Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Letter “A”
Adultery has been around for many centuries. It has maintained its consequences such as banishment to death sentence. “The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, adulteress Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A to mark her shame. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains unidentified and is wracked with guilt, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, seeks revenge.” (The Scarlet Letter) Hawthorne describes injustice, fate predetermination and conscience. Symbolism is one of the main critical part of the Scarlet Letter novel. Each character in the novel has a special representation of meanings and different ideas. Puritans believe that adultery is one of the greatest sin that any human being can commit. Nathaniel Hawthorne, exposes Hester
While awaiting for her husband to arrive, she establishes independence for herself, repairing her home, and mingling with her peers in the village where she resides. Hester met a pastor in the village where she established herself at. Assuming that her husband deceased in the hands of Indians, both Puritans consummate their love to each other. After conceiving a child together, Hester Prynne refuses to reveal Pearl’s father, which then forces her to bear the letter “A” on her chest. The letter “A” stands for a symbol in which she has committed adultery. She was required to stand on a wooden platform in front of the village for a total of three hours. Being publicly humiliated in front of many Puritan eyes looking up upon her, she was not allowed to speak to anyone. Hester was required to wear the letter “A” for as long as she resided in the village. “Thus she will be living sermon against sin, until ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone.” (The Scarlet Letter) Hester was an outcast in her town, she was shunned upon her peers as a person who had committed the unbearable adultery. Upon being shunned by everyone in the village, Hester’s husband Roger Chillingworth, has made an arrival in the colony as a doctor. Only Hester was the only one to recognize him as an undercover doctor. Upon his arrival he meets with Hester in the prison cell. They both agreed that they will not reveal his identity to anyone in the colony. Hester and Pearl resided at the edge of town while Chillingworth moves in with Reverend Dimmesdale. Hester’s husband soon discovers that Pearl’s father is actually Arthur Dimmesdale, however Dimmesdale assumes that Chillingworth is simply just a doctor visiting the colony. As they lives together, for a total of seven years, Chillingworth spies on Dimmesdale to torment the guilt-stricken man for years, keeping him alive out of spite. As guilt builds up in Chillingworth, he starts to