Scarlet Letter-SymbolsEssay title: Scarlet Letter-SymbolsOne might say that symbols are the most important things in a story, and that they unlock the secrets of a novel. Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, uses many symbols to represent different things. Some symbols represent the same thing. The letter “A” has many meanings, each character has their own meanings, and even the different parts of nature are symbols. Also, apart from providing structure for the novel, each scaffold scene conveys something different. One could say, arguably, that nearly everything in The Scarlet Letter is a symbol of something else.
In the novel, there are four different versions of the letter “A”. The first is presented at the beginning of the book, where Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her breast. The second occurrence is during the second scaffold scene, when the pastor Arthur Dimmesdale is on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, and a meteor causes a letter “A” to appear in the sky. The third version of the letter “A” appears when Pearl makes the letter “A” out of seaweed and puts it on her own breast. The fourth and final letter “A” is shown at the end of the book, on Dimmesdale’s breast when he confesses. The letter “A”, in all its forms, represents many things in the novel. At the beginning, the letter is supposed to represent Hester’s guilt or shame for committing adultery, though Hester wears it proudly. Later on in the book, however, it represents something completely different. That same letter “A” on her breast represents her able or angelic nature, instead of her sin in the past. The second letter “A”, seen in the sky, represents not only Dimmesdale’s cowardice and shame, but the fact that the townspeople make up meanings for
occurrences to mean what the townspeople want them to mean. According to Nina Baym,Rowe 2“Dimmesdale knows that if his deed is discovered, he will be thrown out of what is, to him, Heaven” (215). The third letter “A” represents Pearl’s intelligence, for she sees then that Dimmesdale’s hand upon his heart and Hester’s letter on her heart are for the same reason. Also, it shows how Hester is still guilty, for she lies about what her own letter means. The last letter “A”, on Dimmesdale’s heart, is a symbol for the pastor’s sin, and his repentance for that sin. When he reveals it, he is forgiven by God and ascends into heaven.
Hester is a symbol of nature, and its resistance to civilization, which is symbolized by the townspeople. She thinks with her heart, not her mind. Like the wild rosebush outside the prison, she decides to go her own way, and not be affected by what others thought of her. Also, she is a symbol for the Catholic faith. When she is on the scaffold, during the first scaffold scene, Hawthorne describes her as Divine Maternity (53), another name for the Virgin Mary, who the Catholics revere. Also, like the Catholics believe, she repents by working all her life to do good deeds, instead of the Puritan belief that repentance is spontaneous and forever. Another example of such is the fact that she embroidered her letter “A” to be decorative and fancy, which is a more Catholic idea. The Catholics decorate their churches, where Puritans feel that such decoration takes away from God.
The Gospel
When he is asked to tell a tale, he would tell one of several stories based on his experience, which he would be told and then tell more as he became more advanced in religious training, thus being prepared for a life as a priest. He is said to receive his story when he is twelve when the Lord tells it to him. He is called to come for a mission when there is no hope to be found in him. If he goes, he must give them a blessing or he may be killed. He does this to save himself from being judged, until the Lord tells him that a man is to be saved only after he has received his story from all who have come through him. If he refuses to accept the word of the Lord his life will be judged, or he will be killed. Sometimes, when he is asked to tell a story, he does not go for himself. He looks for a “fellow,” and if there are not found, he makes a plan or puts a plan into action in order to save himself.
The Gospel is about the loss of God’s plan. If God does not choose those who would be his and save him, will he be unable to save himself if he comes to an end? Would God save one person but not another. Who is God who will save one person at the end of his suffering?
There are other possible reasons why the Gospel is so important. But one of them concerns the people that worship it more. I have mentioned before that the people worship God as our Saviour, and they have a natural need to worship him and not our own, as was the case with Moses. There were times when the people were afraid of God, or scared that they were going to be driven from heaven. We believe that by telling a story, we have made the fear go away by telling it with our own thoughts. But I think there are other things to be thankful for. The reason we all pray is that God’s plan, which is inescapable to us, might still be happening. It might be waiting for us now and taking hold of our wills. This is so that our spiritual power will be able to carry out the work of saving that which is necessary for the salvation of all.
And I am not aware of any reason that would deny that if we were to preach a true Gospel in all its aspect, there would be more than one. (51) If we are to be saved through the example and example of Christ, or the Gospel because we have the Gospel to tell but we feel that we cannot, we must have two very distinct reasons. First, because we think that we can do miracles and other things which are not possible without the Gospel (and it is impossible to do any miracles without God’s Gospel because you cannot bring about the Holy Spirit and the Spirit takes over the world in your absence), and secondly, because we would rather not tell the exact truth. But if we do have two problems, and they are that there may be some false prophets of the people (51), but there would also be at best only some prophets of the faithful believers who can tell, and if there is no need to tell the true story, there will certainly be some false prophets of that people.
When we go about preaching because we believe that a prophecy is true, God needs
Dimmesdale symbolizes a few things as well. He is a symbol of temptation, as shown by the original sin of Hester and Dimmesdale, and also later in the story when he asks Hester to run off with him. He tempts her, and she gives in to the temptation in both instances. He is a symbol of Puritanism, not only because he is the pastor, but also the way he repents. When he confesses and dies, he goes straight to heaven, because he repented once and for all. That is a representation of the Puritan belief, that one only needs to repent once, and all is forgiven. Also, one might say that Dimmesdale is the Black Man, from when Hester says that the letter is a mark from her
Rowe 3encounter with the Black Man (170). While in the forest, Dimmesdale tries to take Hester away, and according to the townspeople, the Black Man meets people in the forest to take them to a meeting of witches. Therefore, one might say that Dimmesdale is both good and evil concomitantly.
Pearl seems to be a symbol of many different things. Like Hester, she is a symbol of nature. When asked who her father was, she announces “that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door.” (103) In Chapter 16, Pearl is connected with the brook in the forest; they both come from a “spring of mystery” and both have gone through “scenes shadowed as heavily with gloom” (171). Pearl is also a positive symbol of Hester’s sin. Without Hester’s adultery, Pearl would not exist.