Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter

A detailed Summary of Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter


Nathaniel Hawthorne's use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is outstanding, and a study of his symbols is necessary to understand the book. There are many types of symbols in the novel such as characters, the scarlet A, and light and color. Hester, Dimmesdale, Pearl and Chillingworth are the most obvious of characters who all undergo a drastic transformation throughout the novel, and along with that comes a great deal of symbolism. The scarlet A being the most obvious of symbols besides the characters is a sign of adultery, penance, and penitence. Light and darkness, sunshine and shadows, noon and midnight are all symbols of the same images, thus meaning that colors like red, gray, and black play a role in the symbolic nature of the novels setting.

Over time Hester's symbolic meaning changes from a women who had a twisted


The prolific symbolist Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism very boldly and passionately throughout the Scarlet Letter. From the very first opening scene where the gentle Hester is represented as a beautiful rose and the harsh puritan society represented by a patch of wild grass surrounding her Hawthorne's use of symbols is magnificent. In the closing scene Hawthorne brings Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl together one more time at the scaffold for their third and final meeting for the climax of the novel and everything becomes clear and the scaffolds meaning shown when Dimmesdale confesses to his sin, the light shines through and Pearl is set free. One could study the outstanding use of symbols in this book for quite sometime and still find more meaning in this passionate love story novel.

life to a person who was sensitive and

Some common words found in the essay are:
Pearl Chillingworth, Angel Dimmesdale, Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale Pearl, Hester Dimmesdale's, Hester Dimmesdale, Election Day, Pearl Hester's, Nathaniel Hawthorne, hester dimmesdale, Nathaniel Hawthorne's, scarlet letter, dimmesdale pearl, light darkness, symbolism scarlet, hester dimmesdale pearl,

Approximate Word count = 559
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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