Hawthorne as a symbolist with reference to " The Scarlet Letter".

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Name: Vidhya Pandya
Semester: MA – 3
Roll No: 32
Paper No:- 10 The American Literature
Enrolment No: 2069108420190031
Email id: vidhupandya10497@gamil.com
Year: 2018 -20
Submitted to: Department of English , Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.
Assignment's topic: Write a note on Hawthorne as a symbolist with reference to “ The Scarlet Letter.”

◆ Introduction :-

Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most creative writer for symbolism in the American literature. And to understand the meaning of his works we have to understand the whole symbols which used by him in his works. “ The Scarlet Letter” is the novel regarded as the first symbolic novel which published in United States. Hawthorne's symbols are indeed a significant one. Mostly writers used to use the symbols and through that they want to expose the harsh reality. Though these all symbols writers extending so far ideas of life.
So let’s have a look at the symbols which given by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his novel “ The Scarlet Letter”.
Firstly I want to give the glimpse of that what is the symbolism ?

◆ What is Symbolism?

- Symbolism refers to the idea or message which the particular writer wants to give the specific meaning of that. Different symbols meant different meaning in various circumstances in any writer's work but it need a depth understanding.
- We can see that in an Action, person, flower, place, word or an object can all have a symbolic meaning.
- Symbolism is often used by writers to enhance their writings. It give the more richness and colour can make the meaning of the work deeper.

◆ Glimpse of the novel “The Scarlet Letter”:-

In this novel we can see main 3 characters:-
1) Hester Prynne
2) Roger Chillingworth
3) Arthur Dimmesdale

The whole novel's story moves around these three characters. Hester Prynne is the main protagonist or we can say the story is all about her. Hester Prynne who has given birth to a baby of unknown parentage. Roger Chillingworth who is the husband of Hester Prynne. And Chillingworth sent Hester to the America. And there Hester has the extramarital affair with Arthur Dimmesdale and that’s why she become pregnant. Chillingworth come to know about these all. After hearing these all he did not accept Hester and also give support to the society. Society where Hester lives is the Puritan society so they were too much rigid about this things. They thought that women who have the extramarital affair or giving birth to baby of the absence of the husband is the sin. So after doing this Hester is required to wear a Scarlet Letter “A” on her dress when she is in front of the people of town.
  So this is how the whole story unfold here in this novel. And Hawthorne gives very significant symbols this whole novel.

◆ Use of symbol in “ The Scarlet Letter” :-

The use of symbol is the very distinctive feature of the American literature. So, in this regard, Hawthorne wrote this novel & this novel also considered as the pioneer of the use of symbols. The symbols which Hawthorne use in his work were narratively convincible. In this novel writer depicts the early colonial society dominated by the Puritans. The Puritans had the tendency to see everything allegorically. They looked also ever simple matter from allegorical point of view. Hawthorne vividly portrays this puritan tendency to look for a symbolic meaning in everything.
   So, let’s have a glimpse of vivid symbols which used in “ The Scarlet Letter”.

1. Characters :-

Hester Prynne  the main protagonist is the public sinner who display the effect of punishment or we can see that the rigid mind-set of Puritans. Hester suffers a lot for her validity of her letter's symbolism just as the human beings struggle with their moral choices. Here, Hester we can see that as a fallen woman because society didn’t accept her with this situation and they continuously thought that it’s a sin and redemption for her and she has to punished by them. Her sensitivity with society's victims turns her symbolic meaning from a person whose life was originally twisted and repressed to a strong and sensitive woman with respect for the humanity of others.

Dimmesdale is the another second character who we can considered as a secret sinner. He has duet personality whose public and private faces are totally different. Other hand we can see that Dimmesdale as a symbol of hypocrisy and self-centered intellectual.

Pearl is the strongest of these allegorical images, because she is nearly all symbols. Hester, Dimmesdale & the Puritan community saw her to the various aspects.
Dimmesdale sees Pearl as the “freedom of a broken law”.
Hester sees her as “the living hieroglyphics” of their sin.
And the community sees her as a result of the Devil's work.
She is the scarlet letter in the flesh, a reminder of Hester's sin. As Hester tells the pious community leaders in Chapter 8, ". . . she is my happiness! — she is my torture . . . See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin?"
 Chillingworth is consistently a symbol of cold reason and intellectual free by human compassion. While Dimmesdale intellect but lacks will , but Chillingworth has both.

