Examples Of Romanticism In The Scarlet Letter

Whether it is in symbolism or dialogue; speculation, imagination, freedom from judgment, and non-conformity are all used in the Scarlet Letter. These can be used to prove that Hawthorne’s assessment of The Scarlet Letter being a work of romanticism was correct.
In the Scarlet letter, it displays uses of values and intuition over reasoning through Pearls questioning of Dimmesdale, and in Hester’s concerns about Chillingworth. From the beginning Pearl always asks her mother why Dimmesdale always holds his hand over his heart, and Hester never has an answer for her little one. This showed that Pearl always had weird feelings about Dimmesdale despite the fact that he was a minster who has suppose to be holy. Another example of this is in Hester’s suspicions of Chillingworth when Dimmesdale falls ill, and she suspects that Chillingworth had a hand in his suffering. This event was strange because Hester is supposed to be able to trust her husband, but her feelings for him are quite the opposite. In the Custom House Introduction,
This is shown when Pearl points out to Hester that she is not wearing her Scarlet Letter, and tries to shame her for it. Throughout the novel, Pearl torments Hester with her scarlet letter, and in turn makes Hester ashamed of it. This shows the power that a child could have over her mother. Pearl also shows her powers over her superiors through her constant torment and the withholding of a kiss from Dimmesdale until she gets what she wants, which is the perfect example of Hawthorne’s preference to youthful innocence over educated sophistication. These ideas are all characteristics of American romanticism were used in the book, and were then proven by examples from the text. Based on the evidence it can be concluded that Hawthorne’s original assessment of The Scarlet Letter being a work of romanticism was proven