The Scaffold In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the scaffold plays a vital role as a unifying device. It symbolizes not only sin, but also redemption.The scaffold scenes are very important because during that time, all of the major characters are united for a specific purpose. Each of the three scaffold scenes shows how the situations of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale are drastically changed. These three scenes are ultimately the most dramatic scenes in the novel.
The scaffold’s first appearance was in the beginning of the novel when Hester, with her infant in her arms, was made a public spectacle and was forced to stand upon the scaffold for committing adultery. Hester became an outcast in her community, always wearing the scarlet letter