Scarlet Letter Literary Analysis

Scarlet Letter Literary Analysis
Aaron Kim
Weidman
Honors English 2
25 August 2016
Scarlet Letter Analysis The "Scarlet Letter", by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel about a woman named Hester Prynne who has committed the heinous
act of adultery. Throughout the novel, Hester is condemned to wearing the letter "A", a.k.a.the scarlet letter. Hester and her daughter Pearl are shunned
by the community while the identity of the man who committed adultery with Hester remains a secret. In the novel, Hester's old husband comes to
Boston to find and exact revenge on that man. There are many uses of symbolism and allusions throughout the book. However, Hawthorne most
prominently uses the scarlet letter "A", Hester's daughter, Pearl, and Roger Chillingworth as symbols in the book....show more content...
Pearl, like the scarlet letter, serves a reminder of Hester's affair. However, Pearl is more than just a punishment to her mother: she is also a blessing.
Hester gives her daughter the name Pearl "not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that
would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant "Pearl", as being of great price,–purchased with all she had" (Hawthorne 69). In a
way, Hester sees Pearl as a punishment, and even believes that Pearl will have physical or mental defects because of her actions. Hester even
questions if Pearl is truly her daughter, constantly asking "What are you child?" or "Are you truly my child?" Despite all this, Pearl is an
important part of Hester's life and ultimately gives Hester a reason to live. Hester's love for Pearl also bolsters her when she is tempted to give up.
An example of Pearl giving Hester a reason to live is when the ministers and governor try to take Pearl away from Hester, Hester adamantly refuses
and defends her right to keep Pearl. The ministers and the governor change their minds when minister Dimmesdale says that they should "leave them
as God has seen fit to place them". Throughout the novel, Pearl mainly serves as a symbolic character. Pearl is a reminder of Hester's sin, a
punishment, and also a
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The Scarlet Letter Essay
The Scarlet Letter Introduction The Scarlet Letter is a classic tale of sin, punishment, and revenge. It was written in 1850 by the famous American
author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It documents the lives of three tragic characters, each of whom suffer greatly because of his or her sins. Shot Plot The
story begins with Hester Prynne, a resident of a small Puritan community, being led from the town jailhouse to a public scaffold where she must stand
for three hours as punishment for adultery. She must also wear a scarlet A on her dress for the rest of her life as part of her punishment. As she is led
to the scaffold, many of the women in the crowd complain that...show more content...
When Chillingworth asks Hester the identity of her lover, she refuses to answer. Because of this, Chillingworth makes her promise never to reveal
that he is her husband. After Hester is released from prison, she goes to live in a small cottage at the edge of town. After a few years, people begin
to notice that her daughter, Pearl, behaves very strangely, and they threaten to take her away from Hester. Hester takes Pearl to Governor Bellingham's
mansion planning to plead for the right to keep her daughter. At the mansion she is met by the governor and his three guests, Reverend Wilson,
Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Reverend Dimmesdale convinces the governor to allow Hester to keep Pearl. Chillingworth, who
has been living with Reverend Dimmesdale since his arrival in town, begins to suspect that Reverend Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. One evening
while Dimmesdale is sleeping, Chillingworth examines Dimmesdale's chest and finds something which confirms his suspicion. From this moment on,
Chillingworth devotes himself to seeking revenge. One night, Dimmesdale is so tormented by his conscience that he goes and stands on the scaffold
that Hester had stood on seven years earlier. As he is standing there, he sees Hester and Pearl walk by and he calls them onto the scaffold with him.
After he acknowledges his guilt to them, a giant red A

