Scaffold In The Scarlet Letter Essay
The Role of the Scaffold, “the Platform of Pillory”, in the Scarlett Letter and what it represented
Thesis: The Scaffold was the platform of humiliation.
The Scarlet Letter is a novel that revolves around the repercussion of an adulterous encounter in Puritan Boston. It emerged that a young beautiful woman (Hester Prynne) bears child with a respected clergyman (Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale). According to the Puritan Code, this would lead to public condemnation and mockery hence the two “partners in sin” decline to proclaim their parenthood until immense pressure is piled. Hester’s punishment is to wear letter “A” and stand on a scaffold. This was viewed as the platform for pillory since it was characterized by confinement of the human head in tight grasp then the body displayed for public viewing.
The scaffold scenes of the novel contain many symbols that are essential. First, the scaffold was a platform used for the execution of a criminal and a platform for forgiveness whenever they repented. Hester, for instance, was made to wear letter “A” on her bosom and stand on the scaffold in front of the whole town to see her and her child. By using the scaffold, the author portrays how significant the instrument is the society since Hester repented and was consequently forgiven whilst on it. On the other hand, Dimmesdale failed to get a pardon …show more content…
numerous times because he did not stand on the scaffold with Hester. Conversely, this changes at his death when he feels he can stand on the scaffold together with Hester and Pearl (their child).
Another symbol that the scaffold represented is sin and rejection. It is observed that Hester must wear the letter of shame which identified her as an adulterer and portraying her as an outcast in the community. On the scaffold, she withstands the full glare of members of the community who watched with contempt. In addition, she is banished to live in the outskirts of the town with her child. The scaffold further demonstrates self-respect. This is observed in the way Hester confidently wears the scarlet letter and choosing to live a high standard life rather the low and moody life as ‘prescribed’ by others. Hester takes responsibility of herself and that of her child in a bid to get re-established in the society. In the end, this bears fruits as she wins the respect of the town’s dwellers.
Apart from symbolizing humiliation, the scaffold draws the line brings the aspect of good and evil. For instance, Hester’s adulterous act which results in the conception of her daughter, Pearl, and earns a day with ridicule. Even though boisterous and wild when growing up, Pearl becomes a source of blessing and happiness to Hester. The author describes her figuratively as “a little gem that gives off a bright light at a time of darkness.” Further, the scaffold represents hypocrisy and cowardice in the society. Reverend Dimmesdale continues to practice the so central point of a religious leader even though he has gone against one of the greatest rule in the Puritan code. He also lacks the courage to admit in public his inequities until pressure is piled on him.
Due to the imminent punishment (the scaffold) that breakers of the Puritan Code faced, the scaffold is used to depict vengeance. This is seen in the way Roger Chillingworth becomes monomaniacal and unrelenting in his quest for revenge against the man who gets Hester pregnant. The author writes of him as “calm, gentle and passionless”. However as calm as he appeared, it was feared in some quarters that quite a depth of malevolence which was latent was now stirred in the old man. This feeling made him to imagine a more guarded vengeance than any other human had ever unleashed on their enemy.
When Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale and Pearl step onto the scaffold, they are seen holding each other’s hands.
As she silently ascends the steps and stands at the platform, she grips tightly little Pearl’s hand. Likewise, the reverend fells for the child’s other hand and takes it. The author describes that the moment he did so, “there came what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life, other than his own.” Reverend Dimmesdale is recorded feeling as if the mother and daughter were communicating their so important warmth into his feeble system. This “electric chain” formed by the three creates a bond hence the scaffold here signifies
unity.
Lastly and most importantly, the scaffold was an emblem of the strong foundation of the Puritan society. As he walked in the shadow of a dream, as it were, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale reached for the spot where, now so long since, Hester had lived through her first hours of public disgrace. The same platform (scaffold), black and weather-stained with the storm and/or sunshine of seven long years, with the footsteps of many wrongdoers who had since climbed onto it, remained firmly rooted under the balcony of the meeting-house; Reverend Arthur ascended it. Scaffolds hold years of sin and punishment which are the main fundamentals of the Puritan Society. The phrases, “black and weather-stained with the storm and/or sunshine of seven long years” and “the footsteps of many wrongdoers”, symbolize that the scaffold had existed since time immemorial hence was one of the pillars of the Puritan society.
In conclusion, the in Scarlet Letter, the scaffold was a platform that structured sin and its consequent punishment after either confession or exposure of the truth. It also followed keenly the ideals of the Puritan society which was governed by the Puritan Code. The three scaffold scenes provide the backdrop by which everything in the story revolves around.
Work cited
Brown, Gillian. Hawthorne, Inheritance and Women’s Property. Studies in the Novel 23.1: 107-18. 1991
Canadas, Ivan. A New Source for the Title and Some Themes in the Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 32.1: 43-51. 2006
Charvat, William. Literary Publishing in America. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.1993. Print
Cummings, Michael. The Scarlett Letter: Plot Summary. 2004. Web. 3rd April 2012 www.cummingstudyguides.net
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlett Letter. Boston: Ticknor, Reeds & Fields. 1850. Print
McFarland, Philip. Hawthorne in Concord. New York: Grove Press. 2004. Print
Miller, Edwin. Salem is my Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorn. Iowa: University of Iowa Press. 1991. Print
Sparknotes. The Scarlet Letter. 2012. Web. 3rd April 2012. www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet
Waggoner, Hyatt. Hawthorne: A Critical Study, 3rd Edition. Cambridge. Belknap Press. 1971. Print
Wineapple, Brenda. Hawthorne: A Life. New York. Random House. 2003. Print
Thesis: The Scaffold was the platform of humiliation.
