Themes:
The Choices People Make Determine What They Become
Through out the Scarlet Letter Hester makes life changing decisions that will end up changing the coarse of her character in the book. in the Scarlet Letter Hester's biggest choice is the conception of Pearl, because if that did not happen then this whole story would have been pointless. Since Hester made the decision of betraying her original husband, Chillingworth, she became the very being of sin and betrayal that this town has been waiting for. In the Scarlet Letter Hester discusses many times how Pearl is a demon child, this is also the same thought by the towns people. For example "But thus could never be. Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants" (Hawthorne 85). This is an example about how the choice of betraying her husband has set up a world where Pearl is deemed an outcast at birth. This decision has not only created a world in which Pearl can never escape, but it has also created Hester into a mother of a child that is seen as a demon. Hester has become a completely different person, she is no longer a tender and passionate person because of the choices that she has made. The narrator makes statements that describe Hester as being a "bare and harsh outline" of her former self because of the "brands" of the Scarlet Letter. for example "Even the attractiveness of her person had undergone a similar change...It was a sad transformation, too, that her rich and luxuriant hair... not a shinning lock of it ever gushed into the sunshine" (Hawthorne 148). This is able to show that the choice of her betraying her husband has not only changed her mentally but also physically. her choice has turned her into a outline of someone that she has never wanted to be.
Revenge Destroys The Victim And The Seeker.
The idea of revenge can eat away at the very part of the brain that allows us to make rational decisions. In the Scarlet Letter Chillingworth is torn apart by willingness to seek out revenge against Hester's forbidden lover. An example of the revenge destroying the victim and the seeker is stated as such, "Roger Chillingworth's aspect had undergone a remarkable change while he had dwelt in town, and especially since his abode with Mr. Dimmesdale...At first his expression had been calm, meditating, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face... and which grew still the more obvious to sight the oftener they looked upon him" (Hawthorne 116). This shows that the concept of revenge, that has over powered Chillingworth, has created sense of evil within himself. This idea of revenge has destroyed Chillingworth's ability to make rational decisions and it has destroyed the way that he appears to the people. Another example of Chillingworth about his transformation is stated by, "for the hatred that has transformed a wise and just man to a fiend! Wilt thou yet purge it out of thee, and be once more human" (Hawthorne 157). This shows the direct acknowledgement that Chillingworth has changed from an honest man into a revengeful fiend, and this is starting to destroy is human characteristics. The last part of this theme is the destruction of the victim, which is stated as, "Mr. Dimmesdale's secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge... He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not purify, himself" (Hawthorne 132). The constant seeking of revenge from Chillingworth has begun to make Dimmesdale feel that he has destroyed everything that he has worked to save. Dimmesdale whips himself with a scourge to try and purify himself the sin that he has committed, which has been brought upon by Chillingworth's seeking of revenge. Dimmesdale has destroyed his body to please God, because he feels that he is the cause of Chillingworth's lust for revenge.
We Can Only Truly Live When We Gain The Ability To Forgive Ourselves
The Puritan life style is based around the forgiveness by the supreme being, God himself. Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the reader that true forgiveness cannot by given by anyone but ourselves. Throughout this piece of literature Hawthorne shows us that everybody has the secret sin that we cannot forgive ourselves because we believe that no one else will, the really forgiveness comes from within ourselves. Hawthorne is able to show this because he uses the characters Hester and Dimmesdale to show the forgiveness of ones sin. For example as stated as,"The law we broke!-the sin here so awfully revealed!...God knows; and he is merciful!... save in this murmur that rolled so heavily after the departed spirit" (Hawthorne 229). This statement shows how revealing of the secret sin that Dimmesdale has so long been hiding. it allows for the reader to be able to see that real salvation can only be attained by the forgiveness of ones own sin. Once the sin of adultery was released from Dimmesdale he no longer had the feeling of defiance towards God, which allowed him to die in peace instead of with a sin that was still unforgiven by himself.