An Analysis Of ' The Scarlet Letter '
Adultery in Easy A Based of a Novel "The Scarlet Letter"
Saul Ibarra
English IV
South Texas Business Education Technology Academy
In the movie Easy A a cinematic film directed by Will Gluck is a comedy about a girl in high school whose social life completely changes because of
a small lie that dominates her image. This rumor connects to Nathaniel Hawthorne's the scarlet letter due to the fact that themes are drawn such as sin
and redemption.
Emma stone plays the protagonist Olive Penderghast and fits in the stereo typical quintessential nobody, over looked and unpopular. Hester her only
friend is the exact opposite, unlike Hester, Olive's only sin was not the action of committing adultery but the action of lying....show more content...
This is solely based upon that they happen to be women that sinned not men.
Both Olive and Hester serve as symbols of social disobedience in both eras. Although back then in 1642 Puritanical Boston the worst crime women
could commit was adultery, both women were no secret to the public about it. Hester is known for being embarked under a public punishment
given by her public society. Olive decides to take a different route in which other than denying the rumor she embraces her given image, decides to
buy and accommodate her new lingerie clothing with the meaningful red letter A such as Hester herself. By adding red letter Olive is connecting her
life to the readings of "The Scarlett Letter" all while embracing the "sin" of adultery. Olive implements these large Red Letter A's to make a social
statement that if people truly and honestly think she is an adulterer why not own it and have fun with the attention. She gets this idea based on the
novel that she is reading in high school The Scarlett Letter. The Red Letters A's serve as a purpose to announce to public eye that she committed
adultery and sin. Although back in the sixteen hundred's it was a public punishment, in more modern times olive Penderghast uses it to make a social
statement. Easy A is about how society judges' teens for their sexuality especially girls. Olives exact words "I used

Analysis Of ' The Scarlet Letter '
Nadia Innab
Mrs. Mogilefsky
English 3 AP
31 August 2015
The Scarlet Letter Questions
1.One of the author's purposes in delivering this literary piece to the public is to expose the hypocrisy of society. For example, when Hester chooses
to accept her Scarlet Letter instead of wear it with shame, society looks at her as if there was something wrong with her conscience. Hawthorne states,
"This morbid meddling of conscience with an immaterial matter betokened, is to be feared, no genuine and steadfast penitence, but something doubtful,
something that might be deeply wrong, beneath" (Hawthorne 77). When Hester decides to use her needle work as a way to express herself and try to
create a new identity with her letter, society thinks that there is something wrong with her, even though they were the ones who made her wearthe
Scarlet Letter. Another purpose of the novel is to show how easily society can isolate an individual just because of a mistake they made or a difference
in their character. Hester Prynne deals with being an outcast after she made a mistake. First, she is sentenced to prison, and she is extremely isolated in
her cell. Then, when Hester leaves the prison she is consistently judged and made felt different than the rest of society. Even though Hester is
considered an outcast in society, she embraces it and continues to live her life as best she can.
2.Hawthorne's tone in the novel is direct, yet disconnected. He is direct in a way that he is to the point and is

Analysis Of The Book ' The Scarlet Letter '
Katya Flaska
American Literature
Period 5
10 August 2014
The Scarlet Letter Book Analysis
1. The book is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn. The genre of the novel is historical fiction.
2. The preamble describes how the book came to be written. The narrator was a surveyor of the customhouse in Salem, where he discovered
documents he used to write the story. He uncovered a manuscript with a scarlet "A", which contained the events recorded by a previous surveyor in the
1600s. When the narrator lost his customs post, he decided to write The Scarlet Letter using the manuscript he discovered. The story opens with a
woman, introduced as Hester Prynne, being led from the town prison with an infant, named Pearl, in her arms. The author focuses on the fact that
Hester has a scarlet letter "A" beautifully adorned on her breast. According to the people, her husband sent her to America ahead of him but never
arrived and Hester had an affair during his absence. Although she is being publically scorned on the town scaffold, she refuses to identify her child's
father. It turns out one of the onlookers is Hester's missing husband, who is now a physician and going by the name of Roger Chillingworth. He only
reveals his true identity to Hester, but she promises to keep it a secret. The novel then turns to focus on Dimmesdale, a respected but ailing minister,
who suffers from a mysterious heart problem. Chillingworth, who is ultimately seeking revenge, tends to the minister's ailments

Critical Analysis Of The Scarlet Letter
Nicholas Nikbin
Dr. Gary W. Light
English 201–40
6 December 2017
Critical Paper of "The Scarlet Letter"
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" Nathaniel was a very dark, symbolic and interesting writer of his time. Nathaniel Hawthorne's use of
imagery, and symbolism gives the reader a taste of identity, sin, death, hypocrisy, and feminism.
Identity is something a lot of people struggle with in society people want to know who they are and what they are doing in life. In this novel of
Hawthorne's, the main character Hester Prynne struggles to find an identity, instead Massachusetts decided her identity for her. She is publicly shamed
for committing adultery, and is forced to wear a Scarlet Red–letter A on her clothing, so everyone knows her as an adulteress. It gets a little deeper than
that though, Hester is determined to change identity that they have gave her she wants to be in control. Reading the novel Hester is a mother,
independent and smart woman. Society is constantly fighting her and decides to say that the letters symbolism also means A for "ABLE", but as smart
and resistant as Hester is she resisted the interpretation. Hester feels that the letter symbolizes her past deeds and actions. Hester wants to be the one to
determine these events. Reading the novel at the end Hester gains control over her public identity and her personal. She turns her A into a symbol of
feminine repression and controls her own identity and that she shouldn't live by what the society

Psychoanalytic Analysis : ' The Scarlet Letter '
Psychoanalytical Analysis Throughout The Scarlet Letter there are many Freudian symbolisms that can be found scattered throughout this American
classic. In nearly every chapter there is at least one reference to a phallic or yonic symbols to demonstrate the longing for a male figure in both
Pearl and Hester's life, and the symbolism to depict the shift from id to ego. One of the earlier metaphors to symbolize Hester's suppression is the
scaffold that she stands upon in the first chapter of the novel. Hawthorne writes, "she [Hester] ascended a flight of wooden steps" (page 76). The
ascension using wooden steps to get to the wooden scaffold is not only fairly accurate to the building materials for the time, but it is also a symbolism
to represent Hester's role throughout the rest of the novel. According to Freud, "The material out of which something is made, is at the same time its
mother–part," (Freud Symbolism). Hawthorne writes, "It was, in short, the platform of the pillory; and above it rose the framework of that
instrument of discipline, so fashioned as to confine the human head in its tight grasp, and thus hold it up to the public gaze" (page 76). This
particular line is littered with words that can be associated with what a penis looks like and how it is used. By using words like short, rose, and, this
one is awkward, tight grasp, one can see the symbolism found in the symbolisms from just one line about the scaffold. This line represents that Hester is

During the first half of the nineteenth century the Romanticism movement was starting to reach its apex. However, one of its sub–genres would have a
longer impact on literature. It was gothic fiction, a genre that according to study.com "involved elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom, but it also
included romantic elements of nature and very high emotion, such as fear and suspense, and often concentrated on individuality". The most famous
writer of gothic fiction during the early to mid nineteenth century was Edgar Allen Poe. However, another writer around the same time also made an
impact. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 to an old New England family who can be traced to old Salem. He is best known for his short stories
like "The Birthmark" and "The Minister 's Black Veil"; and the classic novel "The Scarlet Letter". He died in 1864 on a tour of the White Mountains
in New Hampshire. Most of his stories takes place during puritan Massachusetts. "Young Goodman Brown" is such a story. It is about a young puritan
man who has recently gotten married. At the start of the story he is on a journey through the woods. There he comes a across a strange old man
who claims to know everyone in the colony. He also knows everyone's sins. Brown eventually sees a ceremony for the devil. He sees people there he
thought were the pillars of his community like Goody Cloyse and The Minster. What scares him the most his that his wife Faith is there too. It is
revealed that it was

