Nathaniel Hawthorne's Use Of Symbolism In Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about a Puritan society in Massachusetts. The theme of this novel is largely sin, and how the guilty parties were not equally treated for the same sin or exposed for the wrong that they had done in the eyes of God. Hawthorne describes deception, the withholding of the truth, and secrecy in the development of the plot and characters in the novel. Hawthorne vividly makes use of symbolism and feminine status in Puritan New England, giving The Scarlet Letter a complex plot.
American transcendentalist Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Manning and Nathaniel Hathorne (Stewart 2). It is said that Hawthorne inherited his …show more content…
Hawthorne spent his college years in Maine (13), and married Sophia Peabody in 1842 (62). Hawthorne was once called the "American Shakespeare," by Herman Melville (249).
The use of symbolism by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter can first be seen in the prison. The prison may be linked symbolically to the rigorous
enforcement of Puritan laws. Also, Hawthorne refers to Ann Hutchinson, who rebelled against the Puritan beliefs and was imprisoned. Hawthorne describes a rose bush growing outside, and how impossible it was that it should be growing there by saying, "This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness. . . or whether, as the is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson, as she entered the prison-door. . …show more content…
Hawthorne provides an explanation in his Custom House Sketch of his political views, and in the novel, Hawthorne portrays Hester as a woman with no political worth. Puritan women were held at a higher standard concerning issues of virtue and integrity, as long as they stayed away from troubling sources. Over the years, a transition in the meaning of morals and values made a woman into what she was in Hawthorne 's time. Hester found it difficult to tell the truth because she was a woman. Perhaps writing a book on feminine superiority would have cause a conflict because Hawthorne had much to lose socially. "Even as women claimed republican citizenship, the definition of citizenship for males was shifting to a more individualistic, acquisitive, and capitalist-oriented model," meaning that although women were attempting to catch up to the men politically, the women could not keep up with the changes. Hester finds herself abandoned by both of the men in her life, and, "in a sense, wedded to the letter ["A"]." Hester, released from wearing the letter, continues to wear it. This situation of symbolic
The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about a Puritan society in Massachusetts. The theme of this novel is largely sin, and how the guilty parties were not equally treated for the same sin or exposed for the wrong that they had done in the eyes of God. Hawthorne describes deception, the withholding of the truth, and secrecy in the development of the plot and characters in the novel. Hawthorne vividly makes use of symbolism and feminine status in Puritan New England, giving The Scarlet Letter a complex plot.
American transcendentalist Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Manning and Nathaniel Hathorne (Stewart 2). It is said that Hawthorne inherited his …show more content…
Hawthorne spent his college years in Maine (13), and married Sophia Peabody in 1842 (62). Hawthorne was once called the "American Shakespeare," by Herman Melville (249).
The use of symbolism by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter can first be seen in the prison. The prison may be linked symbolically to the rigorous
enforcement of Puritan laws. Also, Hawthorne refers to Ann Hutchinson, who rebelled against the Puritan beliefs and was imprisoned. Hawthorne describes a rose bush growing outside, and how impossible it was that it should be growing there by saying, "This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness. . . or whether, as the is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson, as she entered the prison-door. . …show more content…
Hawthorne provides an explanation in his Custom House Sketch of his political views, and in the novel, Hawthorne portrays Hester as a woman with no political worth. Puritan women were held at a higher standard concerning issues of virtue and integrity, as long as they stayed away from troubling sources. Over the years, a transition in the meaning of morals and values made a woman into what she was in Hawthorne 's time. Hester found it difficult to tell the truth because she was a woman. Perhaps writing a book on feminine superiority would have cause a conflict because Hawthorne had much to lose socially. "Even as women claimed republican citizenship, the definition of citizenship for males was shifting to a more individualistic, acquisitive, and capitalist-oriented model," meaning that although women were attempting to catch up to the men politically, the women could not keep up with the changes. Hester finds herself abandoned by both of the men in her life, and, "in a sense, wedded to the letter ["A"]." Hester, released from wearing the letter, continues to wear it. This situation of symbolic