Within Each Person Is The Ability for Both good and Evil
Throughout this work of literature Nathaniel Hawthorne displays both the workings of good and evil to develop a theme into the book. Chillingworth is know throughout the book as being the town's Doctor, which is a profession that helps save lives. Chillingworth being a doctor is stated by, "Roger Chillingworth...at a previous period in his life, had made him extensively acquainted with the medical science of the day" (Hawthorne 108). The profession of a doctor has the implied meaning of being someone of good heart and will. Later in this book the narrator starts to describe Chillingworth as someone with extreme evil, as stated as,"Roger Chillingworth's aspect had undergone a remarkable change while he had dwelt in town, and especially since his abode with Mr. Dimmesdale...At first his expression had been calm, meditating, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face... and which grew still the more obvious to sight the oftener they looked upon him" (Hawthorne 116). This shows that someone who was once of great good has shifted into something that no one would think he could do, evil. Another example of the good and evil is the change with Hester form her sinful being into a charity working mother. Hester's Change from sin to good is stated as, "she took off the formal cap that confined her hair; and down it fell upon her shoulders... light in its abundance, and imparting the charm of softness to her features.There played around her mouth... a radiant and tender smile" (Hawthorne 182-183). This statement shows the undergoing transformation of Hester herself, from a sining woman to a almost godly being, This is able to prove that even though she was burdened with her evil sin she was still able to become a good person.
Symbols:
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter at fist stands for the shame of her committed sin, but it soon becomes the embodiment of her own change. This is a symbol for identity for Hester in the workings of this book. At First the Scarlet Letter stood for "Adulterer", but people began to notice it as standing for "Able" , as stated by, "The letter was a symbol of her calling... many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able" (Hawthorne 146). This very letter that was used to shame Hester into think that she was nothing has actually begun to be what people see her as. The thing is that they do not see her as the "adulterer" that it was suppose to be, but it begins to be the symbol for her strength and her very own identity in the town itself.
The Name Pearl
Pearl is one of the main symbols from within this book, due to the fact of how she got her name and the reminder of the very mystery of her being. The beginning of this symbol is started by her very name, Pearl. The meaning of the name is stated by, "But she named the infant 'Pearl,' as being of great price,- purchased with all she had.- her mother's only treasure!... Man had marked this woman's sin by a scarlet letter" (Hawthorne 81). This is able to show how the very meaning of Pearl's name is to be a great treasure and have the meaning of something that does not come around very often, so it is to be cherished. The next part of this symbol is of the unsolved mystery of the father, which is stated as, "He did not send me!' cried she, positively. 'I have no Heavenly Father!'... nor was Pearl the only child to whom this inauspicious origin was assigned, among the New England Puritans" (Hawthorne 90). This is able to show the reader how Pearl is the living embodiment of the mystery that has been kept about her father. It shows how Pearl is a symbolic captivity of the reminder of the unsolved mystery of her father.
The Meteor
During this time period anything that came from the sky was deemed to be from heaven. During the Chapter The Minister's Vigil a meteor falls from the sky and makes an impressive "A" in the night sky, as stated as, "looking up to zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter-the letter A,-marked out in lines of dull red light" (Hawthorne 141). This shows how the meteor made the scarlet letter in the sky, but it is in fact not deemed the scarlet letter by the standards of the towns people. The towns people believe that it means that Governor Winthrop has ascended into Heaven, as stated as, "a great red letter in the sky,-the letter A, which we interpret to stand for Angel. For, as our good Governor Winthrop was made an angel this past night" (Hawthorne 144). This is able to show how the original purpose of the letter "A" was to symbolize the sin that Hester had committed, but this "A" that was described under Winthrop means something good, such as an angel.
The Forest
In the Puritan religion the forest is seen as a place where the witches go and where the devil lives his life. The story is that the "Black Man" walks around the forest with his black book waiting for someone to sign their soul away to the devil. The symbol for the forest is that it is the breeding ground for sins and deception. for example as stated in the Scarlet Letter, "she took off the formal cap that confined her hair; and down it fell upon her shoulders... light in its abundance, and imparting the charm of softness to her features.There played around her mouth... a radiant and tender smile" (Hawthorne 182-183). this is able to prove that the Forest is a place where the sinful, Dimmesdale and Hester, release their beings in context of ripping off the scarlet letter form her bosom. The forest serves as a symbol for defiance and deception, because of the ripping of the scarlet letter from her chest and the fact that the forest is able to hide there sins from the rest of the town, almost like a blanket covering the truth.