The Scarlet Letter 4

A detailed Summary of The Scarlet Letter 4


Hyatt Waggoner, a noted Hawthorne scholar, says, "The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne's most widely read and admired novel and is also the one that has inspired the most inconclusive debate . . ." (Waggoner 118). Much of the trouble in interpreting The

Scarlet Letter stems from the fact that the story is highly symbolic.

The Scarlet Letter opens with the stark image of the throng of people surrounding the prison door. Hawthorne creates a mood by using the, "sadcolored," garment and, "gray, steeplecrowned hats," to give the reader a feeling a gloom and sadness. Among these dark, sad images Hawthorne interjects the wild red rose. As Hawthorne puts it, "to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human


The most famous symbol is of course the scarlet letter itself. Called, "The Elaborate Sign," by Waggoner, the letter A exhibits itself a number of times and in a number of ways throughout the story. The A may appear on Dimmesdale's chest, it appears as Pearl, in the sky as a huge letter formed by a comet; in the mirror at the Governor's mansion; and on Hester's tombstone (McMichael 1150).

frailty and sorrow" (McMichael, 1033). The prison is symbolic of moral evil which would be sin and the cemetery is a symbol of natural evil which would be death.

It is commonly agreed that the colors are used extensive in The Scarlet Letter as symbols. This is illustrated by the scene by the prison door, but the use and importance of the symbol grows as the book moves along. Pearl, is often identified

Some common words found in the essay are:
Scarlet Letter, Sign Waggoner, Hester Dimmesdale, Hester Christ, Letter Hawthorne's, scarlet letter, Hyatt Waggoner, letter red, color red, prison door, red rose,

Approximate Word count = 534
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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