Realistic Fiction Paper Being originally written as a reflection on authors cathartic experience, The scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne embedded many fundamental issues of society between the binding parts of a single letter. Although various literary interpretations of Hawthornes letter provide appropriate critical understanding of the story, the initial and eloquent meanings of this symbol are art and apostle. From the critical point of view, the scarlet letter impacted the fate of all characters in the story, avoiding its initial purpose to punish and stigmatize. Mr. Dimmesdale confesses and reconciles with little Pearl, the fruit of his affair with Hester Prynne, and eventually dies in a relevant peace. Simultaneously, Roger Chillingworth, deprived of the object of his anger, abandons any further desire for revenge, and thus any logical explanation for living. Hester Prynne eventually occupies the role of moral outsider, voluntarily wearing the symbol of her shame, and becomes a counselor to the local women who confessed the sorrows and perplexities they experienced because they, like she, had acted on their sinful passions or complained of the loneliness they felt because they were deprived of the opportunity to do so. While literary critics explain that practically the scarlet letter had not done its office, Hawthorne exposes his belief that a new truth would be revealed that would establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness (Hawthorne, 305).
The Essay on Scarlet Letter Hawthorne Symbol Narrative
... on the narrative as whole. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne consistently emphasizes the importance of the scarlet letter as a symbol in terms of its ... the reader is first introduced to the symbolic scarlet letter Hawthorne invokes a perception that the letter is something ornamental or decorative. This is ...
According to Hawthornes intentions, the scarlet A put on Hester Prynne has important distinctive purposes. Primarily, it constitutes a warning to Victorian society of the nature and consequences of hypocrisy and intolerance.
Simultaneously, through Hester Prynne author delivers the outcomes of womens sexual transgression. From the critical point of view, Hawthorne intentionally does not consider Hester to be a catalyst for womans splendid evolution, angel and apostle of the coming revelation because she is already stained with sin, bowed down with shame, or even burdened with a life-long sorrow. However, Hawthorne employs different ideas about sins, affirming that they should not be treated like crime, punishment for which is usually carried out by a controversial and sacrilegious man. Hawthorne reveals how burden of the scarlet letter makes Hester to become stronger. In the forest, while the role of pastor and parishioner switches Hester says, Thou God punishes! Thou shalt forgive (Hawthorne, 178).
While Hawthornes prognostication of angel and apostle of the coming revelation may have held true in the social and moral universe he portrayed in the novel, historically throughout the last half of the nineteenth century there were numerous efforts to reconstruct the erotic and emotional dimensions of private life of women, as well as there were women who voluntarily took on the role of moral outsiders.
Having projected the existing reality onto different historical period, Hawthorne saw contemporary women, who started challenging the emerging code of Victorian sexual respectability, such as prostitutes, unwed mothers, bastard children, and adulterous wives. From the critical point of view, the intentions of moral outsiders were to overcome their sense of shame and to purse sexual independence. During Hawthornes period, the cultural, social, and economic changes unleashed by the market revolution questioned traditional means for the dissemination of sexual knowledge. Simultaneously, the social and cultural preparedness that accompanied the market revolution also recast the emotional lives of Americans. Society began to abandon the ties and traditions of the small communities, pursuing alternative social relations, both real and imagined. As a result entirely new communities, who drew on novels and letters in an effort to reconstruct the intimate social worlds they had lost were created. Hawthornes Scarlet Letter absorbed the culture of coming changes, and through authors cathartic experience was repositioned in early periods of American society. From the personal point of view, The Scarlet Letter constitutes important source of primary information to be carefully examined and utilized while analyzing several historical periods, their conjunction and interconnection. Practically, Hawthorne discusses true societal patterns in one of the main controversial periods of American history.
Scarlet Letter Essay Hester Dimmesdale Pearl
The Scarlet Letter It is six in the morning at an Arizona prison. A prisoner named Jonas has been awoken by the prison bell, which sounds more like a horn, and signals that it is time for the prisoners to awake. Jonas quickly gets up, makes his bed and then stands at the door of his cell awaiting a prison guard who will be doing the daily check of his cell. While waiting for the guard, Jonas ...
Simultaneously, I am surprised and confused with interpretation of custom house chapter, in particular, because according to the literature theory it considered to be uncommon to utilize such a broad and important metaphor that early in the novel. From this critical point of view, symbol of custom house, consisting of several floors becomes as much metaphorical as letter A does. Referring in its broad sense to America, its culture, people and peculiarities, Hawthornes custom house is depicted as place, which does not lead to paradise, place of commercially bound society. The pessimistic tone of this metaphor might have been caused with authors controversial social changes, which America experienced during the second half of the nineteenth century. Simultaneously, Hawthorne was greatly affected with the past of his ancestors, and practically it explains to some degree why authors custom house has several levels, symbolizing past, present and future generations of America. Bibliography Hawthorne N. Scarlet Letter, Boston Books, Boston, 1986.
