Themes of the Scarlet Letter

A detailed Summary of Themes of the Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1840, is mainly about the Boston Puritans of the 1600's. In this novel, Hester Pryne has to wear an elaborately designed "A" on her breast because it represents that she is an adulteress. Hawthorne uses numerous themes to show his views on man and society and the two important themes he discusses are isolation and that true repentance must come from within. (72).

Hawthorne had used many ways of showing isolation in this novel. For example, Dimmsedale, Hester, and Pearl are atop the scaffold when, "a light gleamed far and wide over all the muffled sky. It was doubtless caused by one of those meteors...the minister, looking upward to the zenith, behel

Hawthorne also used many ways of showing how true repentance can come from within. For example, Hawthorne writes, "No man, for any considerable period can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true." (196). This shows that Dimmesdale is learning this lesson the hard way. His inner-conscience longs to confess, but he has too much worldly wealth at stake. This also shows that he successfully keeps his secret from the town until he realizes it has already killed him. In addition, Dimmesdale's, he becomes pale and very sickly, and he beats himself up inside and it was believed by some that he wore a scarlet letter "imprinted in his flesh"(240). This shows that guilt a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dimmesdale Hester, Hester Pearl, Hester Pryne, Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, scarlet letter, true repentance, Boston Puritans, hawthorne true repentance, isolation true repentance, conclusion hawthorne, isolation true, hawthorne true, views society, nathaniel hawthorne,

Approximate Word count = 503
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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Themes of the Scarlet Letter

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