Alienation In The Scarlet Letter
Free from the pressures of Puritan society, the forest as the setting of chapter 18 is a place that allows Hester to escape her sins and express herself. The one result of her sin has been her alienation from society. Through the themes of alienation, knowledge, and sin, the scarlet letter has allowed Hester to have an isolated point of view toward human institutions, which resulted in her ability to think for herself and have a better understanding of natural law. This powerful passage explains the result of Hester’s sin and how it affected her life as well as her thoughts. Hester Prynne had not been “merely estranged, but outlawed, from society”. She was forced out of the Puritan community and introduced to the abstract world of free thought
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and individuality. The scarlet letter brought her much “Shame, Despair, [and] Solitude”, which caused her to always be actively thinking, analyzing, and making connections about her society and her life. In contrast, it allowed for her to have a similar role to that of a philosopher, who thinks critically about life and seeks wisdom as well as enlightenment. Hester’s isolation allowed for her to begin to think for herself, which led her to gained an ulterior perspective on the Puritan lifestyle. Thus, she began to question her previous judgments, to fight for love, and to not conform to society’s code. She was alone in her transformed state of mind, “her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places”. Although she had such a change of heart in her approach to society it was only due to her own bidding. Additionally, the irony here is that the scarlet letter was supposed to help her atone and to make her an example for the community. However, it led her into a “moral wilderness” and to be free of “rule or guidance.” Hester felt alone since she was singled out and made an outcast of society now that she could no longer relate to the rest of the Puritans. The consequences of her act had opened the door to a new approach to life and a new point of view. The major themes of this book are sin, isolation, and knowledge. Hester is publicly shamed and forced to wear a badge of humiliation by the people of Boston for having broken the law by having committed adultery. Hester is isolated from society because she is seen as an outcast and leaving Boston would allow her to remove the scarlet letter and continue with a normal life. However, Hester reacts with dismay in a previous chapter when Chillingworth tells her that the town fathers are considering to let her remove the letter. Hester denies this and states that the scarlet letter will come off on its own because she wants to determine her own identity instead of having others to determine it for her. To her, removing the letter or running away would mean that society’s power overcame her and she would be admitting the letter is a mark of shame. The scarlet letter is a symbol of Hester’s own experiences and character. For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as “her passport into regions where other women dared not tread,” leading her to speculate about her society and herself more boldly than anyone else. Her sin results in suffering, but it also results in knowledge of what it means to be human. Thus, in chapter 18 when Hester and Dimmesdale talk about what is to be done from then on and they both feel as if their sin has paid its price, Hester takes off the scarlet letter. However, years later she still wears the scarlet letter since she believes it is a part of her identity. From a more detailed perspective, figurative language, such as metaphors, personification, symbolism, and imagery are packed in this passage.
The town is ruled by religion and law, while the forest is lawless. The narrator uses a metaphor to compare Hester's outcast state to a forest when he states, "She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest”. Additionally, Hester’s heart and mind are compared to the desert where she can roam free. This again demonstrates her separation from everyone else. In the same line there is another simile comparing Hester to an Indian roaming freely in his woods. Indian’s and the woods are away from town and this symbolizes that Hester is able to see new points of view and learn new ideas as acts as an outcast in her society. In addition, as the passage explains that the scarlet letter brought Hester much “Shame, Despair, [and] Solitude”, these nouns are personified as her teachers since they taught her to be strong and gain knowledge. The forest, always seemingly evil and dark, is transformed into a college of teaching; “These teachers, stern and wild ones, had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.” This powerful statement summarizes Hester’s learning from the forest. Also, the narrator uses imagery when he mentioned that an Indian would feel “little reverence” for “the many forms of ritual punishment, the fireside around which families gathered, or the church in which they prayed.” Lastly, Hawthorne allows us to also picture the the symbol of the scarlet letter as being a passport for Hester into other regions, a symbol of other
thoughts. Overall, Hester’s alienation from society allowed her to explore a new world of ideas and beliefs. Although the scarlet letter brought her much pain and acted as a label of shame, it became a part of her throughout time and led to her act of independence. Thorough a plethora of figurative language, Hawthorne is able to make his point that Hester was able to grow greater in knowledge and have a greater point of view of society as well as of the unchanging moral principles that act as a basis for all human conduct.
