The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Scarlet Letter and Symbolism

Red is the color of sin . The color is a symbol for the moral misconduct of the characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's novel The Scarlet Letter There is no redemption in the color except through the character 's own perspective of sin thus , Hawthorne 's defining elements in his novel are that of sin and salvation . That is how Hester , one of the protagonists of the novel is able to justify her embellishment

of the red letter `A on her chest , but it is also the downfall of the other main protagonist Dimmesdale . The sin in the novel will be explored in this essay as well as how Hester Prynne does not apply the context of the red letter `A that the Puritan society had placed on her as sinful . Thus , while the essay will focus on the element of sin it will also focus on how Hester Prynne keeps her own identity throughout her `redemptive ' punishment The following essay will reflect different symbols which Hawthorne used in The Scarlet Letter ' such as the `A ' on Hester 's chest , the color red as it applies to Hester as well as and other religious connotations for the color and the symbolism of certain moments between the characters which also has a tie in with religion (Weinauer 29

Consuming an apple from the tree that God forbid them to eat from resulted in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden . As a result of their actions , Adam and Eve became aware of their human qualities , that separate them from the divine . Forced to toil and procreate , two labors ' Adam and Eve define the human being . In the book , The Scarlet Letter ' the experience of Hester and Dimmesdale reminds one of the story of Adam and Eve . In both cases , sin results in expulsion and suffering , but also provides the knowledge of human meaning , therefore this knowledge can serve as a counterweight to this sin , but only if the sin is not perceived as evil , if it is perceived as evil then the banishment and subjugation in the novel becomes a burden to bear (as can be seen with the use of the cat-o-nine-tails by Dimmesdale in his closet , a type of mortal punishment that he bears with Hester , allowing his blood to be the crimson symbolism that unites the two in sin while one wears the color on her chest , Adam /Dimmesdale bears it on his back , thus Hawthorne 's novel suggests to the reader a reinvention of the creation story . The twist in the novel is that Hester 's character does not accept the Puritan ideas of sin as her personal sin , but instead remains bearing the red letter `A ' on her chest almost as if she were proud of it as can be attested to in the narrative of the novel

The color red symbolized sin and passion in...