Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter 1 is a novel suffused with symbolism. Indeed, Hawthorne introduces his novel as a symbolic act: an examination and apology of the role his ancestors played in the Salem Witch Trails (6–11). The best-known symbol within the work is the scarlet letter itself, which Hester Prynne wears on her dress for her sin of adultery (50–56). However, Hawthorne’s use of symbolism is not limited to the inception of his novel or Hester’s embroidered letter A (50). Throughout the story, Hawthorne uses his characters as symbols to comment on larger societal issues in 1600s Salem, 1800s America, and the author’s hopes of a future resolution to “the woman problem.” Hawthorne particularly uses women as symbols—and Hester and her daughter, Pearl, especially—of both positive and negative social change within communities. Perhaps, however, Hawthorne’s most consistent use of symbolism surrounds the quality of passion. Hester, Reverand Dimmesdale, and Pearl all serve as symbols of passion and display the different responses to and consequences of passion.
Hester Prynne’s first role as a symbol requires some speculation on the part of the reader. Most of Hester and Reverand Dimmesdale’s relationship occurs “off stage,” as it were. Almost no romantic feeling is evident for the first half of the novel. Only toward the end of the story are the “flames of love” that once burned between Hester and Dimmesdale made explicit. Hawthorne tells his readers that Dimmesdale’s sin was not a symptom of an obviously evil and depraved soul; rather, Dimmesdale’s transgression was that of “passion” (119–126). The evil Roger Chillingworth quickly makes this insight, “But see, now, how passion takes hold upon this man, and hurrieth him out of himself! As with one passion, so with another! He hath done a wild thing ere now, this pious Master Dimmesdale, in the hot passion of his heart” (126). In her adulterous relationship with Dimmesdale, therefore, Hester must have first figured as the feminine ideal and an object of passion for the erudite and philosophical Dimmesdale (233). Hawthorne also points to this feature of Hester’s personality in his later descriptions of her. While Hester is being publicly shamed after her imprisonment, Hawthorne describes her bearing as “lady-like, in the antique interpretation of the term” (51). Hester harkens back to Medieval times, while also transcending them. Because of her status as a social outcast for much of the novel, Hester also stands in “a small, vacant area—a sort of magic circle” that no one “felt disposed to intrude” (218). Additionally, Hester’s beautiful appearance is marked as “exquisitely painful” as she stands on the pillory (51). Hester and Dimmesdale are, therefore, similar in their passionate natures, and it’s this abundance of passion that poses a threat to their Puritan community and ultimately their own souls (239). Critic Harold Bloom makes an interesting observation about Hester’s character, recorded in The American Canon: Literary Genius from Emerson to Pynchon. 2
About Hester, Bloom states,
Critics have remarked that Hester’s tragedy was to have existed too early in American social history, a judgment I reject. Feminism and our enlightened sexual politics might not have saved the vitalistic, high-spirited Hester from the dilemma of never finding a man worthy of her sexual power and self-reliance. (39)
Indeed, further evidence of Hester’s passionate nature is displayed by the atmosphere of repression and forced quietude that Hester exhibits throughout most of her story. Hester must hide her true feelings from society until the end of the story when Dimmesdale finally makes his public confession (239).
It is Hester’s passionate nature that eventually causes her to become a symbol of sin within her community. Prior to Hester’s public appearance before the townsfolk on the pillory, the local “gossips” vehemently describe their hatred for Hester because of her sin (47–56). One of these women even believes that Hester’s imprisonment, public confession of sin, and placement in the pillory are not adequate punishments; she thinks that the town officials are “merciful overmuch” and that Hester “should have . . . the brand of a hot iron on [her] forehead” (49). Hester will remain an embodiment of sinful desires for several years, though she eventually attains a level of respectability due to her skills in sewing and embroidery (73–82). By the end of her story, Hester figures as a mythical being. Hawthorne alludes to Hester’s mythical qualities early in his story by evoking a statuesque image, portraying Hester as “a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale” (50). Toward the end of Hester’s tale, she serves as an oracle, with people visiting her home for advice and wisdom (245). Though Hester eventually gains regard in her community, she never loses her status as a sinner (245). Because Hester’s sin is never truly done away with, Hawthorne claims that she cannot fully become “the destined prophetess” to bring about better social equality between men and women (245).