2. Prison :- 

Hawthorne use this symbol in this novel. In the very first chapter, Hawthorne mentioned prise as the “black flower or civilized society”. In this Hawthorne use prison as the symbol of punishment which given to criminal for their crime. Different part of prison's door give different meaning as such. For Example :- Prison's door such as iron spikes and bars reminds the cruel method which used by Puritans to punished criminal and Innocent people as well. The prison door, thus reminds that punishment given to Hester Prynne but was later released to be banished  to live in the forest.

3. The Scarlet Letter :-

The meaning of Scarlet Letter “ A “ has a variety of meanings. Especially Scarlet Letter “A” is firstly the symbol of sin or a punishment. Even as the original mark of adultery. The Scarlet Letter has different personal meaning of different characters. Say for Example:- For Hester “A” is the symbol of unjust humiliation. But though in the end of the novel, it is very charming to say that  this Scarlet Letter becomes the symbol of innocence, penance and angelic character of Hester by the end of the story.

4. Red Colour :- 

Although, Red colour is mostly related with sex, infatuation, passion, violence and life of sin. Red colour also related with love and the purity of heart. In this novel, red colour is related with red roses which means energy, while in the other hand, it shows the passion and love. In this novel also Hawthorne describe red colour in two ways the one is the love and passion and on the other hand it shows the sin violence and redemption of the characters as well.

5 . The Scaffold Scene :-

This Scaffold in this novel has been used at three places. Once, it is used in the 2nd chapter  where Hester is made to stand and humiliated for her sin of adultery. Here it’s a symbol of crime and sin for Puritan society. It is again used in the 12th chapter, where it is shown as the symbol of confession and hope but nobody hears Dimmesdale' s confession. It again appears in the 23rd chapter, where it is a symbol of long-lasting guilt and secret, as Dimmesdale confesses everything before dying.

6. Shadow & Light :-

There are two meaningful and symbolic phenomena represents in this novel. Shadow and Sunlight. For Example:- While the question about Pearl's future in the end of the story, then Dimmesdale is the shadow of the garden which shows that or symbol of the cover and protection of Pearl. The second symbol of Sunlight we can find in the end of the novel when Hester and Dimmesdale sit in the forest and Sunlight is on that. This represents the true love and peace. It is also shows that love, forgiveness and grace of God upon them.

7. Forest :- 

Symbolically , Forest has two contradictory meanings. As the simple level of understanding , we can see that forest represents two things :1. Natural love or Love for nature , 2. Wilderness as well as scariest place. As far as it’s use in the novel concerned, the forest has a terrifying
place. In the time of Puritanism , they thought that forest is the homestead of Satan. In this novel Hester left in the forest. However, in the end of the novel , forest the place considered where a person  becomes mature. For example, when Hester and Dimmesdale meet by the end to plan their escape, they meet at the forest. At this stage, it becomes a place of refuge for them. In fact, the forest has also changed its symbolical meanings with time.

8 . Night day :-

Night is a symbol of apron, and Day is the symbol of exposure. Dimmesdale’s mounting the scaffold and standing with Hester ad Pearl at night will not suffice. He knows that his symbolic acceptance of his guilt must take place in the day light.

◆ Conclusion:- 

Though, Every chapters of this novel “ The Scarlet Letter” has variety of symbols and it’s indeed a symbolic. Hawthorne portrays all the characters in a very symbolic way. We can see the various symbols like sun and light, Scarlet Letter “A”, Prison , Forest and many more. Through these all symbols we can read writer's deep thinking process about the particular subjects. The Scarlet Letter is considered his masterpiece and a peerless example of the romance novel.

◆ References :-

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/the-scarlet-letter/critical-essays/symbolism-in-the-scarlet-letter
http://www.literary-articles.com/2010/02/use-of-symbols-in-scarlet-letter.html?m=1
https://literarydevices.net/the-scarlet-letter-symbolism/