and individuality. The scarlet letter brought her much “Shame, Despair, [and] Solitude”, which caused her to always be actively thinking, analyzing, and making connections about her society and her life. In contrast, it allowed for her to have a similar role to that of a philosopher, who thinks critically about life and seeks wisdom as well as enlightenment. Hester’s isolation allowed for her to begin to think for herself, which led her to gained an ulterior perspective on the Puritan lifestyle. Thus, she began to question her previous judgments, to fight for love, and to not conform to society’s code. She was alone in her transformed state of mind, “her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places”. Although she had such a change of heart in her approach to society it was only due to her own bidding. Additionally, the irony here is that the scarlet letter was supposed to help her atone and to make her an example for the community. However, it led her into a “moral wilderness” and to be free of “rule or guidance.” Hester felt alone since she was singled out and made an outcast of society now that she could no longer relate to the rest of the Puritans. The consequences of her act had opened the door to a new approach to life and a new point of view. The major themes of this book are sin, isolation, and knowledge. Hester is publicly shamed and forced to wear a badge of humiliation by the people of Boston for having broken the law by having committed adultery. Hester is isolated from society because she is seen as an outcast and leaving Boston would allow her to remove the scarlet letter and continue with a normal life. However, Hester reacts with dismay in a previous chapter when Chillingworth tells her that the town fathers are considering to let her remove the letter. Hester denies this and states that the scarlet letter will come off on its own because she wants to determine her own identity instead of having others to determine it for her. To her, removing the letter or running away would mean that society’s power overcame her and she would be admitting the letter is a mark of shame. The scarlet letter is a symbol of Hester’s own experiences and character. For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as “her passport into regions where other women dared not tread,” leading her to speculate about her society and herself more boldly than anyone else. Her sin results in suffering, but it also results in knowledge of what it means to be human. Thus, in chapter 18 when Hester and Dimmesdale talk about what is to be done from then on and they both feel as if their sin has paid its price, Hester takes off the scarlet letter. However, years later she still wears the scarlet letter since she believes it is a part of her identity. From a more detailed perspective, figurative language, such as metaphors, personification, symbolism, and imagery are packed in this passage.
The town is ruled by religion and law, while the forest is lawless. The narrator uses a metaphor to compare Hester's outcast state to a forest when he states, "She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest”. Additionally, Hester’s heart and mind are compared to the desert where she can roam free. This again demonstrates her separation from everyone else. In the same line there is another simile comparing Hester to an Indian roaming freely in his woods. Indian’s and the woods are away from town and this symbolizes that Hester is able to see new points of view and learn new ideas as acts as an outcast in her society. In addition, as the passage explains that the scarlet letter brought Hester much “Shame, Despair, [and] Solitude”, these nouns are personified as her teachers since they taught her to be strong and gain knowledge. The forest, always seemingly evil and dark, is transformed into a college of teaching; “These teachers, stern and wild ones, had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.” This powerful statement summarizes Hester’s learning from the forest. Also, the narrator uses imagery when he mentioned that an Indian would feel “little reverence” for “the many forms of ritual punishment, the fireside around which families gathered, or the church in which they prayed.” Lastly, Hawthorne allows us to also picture the the symbol of the scarlet letter as being a passport for Hester into other regions, a symbol of other
thoughts. Overall, Hester’s alienation from society allowed her to explore a new world of ideas and beliefs. Although the scarlet letter brought her much pain and acted as a label of shame, it became a part of her throughout time and led to her act of independence. Thorough a plethora of figurative language, Hawthorne is able to make his point that Hester was able to grow greater in knowledge and have a greater point of view of society as well as of the unchanging moral principles that act as a basis for all human conduct.