While Hester’s passionate nature is publicly exposed, making her sin and shame open to the ridicule of her community, Arthur Dimmesdale’s passion is unknown to most of society. Because his passion—and by extension his sin—are left unconfessed, Dimmesdale lives for years with psychological, spiritual, and physical torments. While Hawthorne never makes it clear if Hester repents in her heart of the sin of adultery, there is no doubt that Hester does not live in a state of torment. While Hester’s life is certainly not easy, she is able to live a life free from the spiritual and physical disintegration that Dimmesdale experiences. Hester eventually earns some respect from members of her community and experiences a relationship with her daughter, Pearl (240–246). Hester is also mostly left alone by Roger Chillingworth, whereas Dimmesdale’s torment is heightened by Chillingworth’s proximity (119–128, 236–239). While the townspeople shame Hester for her past sins, she is not forced into a “double life,” as it were. Dimmesdale is viewed as a symbol of perfection by the townspeople. He is described as a modern “apostle,” his sermons are compared to Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, and Dimmesdale is called “angelic” (111, 131, 178, 232–233). Dimmesdale experiences acute mental and spiritual strain because he is living in a state of hypocrisy due to unconfessed sin. Hester has more spiritual freedom than Dimmesdale because her sin is confessed, and she is not treated as a being of spiritual perfection (45–56). Both Hester and Dimmesdale eventually repress their passionate natures. Hester looks at the ground and tries not to draw attention to herself when she is among the townspeople (87–99). Dimmesdale does not confess his “sin of passion” until he is dying, seven years after his affair with Hester (234–239). Dimmesdale keeps his passion hidden until he can no longer bear the guilt.
While both Hester and Dimmesdale act as symbols of passion realized and passion repressed, their daughter, Pearl, represents unbridled passion. Both Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s passionate natures are eventually subject to forms of repression. Hester is forced into the outskirts of her society, so she must keep her true feelings to herself. Dimmesdale is forced into the forefront of society and feels unable to confess his sin or show any soulish imperfections (111, 131, 178). Their daughter, Pearl, experiences no such societal pressure to conform. Hawthorne describes Pearl’s personality as inherently passionate, writing, “Throughout all, however, there was a trait of passion, a certain depth of hue, which she never lost; and if, in any of her changes, she had grown fainter or paler, she would have ceased to be herself” (84). Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is described using words and phrases such as “positively terrible” and full of “wrath” (87). Hawthorne presents Pearl as a form of “retribution” for Hester’s sin of adultery (167). After Hester is released from prison, initially the only time she experiences any peace is when Pearl is asleep (87). While Pearl’s parents respond to the “discipline” of their society, Pearl remains willful (85–86). In fact, Pearl is described as “a thing incapable and unintelligent of human sorrow” (86). This aspect of her personality is in direct contrast with both Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s personalities. Hester enjoys spending hours experiencing “quiet, sad, delicious happiness,” and Dimmesdale spends most of his time contemplating spiritual truths or his own sin (87, 129–135, 223).
While her parents succumb to societal and spiritual torment, Pearl—a person who has never experienced life within a religious community, only life outside it—embraces her passions fully. Like her mother, Pearl becomes a symbol of sin because of her passionate nature (86). Whereas Hester represents sinfulness to her whole community, Pearl becomes a personal reminder to Hester of the consequences of letting her passions control her (167–168). As she gets older, Pearl frequently asks her mother what the scarlet letter represents, and she also asks questions about Dimmesdale’s behavior (167–168). Pearl in this way becomes an embodiment of the scarlet letter that her mother wears on her dress; she is an almost constant reminder of her mother’s sin. To this end, Hawthorne describes Pearl as a “living hieroglyphic,” representing “the secret [Hester and Dimmesdale] so darkly sought to hide” (192). This facet of Pearl’s character is on full display when she goes with Hester to meet Dimmesdale in the woods. When Hester removes the scarlet letter from her dress for the first time in years, Pearl refuses to come to her mother until she puts the letter back on her dress (194–196). Hester informs Pearl of where the scarlet letter landed in the woods, but Pearl is not satisfied (195–196). Hester asks Pearl to bring her the letter, but Pearl insists that Hester retrieve it herself (196). In this interaction, Hawthorne is clearly using Pearl to force Hester to not only identify her sin but also to gain her identity from it.
A key feature of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is his emphasis on social change and especially how women can bring about changes in society. Hawthorne is not a blind optimist, however. He demonstrates in his novel that he believes women can bring about negative as well as positive societal changes. Both Hester and Pearl bring about positive and negative social changes. By forcing her mother to contemplate the consequences of her adultery—to always remember the scarlet letter—Pearl acts positively and negatively. It is good that Pearl reminds her mother of the pain and torment her sin has brought into their relationship and Dimmesdale’s life (101–108, 239). Pearl’s means of reminding her mother of the affair, however, are cruel (192–199). Hawthorne argues that Hester, conversely, has partially abdicated her ability to bring about positive social change. By the end of her story, Hester can effect change within her community (245). Hawthorne writes that “women, more especially” who have indulged “sinful passion” visit Hester for advice (245). While Hester can institute local or personal changes by sharing her story and pain, Hawthorne believes that she cannot bring about a mass societal change in “the whole relation between man and woman” because she is not fully “pure” (245).
The Scarlet Letter is a fascinating examination of how passion and sin impact society and specifically religious communities. Hawthorne’s novel endeavors to address the pitfalls of Puritanism, while also looking forward to a day when members of both sexes come to truly respect and care for each other. Hawthorne shows that women particularly have the potential to bring about major community and societal changes, but they must have unreproachable moral characters to truly address the broader cultural “woman question.” Through examining how acting on passion and repressing passion impact different personalities, Hawthorne offers interesting insights into the human psyche and how the soul responds to shame, pain, and ostracization.
