The Scarlett Letter Essay
Sinead McGonagle
Ms. Dolan
AP American Literature
16 September 2013
Symbolism as a Characteristic of the American Romantic Movement
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 19th century novel The Scarlet Letter, young mother Hester Prynne is ostracized by her harsh Puritan community due to adulterous relations with admired Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. As punishment for her devious act, she is forced to wear the scarlet letter “A” upon her chest until the day she dies. The time of The Scarlet Letter’s creation was marked by a literary movement in which artistic expression became increasingly liberal. This era, commonly referred to as the American Romantic movement, stressed experimentation within the arts. The novel opens depicting a scene of a beautiful rosebush growing next to a dreary prison door. This symbolism foreshadows the theme of Hawthorne’s novel; the sweet, flowering plant shows that hope “may relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (Hawthorne 37). Hawthorne encompasses the artistic experimentation of the American Romantic movement in his work “The Scarlet Letter” through the concept that a setting, character or object can hold more meaning than appears.
Hester’s cottage, the setting for a majority of the novel, can be seen as a symbol for her isolation from her community. After her public conviction, Hester chooses to live in a small, remote cottage located on the outskirts of town. She consciously chooses to make her home in an area whose “comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity” (Hawthorne 56). Hester’s overwhelming feelings of loneliness and detachment take form through the symbolism of her secluded residency. The location of Hester’s cottage symbolizes not only her physical but also mental and emotional separation from the rest of the community, which relates to the American Romanticism characteristic of focusing on the individual.
Hawthorne further extends his use of symbolism through the
Ms. Dolan
AP American Literature
16 September 2013
Symbolism as a Characteristic of the American Romantic Movement
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 19th century novel The Scarlet Letter, young mother Hester Prynne is ostracized by her harsh Puritan community due to adulterous relations with admired Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. As punishment for her devious act, she is forced to wear the scarlet letter “A” upon her chest until the day she dies. The time of The Scarlet Letter’s creation was marked by a literary movement in which artistic expression became increasingly liberal. This era, commonly referred to as the American Romantic movement, stressed experimentation within the arts. The novel opens depicting a scene of a beautiful rosebush growing next to a dreary prison door. This symbolism foreshadows the theme of Hawthorne’s novel; the sweet, flowering plant shows that hope “may relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (Hawthorne 37). Hawthorne encompasses the artistic experimentation of the American Romantic movement in his work “The Scarlet Letter” through the concept that a setting, character or object can hold more meaning than appears.
Hester’s cottage, the setting for a majority of the novel, can be seen as a symbol for her isolation from her community. After her public conviction, Hester chooses to live in a small, remote cottage located on the outskirts of town. She consciously chooses to make her home in an area whose “comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity” (Hawthorne 56). Hester’s overwhelming feelings of loneliness and detachment take form through the symbolism of her secluded residency. The location of Hester’s cottage symbolizes not only her physical but also mental and emotional separation from the rest of the community, which relates to the American Romanticism characteristic of focusing on the individual.
Hawthorne further extends his use of symbolism through the