Analysis Of ' The Scarlet Letter '
In The Scarlet Letter a young woman named Hester is criticized and mocked for having a young girl from an adulterous act with a sneaky pastor.
The young girl will be named Pearl (named Pearl for having cost a great price). Throughout the novel as the characters develop and change the plot of
the story develops into a riveting climax and an end no one could have imagined. Within the novel there are five major scenes that build up to the
dramatic ending of The Scarlet Letter. The scenes in order are the first time Heaster showed her face and stood on the scafell after she was released
from prison, when Heaster and Pearl met with the main men of the village to discuss Pearls fate, when Dimmesdale (the young pastor) stands on the
scaffold at...show more content...
While standing on the scaffold she sees her husband sho has been gone for years, no one recognizes Chillingworth but her and she feel ashamed
for the betrayal she did to him. This scene is one of the most important of the book because of the introduction of characters and the setting of the
story. It also shows the way Heaster feels towards the whole idea and gives small hints for what is to come in the future of the book. In the second
major scene of the book Heaster and now 7 year old Pearl go to visit a couple of the top men in the village such as the governor, Wilson,
Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. " The first half of the story has covered a space of seven years; the second half of will cover no more than
fifteen days" claims Malcolm Cowley (15). Heaster brought Pearl to them so they could ask her a couple of questions about where she is from.
They wanted to make sure she was getting a proper education. Now Pearl was extremely smart and witty so she knew all of the answers to their
questions but decided to answer them incorrectly. Wilson was convinced and wanted to take the child from Hester, dimmesdale protects her and says
about how no one else but Heaster could take care of such a smart and interesting child, Pearl then holds his hand and Dimmsdale kissed her
forehead. Heaster also states how Pearl is her everything and would rather die before giving her up. This scene is important because it shows the love
Heaster has for Pearl and

Women or Men, is there really a double standard? The inequality between men and women was even more prominent and obvious during the
antebellum era. In The Scarlet Letter By Nathanial Hawthorne there was Hester Prynne and in The Two Offers By Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, there
was Janette Alston. Both of these women, rose above the rest, through adversity, hardship, and against all odds still came out on top, even during a time
period that didn't appreciate a strong woman. In "The Scarlet Letter", Hester Prynne, was thrown in jail and forced to wear a symbol of her sin and
lived on the outskirts of society for most of her life after, but even through all that she did not break or run away she became stronger and it
became a part of her identity. In The Two Offers, Janette Alston is not necessarily the main focus of the story but was a wonderful symbol during
that time period. She becomes very famous for her spirit, where as her sister does the opposite and gets married and tries to have children but
passes away and instead of Janette, breaking down because of this, she becomes stronger in the face of adversity and inevitably becomes an Old
Maid. These are just a few of the many examples of what our characters go through and how harshly our society judge's women versus men, it is as if
they are held to higher standards, and Hawthorne and Harper create a vivid picture of what many women experienced during the beginning of the 19th
century.
During the 19th century women were

Scarlet Letter Analysis Essay
"Women belong in the kitchen." "All women should be barefoot and pregnant." "Women are strictly homemakers." These are a few of the commonly
used phrases regarding the female role in society that date back to the mid–seventeenth century. However, ardent supporters of gender equality have
surfaced in almost every culture where this ideology is practiced. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this inveterate societal conflict through his story The
Scarlet Letter. The main character, Hester Prynne, is punished for committing adultery by being forced to wear a scarlet letter upon her bosom;
Hawthorne created a story sympathetic to the female cause and demonstrated, through Hester, qualities of early feminism that later establish themselves
during his...show more content...
These feminists aimed to defend their silenced voices. One motive for the dissent of inequality could have resulted from the strict government
regulation of conformity. Everyone was trained to evade individualistic thinking, which in turn, led to the questioning of leaders. "It was an age in
which the human intellect had taken a more active and a wider range than for many centuries before," (149). This quote illustrates the possibility of a
change in people's mind regarding the injustice towards women. Hester represents the story's population that thinks freely. She is not content with
fulfilling the pre–determined destiny of a silent wife under Christ, and demonstrates it by challenging that role and attempting to reorganize the
archaic system in which she lives. The women of the town are outraged by her actions, demonstrating that they are afraid that if women start acting
out of passion, the entire structure they depend on would dilapidate. Hester made it clear that it is possible to survive outside of prejudice, which is
still exemplified today. She displays that the idea of feminism and the reasons leading up to it have not changed for decades. For all of these reasons,
Hester's feminist mindset became prevalent throughout the novel. She questions the place of women and becomes heavyhearted when she realizes she
does not possess the ability to make an impact. She ponders whether being alive is worth the travesty she believes is engrained

Scarlet Letter Analysis Essay
Junhee Chung
A.P English Language
August 20, 2015 Novel Analysis Assignment
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Plot and Conflict
The Scarlet Letter is a story involving many symbols. The novel is set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1640s, around the time colonization first
took its place in America. The protagonist, known as Hester Prynne is a newcomer to the colony. Hester is a married woman from Europe who
commits adultery in the colony gets arrested. Hester keeps the fathers identity a secret. One of her punishments for committing adultery is to stand on
the scaffold to be criticized. The other main one is to stitch a scarlet letter on her clothes to publicly identify her as an adulterer. Soon after her child
Pearl...show more content...
She is born out of wedlock in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Pearl grows up living in the woods with only her mother. Pearl is a character who is
brutally honest. Her honesty make the adult characters ponder their actions and thoughts. Pearl is a flat and static character because she remains
constant throughout the story. Her personality does not change, and neither does her characteristics. Pearl inquires a lot about the relationship between
her mother and Reverend Dimmesdale. She is also a harsh judger. One thing that Pearl does is she fixates on the scarlet letter quite often. Pearl is very
smart as she picks up that Reverend Dimmesdale is her father before anyone else. She asks what it will change, "Doth he love us?". Pearl's internal
conflict, whether she is aware of it or not, has to do with her being born out of wedlock. She is born an outcast and born a product of sin. This
affects her more than she realizes. Pearl's external conflict is not having a father or someone else other than her mother loving her. Pearl dislikes
Reverend Dimmesdale after realizing that he is her father because he will not acknowledge them in public. Pearl opens her heart a little more when he
dies on the scaffold after holding their hands together and confessing to the sin. Pearl is a constant reminder to Hester of her scarlet letter both
intentionally and unintentionally. Hester dresses Pearl up just like her scarlet letter. (257

Analysis Of ' The ' From The Scarlet Letter '
Kianna A. Coley
Cooper
AP Lang & Comp
10 December 2014
Composition: Analysis – Chapter Nine, "The Leech" from the Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most iconic books in history; its storyline, theme and literal characters have made an impact
on the world of literature for hundreds of years. What stands out the most in the book is the use of archaic diction and figurative language, which serve
to paint vivid, descriptive pictures of each character, specifically, Roger Chillingworth. In chapter nine ofThe Scarlet Letter, 'The Leech", Nathaniel
Hawthorne uses setting, allusion, metaphor, irony, diction, and tone to reveal Roger Chillingworth, the town "Leech's, evil, ominous character
displayed by his actions and words. Throughout chapter nine of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne places Chillingworth in or near the cemetery by the
widow's house, an ominous setting that foreshadows his death. During the book as a whole, Chillingworth usually pops up in spooky settings, such as
Hester's jail cell, the woods, Dimmesdale's dark lit room, and the scaffold at night, these all playing into the eerie nature of Chillingworth himself.
Towards the beginning of this chapter, it is suggested that Chillingworth had come to terms with the reality of his estranged wife, Hester, having a child
by another man, and was so distraught and embarrassed that he changed his identity with a vengeance. "Unknown to all but Hester Prynne... he chose to
withdraw his name

The Scarlet Letter: An Analysis of Puritanism and Sin
The Scarlet Letter is a modern classic of American literature written about controversy and published with controversy. The main topic of the book,
adultery, is written in a dark and sad way, as Hawthorne describes injustice, fate or predetermination and conscience ( Van Doren, 1998) . No other
American novel of the time has such a controversial theme as Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter. The setting of Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
is the seventeenth century Puritan New England. But Hawthorne's writing for this book is heavily influenced by his own nineteenth century culture.
Hawthorne strongly believed in Providence. Hawthorne was descended from the Puritan...show more content...
He describes them "as if hey were ghostsВ…. Gazing with harsh and intolerant criticisms at the pursuits and enjoyments of living men." ( Bloom,
1986, p. ). Predestination, a belief of the
Puritan ethic that man's fate is set at his birth is also very much a part of the characters of the book. The Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, who committed
adultery with Hester Prynne, uses the statement, "Were it God's will" when he asks for Roger Chillingsworth's advice on whether he should admit
publicly to the adultery . Dimmesdale says " I could be well content that my labours, and my sorrows, and my sins, and my pains, should shortly
end with me, and what is earthly of them be buried in my grave, and the spiritual go with me to my eternal state, rather than you should put your
skill to the proof on my behalf" p. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale's affair becomes the focus of the 17th century community in New
England. Hester is the "fallen" woman who is brought before the court of community opinion and justice. This Puritan community believes that all
men have fallen and all men are sinners (Bloom, 1986). Hester is made to wear the scarlet letter, an A. This A represents adultery and it is Hester's
badge of dishonor and sin and a symbol of her failure. The scarlet letter is meant to affect the person wearing it by showing that they have sinned an
are, in the end, sorry for their sin. The letter has the opposite

Analysis Of The Novel ' The Scarlet Letter '
(TITLE) Nathaniel Hawthorn`s romantic novel The Scarlet Letter sets a literary example for exquisite use of tone shifts, symbols, imagery, and
figurative language. The novel tells the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who is guilty of committing the sin of adultery. Reverend Dimmesdale, the
town minister, also took part in this crime as well which resulted in the birth of their child Pearl. Hawthorn`s fine use of symbolism, imagery, and
figurative language help to guide the reader through each of these During the course of the novel, Hester and Dimmesdale run through a series of
different literary tones; disgrace, renewal, and irony which are clearly illustrated through Hawthorn`s writing. Throughout most of the novel,
particularly in the beginning, situations surrounding Hester has a disgraceful tone to them. Hester has committed the sin of adultery, which is a very
shameful and unacceptable crime. As a result of this, Hester must stand on a scaffold above the town holding Pearl, the child born from this sin, and
"On the breast of her gown, in fire red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter 'A' "(
Hawthorne 51). Being that the A attached to her clothing is representative of her crime and sin of adultery, which she commits in effect resulting in the
birth of her child Pearl. Along with being publicly humiliated on the scaffold, the townspeople shun Hester as well. This is(LV) disgraceful as the

Scarlet Letter Character Analysis Essay
In The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the story revolves around the lives and the events of the following characters: Hester Prynne,
who is the mother of an illegitimate child with the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and is now being outcasted by her Puritan community because of it;
the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale who is the charming minister of 17th century Boston, the father of an illegitimate child and has not had his sin
revealed; then there's Roger Chillingworth who is the estranged husband of Hester Prynne who has given up a life–long pursuit of knowledge in
exchange for one of revenge and evil. All of these main characters are important to the story of the scarlet letter, but the one who arguably has the most
important and...show more content...
Pearl's relevance in the novel could be initially mistaken for nothing more than a side character and a minor detail, but after reading the entire story it
becomes clear just how crucial her role is. Pearl's existence is the sole reason for this story to even exist, for without her existence, there would never
have been any evidence or reason for Hester Prynne to be outed for adultery by her Boston Puritan community. As a result, Arthur Dimmesdale would
have continued to live out the rest of his days as the beloved minister without the overwhelming guilt, and Roger Chillingworth would have most likely
continued to pursue knowledge or Hester Prynne. But, Pearl does exist and so does the story of the scarlet letter, making her the single most important
aspect of the

Essay about The Scarlet Letter Critical Analysis
The Scarlet Letter Critical Analysis
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, the direct descendant of John Hawthorne, and a judge at the infamous
Salemwitchcraft trials. The guilt that Hawthorne felt over the actions of his ancestor had an enormous impact on his writings. In his introduction of "
The Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne accepts the guilt from his forefathers and offers to repent for their crimes (Waggoner, 5). This unusual way of viewing
guilt and sin is one driving factor in Hawthorne's writing. The other, which is closely related to the first, is the relationship between men, and of man to
humanity as a whole. Many of Hawthorne's works center around what is right...show more content...
It was the setting that drove Dimmesdale into silence. He feared Puritan justice coming down on his high brow. Whatever love, fear, cruelty, or
punishment one can find in this story is all based on the extended meaning of setting: not just the time and place but the culture, the spirit of the time.
Without these elements of setting, there would be no great story.
Hester Prynne and her daughter Pearl are the unwed mother and illegitimate child. Before the story begins, we learn Hester had been married in
Europe to a dried – up, pretentious, academic sort who sent her ahead to America, intending to follow. He got hung up pursuing his fruitless studies,
and after a couple of years, everyone, including Hester, presumed he lay dead at the bottom of the sea. Hester and her Puritan minister, Arthur
Dimmesdale, had fallen in love and had relations. What Dimmesdale never does have as the story progresses is the courage, or necessity, to own up to
his adultery or hid fatherhood.
While Hester is forced to stand for hours before the critical community, Governor Bellingham directs Dimmesdale to use his priestly persuasive
powers on Hester to make her name the child's father. Hawtorne's prototype for his fictional governor and upholder of the law was a real
Massachusetts governor of the same name. In 1641 Bellingham married a woman already betrothed to a friend of

Significance Of Pearl In The Scarlet Letter
Hester's daughter, Pearl, functions primarily as a symbol. She is quite young during most of the events of this novelВ—when Dimmesdale dies she is
only seven years oldВ—and her real importance lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and
draws their attention, and the reader's, to the denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. In general, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayed as
more perceptive and more honest than adults, and Pearl is the most perceptive of them all. At the first of Pearl's role in the story, it appears as though
someone so grounded in her beliefs, spiritual and mental, would never be dynamic in character. However, that is not the case. This character...show
more content...
From an early age, she fixates on the emblem. Pearl's innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise crucial questions about its meaning.
Similarly, she inquires about the relationships between those around herВ—most importantly, the relationship between Hester and DimmesdaleВ—and
offers perceptive critiques of them. Pearl provides the text's harshest, and most penetrating, judgment of Dimmesdale's failure to admit to his adultery.
Once her father's identity is revealed, Pearl is no longer needed in this symbolic capacity; at Dimmesdale's death she becomes fully "human," leaving
behind her otherworldliness and her preternatural

The Scarlet Letter Theme Analysis
The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel that takes place in the town of Boston, Massachusetts in 1642. Hester
Prynne, the main character of the story, commits the sin of adultery. Because of this sin, she is "blessed" with a child named Pearl. Her punishment
is to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life, which affects the way the townspeople look and act around her. Also, she must
stand on the scaffold in the town for three hours for the whole town to recognize her grave sins. The man who should be standing upon the scaffold
along with her and Pearl is the town minister, Dimmesdale. He is presented as a weak character because of his fear of losing his beloved reputation as
such a holy...show more content...
Because of his pure evil, he is even seen as the Black Man. Hester questions, "Art thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us?"
(Hawthorne 65). In the long run, the main sin of adultery effects the main characters in different positive and negative ways. Furthermore, the sin
of adultery allows the theme of the nature of evil to emerge throughout the novel. The characters in the novel often associate the Black Man with
different people. Generally speaking, the Black Man or the Devil, is the main expression of evil. This Black Man is associated with different
characters including Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Mistress Hibbins, Pearl, and even Hester. Firstly, Pearl associates the Black Man to
Dimmesdale. She asks, "And, mother, he has his hand over his heart! Is It because, when the minister wrote his name in the book, the Black Man
set his mark in that place?" (Hawthorne 164). Pearl, for such a young age, notices how strange and suspicious Dimmesdale acts and senses the evil
within him. Furthermore, instead of direct associations with the Black Man, Chillingworth goes through physical changes that can be compared to
the characteristics of the Black Man. By the end of the novel, he has become an uglier, darker, and more crooked version of his former self from
seven years back. His actions can also be compared to those of the Black Man, where his actions are meant to spread evil. "The fact that he is so
intelligent also makes him all the more

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Scarlet Letter Literary Analysis