The Scarlet Letter's Ambiguity
"Those who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators," Camus once said (Esar 28). His subject was ambiguity-a subject with two or more contrary interpretations-and his meaning was clear. Readers can derive truth from concise statements, but they may only form plausible observations from vague writings. This opens the possibility of manipulating the thoughts of the reader, when used effectively. Such was done by an American writer who spent twelve years of self-imprisonment learning the art of fiction in a "dismal chamber"-Nathaniel Hawthorne (Anderson et al. 263). In his great masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne utilizes the theme of ambiguity by presenting multiple rationalizing and provoking explanations of events and by giving conflicting and antithetical meanings of the letter "A". Throughout the novel, numerous ambiguities occur as a result of Hawthorne's presentation of seemingly extra statements-or his obvious absence of statements- and they pose questions to the reader who must choose to accept the actual narrative, Hawthorne's skepticism, or a rational inference. To begin with, the witch Mistress Hibbins invites Hester Prynne, the heroine of this romance-and the first stro
Now, during a conversation of some two or three moments between the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale and this excellent and hoary-bearded deacon, it was only by the most careful self-control that the former could refrain from uttering certain blasphemous suggestions that rose into his mind, respecting the communion-supper. (Hawthorne 190) Because Dimmesdale holds the highest dignity a minister may receive and is an extremely pious man, these disturbing thoughts come unexpected, and they hint at an obscure suggestion that Dimmesdale is becoming agnostic-a meaning of the "A" not physically present in the novel. Finally, long after the downfall and untimely death of Dimmesdale, Hester also expires and is buried adjacent to Dimmesdale. Hawthorne relates that Hester and Dimmesdale share a common tombstone that reads, "'ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A. GULES'," which, when translated from archaic terms of heraldry, declares, "On a black background, the scarlet letter A" (228). This last use of the "A" truly must symbolize ambiguity itself as no individual meaning-whether it is positive, negative, or any meaning between the former two-can be derived from the silent slab of slate that forever has the last word. This poses a problem to the original executors of Hester's punishment as they certainly desired for people to eternally look down upon the one who sinned, but neither does the undefined symbol afford redemption for its bearer-or bearers. Consequentially, through these ambiguities Hawthorne exposes direct contradictions to Puritan convictions that arose from a Puritan practice of punishment, and he ultimately criticized them with his satire. ng woman of the literary world-to join her and others in the forest in waiting for the Devil. Hester declines while sporting a smile, but after this Hawthorne ponders "if we suppose this interview betwixt Mistress Hibbins and Hester Prynne to be authentic, and not a parable" (103). Although Hawthorne promotes the encounter in his later writing, he casts a very slight shadow of doubt on the veracity of the face value of his words. Alternatively, a different scene involving the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the superlative example of the virtuous Puritan, and his unrevealed diabolical adversary, Roger Chilli
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Approximate Word count = 1521
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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