The Scarlet Letter is a novel that revolves around the repercussion of an adulterous encounter in Puritan Boston. It emerged that a young beautiful woman (Hester Prynne) bears child with a respected clergyman (Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale). According to the Puritan Code, this would lead to public condemnation and mockery hence the two “partners in sin” decline to proclaim their parenthood until immense pressure is piled. Hester’s punishment is to wear letter “A” and stand on a scaffold. This was viewed as the platform for pillory since it was characterized by confinement of the human head in tight grasp then the body displayed for public viewing.
The scaffold scenes of the novel contain many symbols that are essential. First, the scaffold was a platform used for the execution of a criminal and a platform for forgiveness whenever they repented. Hester, for instance, was made to wear letter “A” on her bosom and stand on the scaffold in front of the whole town to see her and her child. By using the scaffold, the author portrays how significant the instrument is the society since Hester repented and was consequently forgiven whilst on it. On the other hand, Dimmesdale failed to get a pardon …show more content…
numerous times because he did not stand on the scaffold with Hester. Conversely, this changes at his death when he feels he can stand on the scaffold together with Hester and Pearl (their child).
Another symbol that the scaffold represented is sin and rejection. It is observed that Hester must wear the letter of shame which identified her as an adulterer and portraying her as an outcast in the community. On the scaffold, she withstands the full glare of members of the community who watched with contempt. In addition, she is banished to live in the outskirts of the town with her child. The scaffold further demonstrates self-respect. This is observed in the way Hester confidently wears the scarlet letter and choosing to live a high standard life rather the low and moody life as ‘prescribed’ by others. Hester takes responsibility of herself and that of her child in a bid to get re-established in the society. In the end, this bears fruits as she wins the respect of the town’s dwellers.
Apart from symbolizing humiliation, the scaffold draws the line brings the aspect of good and evil. For instance, Hester’s adulterous act which results in the conception of her daughter, Pearl, and earns a day with ridicule. Even though boisterous and wild when growing up, Pearl becomes a source of blessing and happiness to Hester. The author describes her figuratively as “a little gem that gives off a bright light at a time of darkness.” Further, the scaffold represents hypocrisy and cowardice in the society. Reverend Dimmesdale continues to practice the so central point of a religious leader even though he has gone against one of the greatest rule in the Puritan code. He also lacks the courage to admit in public his inequities until pressure is piled on him.
Due to the imminent punishment (the scaffold) that breakers of the Puritan Code faced, the scaffold is used to depict vengeance. This is seen in the way Roger Chillingworth becomes monomaniacal and unrelenting in his quest for revenge against the man who gets Hester pregnant. The author writes of him as “calm, gentle and passionless”. However as calm as he appeared, it was feared in some quarters that quite a depth of malevolence which was latent was now stirred in the old man. This feeling made him to imagine a more guarded vengeance than any other human had ever unleashed on their enemy.
When Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale and Pearl step onto the scaffold, they are seen holding each other’s hands.
As she silently ascends the steps and stands at the platform, she grips tightly little Pearl’s hand. Likewise, the reverend fells for the child’s other hand and takes it. The author describes that the moment he did so, “there came what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life, other than his own.” Reverend Dimmesdale is recorded feeling as if the mother and daughter were communicating their so important warmth into his feeble system. This “electric chain” formed by the three creates a bond hence the scaffold here signifies
unity.
Lastly and most importantly, the scaffold was an emblem of the strong foundation of the Puritan society. As he walked in the shadow of a dream, as it were, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale reached for the spot where, now so long since, Hester had lived through her first hours of public disgrace. The same platform (scaffold), black and weather-stained with the storm and/or sunshine of seven long years, with the footsteps of many wrongdoers who had since climbed onto it, remained firmly rooted under the balcony of the meeting-house; Reverend Arthur ascended it. Scaffolds hold years of sin and punishment which are the main fundamentals of the Puritan Society. The phrases, “black and weather-stained with the storm and/or sunshine of seven long years” and “the footsteps of many wrongdoers”, symbolize that the scaffold had existed since time immemorial hence was one of the pillars of the Puritan society.
In conclusion, the in Scarlet Letter, the scaffold was a platform that structured sin and its consequent punishment after either confession or exposure of the truth. It also followed keenly the ideals of the Puritan society which was governed by the Puritan Code. The three scaffold scenes provide the backdrop by which everything in the story revolves around.
Work cited
Brown, Gillian. Hawthorne, Inheritance and Women’s Property. Studies in the Novel 23.1: 107-18. 1991
Canadas, Ivan. A New Source for the Title and Some Themes in the Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 32.1: 43-51. 2006
Charvat, William. Literary Publishing in America. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.1993. Print
Cummings, Michael. The Scarlett Letter: Plot Summary. 2004. Web. 3rd April 2012 www.cummingstudyguides.net
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlett Letter. Boston: Ticknor, Reeds & Fields. 1850. Print
McFarland, Philip. Hawthorne in Concord. New York: Grove Press. 2004. Print
Miller, Edwin. Salem is my Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorn. Iowa: University of Iowa Press. 1991. Print
Sparknotes. The Scarlet Letter. 2012. Web. 3rd April 2012. www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet
Waggoner, Hyatt. Hawthorne: A Critical Study, 3rd Edition. Cambridge. Belknap Press. 1971. Print
Wineapple, Brenda. Hawthorne: A Life. New York. Random House. 2003. Print