Forest Symbolism In Scarlet Letter

The Forest In literature, a symbol is an object that has the potential to represent something that is not manifested in the reading. Readers may comprehend something differently about what they are reading than what the symbols are actually revealing in the book. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, is significantly symbolic. In this book, the forest is a substantial symbol due to the fact that there are many different viewpoints of what the wilderness represents throughout the story. The forest portrays a place of sin and darkness, a safe place that provides privacy for Hester and Dimmesdale, and eventually progresses into a place of freedom. The representation of the forest is a location of sin and darkness in the beginning of the novel. According to the Puritan’s beliefs, the Black Man represents satan and he dwells in the forest. Since the Black Man lives in the forest, it is considered to be a place of darkness. “...the passes of the dark, inscrutable forest open to her, where the wilderness of her nature might assimilate itself with a people whose customs and life were alien from the law had that condemned her.” (Hawthorne 73) This quote indicates how the forest is separated from society so it is a place of no law, which can steer a person into the temptation of sin. Mistress Hibbins is a witch that conducts her sinister acts in the woods. What
Not only was the forest a place of evil, but it also was a place for Hester to escape from society so she could get a sense of immunity.

Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Dell. February 2003. Print
Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Forest and the Wilderness in The Scarlet Letter." Shmoop.
Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
Clinch, K. "The Scarlet Letter Index." Forest - The Scarlet Letter Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar.