Theme Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter
Adultery, Able, Angel. The Scarlet Letter is about a woman who can take a symbol that means one thing and changes it to mean the complete opposite. In this novel a woman named Hester Prynne had committed a sin of adultery and is forced to wear the letter “A” on her chest in remembrance of her sin. The story takes place in the mid 17th century in a Puritan town of Boston. The rest of the story is based upon trying to find out who the father of Hester 's baby is. The meaning of the scarlet letter and the way people view Hester changes throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The scarlet letter was originally suppose to represent adultery and was there to show everyone the sin Hester Prynne had committed. Hester had to …show more content…
They all hold hands and as this is happening “Beheld there the appearance of an immense letter- the letter A - marked out the lines of dull red light…A great red letter in the sky-the letter A- which we interpret to stand for Angel” (194) (152). This proves that the letter “A” originally meaning adultery then changes to able and now means angel. This is shown in the chapter that discusses Hester and Dimmesdale 's death and burial. “On the field, sable, the letter A, gules.”(261). This shows that on their tombstone that they share there is a letter “A”. The reader can infer that this “A” could mean Angel for now finally they are both free of the sin and are now a Angel in heaven. Another reason why the reader can infer that the scarlet letter now means angel is because when Hester and Dimmesdale were first standing together one the scaffold trying to make Dimmesdale 's guilt go away the townspeople said the “A” in the sky meant angel. Then at the end when they are buried next to each other everyone knows Dimmesdale 's sin and they can both live guilt free as an angel which is why there is a letter “A” on the tombstone. In conclusion the Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears on her chest had three different meanings throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Adultery, Able and in
A In Claudia Durst Johnson's The Scarlet Letter
727 Words | 3 PagesShe had relations with another man which resulted in her daughter Pearl. In the book it is clear that “A” stands for several words. Adultery, angel and able ; but when analyzed one could see that it has distinct implications for different characters. Claudia Durst Johnson’s article The Meaning of the Scarlet A analyzes the many variations of this one letter. Johnson’s article depicts how Pearl, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth all have varying interpretations of the scarlet letter.
Symbols Used By Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
1582 Words | 7 PagesThe novel The Scarlet Letter uses a type of symbol thats meaning changes as the story unwinds and progresses. In the novel, Hester Prynne is obligated to wear an embroidered letter “A” as a punishment for committing the crime of adultery. The scarlet letters meaning changes from adultery, to able, and eventually to awe, throughout the course of the novel. As the news spread of the crime that Hester committed, the people of town weren’t hesitant to judge Hester for the sin against God and her husband.
Essay About The Mistakes Hester Prynne Ever Made
599 Words | 3 PagesIn the beginning the scarlet letter represented adultery and shame, but then the A represented “able.” Hester Prynne showed people that greatness can come out of huge mistake. One bad chapter does not mean your story is over. Willingly, Hester wanted to pick herself up again and move on with her life and eventually people noticed that. They began to respect her and think of her as strong and commendable
The Symbol Of Shame In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
378 Words | 2 PagesThe scarlet letter is originally a symbol of shame. Instead the scarlet letter becomes a symbol of identity to Hester. The letter’s meaning shifts as time goes on. Originally it marked Hester as an adulterer. The letter “A” eventually comes to stand for “Able.”
What Does The Color Red Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter
1061 Words | 5 PagesThe scarlet letter represents sin, and, in Hester’s case, adultery. The scarlet letter also represents other meanings in the novel. The scarlet letter symbolizes adultery, able, and alone to show the importance of honesty. Throughout the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne reveals that the scarlet letter first stood for adultery. Even though the scarlet letter was supposed to be a punishment for having a child out of wedlock, Hester Prynne
Essay On The Color Red In The Scarlet Letter
729 Words | 3 PagesThe use of the vibrant color red is used throughout the book The Scarlet Letter due to the fact that the color red is associated with "passionate love, seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure." (Color Matters). The Scarlet Letter is a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel where the main character Hester Prynne commits adultery and is condemned to wear a scarlet letter A. Nathaniel Hawthorne's unique use of symbols is evident throughout the book as he gives simple everyday things, like the letter A, a rose bush, and the colors black and red, moral meaning to help the reader comprehend the content of the story. The letter A Hester Prynne is ordered to wear is meant to be a form of public shame.
The Symbol Of Shame In The Scarlett Letter
442 Words | 2 PagesThe Scarlet Letter shows a world of discrimination and judgement not unlike the world we live in today, just with different symbols of shame. Hester Prynne had to wear a large scarlet letter on her chest to show that she was an adulteress while Dimmesdale hid his symbol beneath his clothing. In today’s society, there are symbols that can be hidden and there are symbols that simply cannot be hidden. The symbol that I chose to compare Hester’s scarlet letter to was the symbol of the LGBTQIA community.
Hester Prynne Symbolism In Scarlet Letter
665 Words | 3 PagesThe book The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne has symbolism all throughout it. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify philosophies that are evident during this time period. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against their ways, committing adultery. For this sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.
The Scarlet Letter Rhetorical Analysis
1014 Words | 5 PagesHester has to wear a letter A on her chest for her punishment of adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the meaning and significance of the letter A is altered as the novel goes on. Hester, the townspeople, and Pearl all have views of the letter that change. Through their views of the letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, reveals what his view on the letter is. Hester’s view of
Hester Prynne And John Proctor Analysis
705 Words | 3 PagesThe scarlet letter ‘A’ did not stand for “adultery” anymore. It stood for “able.” “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, —so much power to do, and power to sympathize, —that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength.”
Hester Prynne's The Scarlet Letter
180 Words | 1 PagesThe scarlet letter “A” first appeared in the second chapter of the novel. Hester Prynne stood up on the stage, a baby in her arms. Her chest wore a scarlet letter embroidered with gold thread, a scarlet A! This letter “fine cloth as the base, all decorated with elegant embroidery and ingenious patterns of cloth of gold, with magnificent whimsy and exquisite craftsmanship” (Wan Yuanai, 2006: 6). “The scarlet letter on her breast ‘A’” represents the English word “Adultery”.
What Does The Deep Red Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter
940 Words | 4 PagesHawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer. Hester acknowledges her sin in her puritan faith but swears to secrecy on the father of Pearl.
Essay On Evil In The Scarlet Letter
719 Words | 3 PagesThe townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”
Essay On Literary Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
499 Words | 2 PagesThere are various examples of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, but one of them wraps the whole story together: the meaning of the scarlet letter A. In this passage, Hester Prynne wears an embroidered letter A on her bosom as punishment. At first the A stood for “adulterer”, but the townspeople later gained respect for her and said “Such helpfulness was found in her-so much power to do and to sympathize-that many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original significance. They said it meant ‘Able’” (Hawthorne 107).
The Symbolism Of 'A' In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
959 Words | 4 PagesReceiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.
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