touch it. Pearl, in her inexplicable
intuitiveness, says to Hester, "...the sunshine does not love you. It runs away
and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom" (Hawthorne
180). Although Pearl makes this comment ...

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The Scarlet Letter: Darkness Illuminated. (2005, May 7). Retrieved April 20, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Darkness-Illuminated/26532

"The Scarlet Letter: Darkness Illuminated." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 7 May. 2005. Web. 20 Apr. 2025. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Darkness-Illuminated/26532>

"The Scarlet Letter: Darkness Illuminated." Essayworld.com. May 7, 2005. Accessed April 20, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Darkness-Illuminated/26532.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 5/7/2005 11:47:23 AM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 650
Pages: 3

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