The Marvelous Meaning of the Scarlet Letter

Life nowadays has metamorphosed remarkably from life in the 1800s. During the colonial period, less than 11. 1% of births occurred within the first nine months of marriage. A reported 95% of Americans today have had premarital sex. In todays society, premarital sex is not considered a underworld to or so people. In the 1800s, it was a distinct story. In the novel The Scarlet garner by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne was found wrong-doingy of adultery, branded with a florid A, and shunned by the townspeoplean extreme punishment by modern standards.This A that Hester was hale to embroider onto entirely of her clothing symbolized not except her hell, but the A also held core for other partings. It equal the guilt of the man with whom Hester commit adultery Reverend Dimmesdale. Hester never revealed his identity to the town, and Dimmesdale felt as if he could not aver his sin. Dimmesdale was consumed with penitence, marking himself with an A of his own. drop cloth, H esters daughter, was another character who found meaning in the carmine garner, however hers was lots unalike from either Hesters or Dimmesdales. off-white was the product of her parents sin. She was the carmine earn. For dip, the violent garner symbolizes life, and she did not understand why it caused her stimulate so much shame. Essentially, the symbolism of the scarlet letter changed over the course of the novel from something negative, epitomizing shame and sin, to something positive, representing remit and vitality. The scarlet letter most obviously symbolizes Hesters sin adultery. She was strained to wear it as punishment, a cruel reminder of her immorality.Hester had to make the letter herself, so instead of letting it define her, she made it beautiful On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate ornamentation and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically d angiotensin-converting enzyme, and w ith so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a final and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony (37). The fact that she embroidered the letter so delicately and so beautifully completely destroyed the purpose for wearing it.In this way, the scarlet letter represents Hesters independence and free will. Despite the fact that Hester was able to book the town in that small way, the townspeople saw a different meaning of the scarlet letter. Instead of simply symbolizing the sin of adultery, the town allowed the letter to symbolize Hester herself. When they odored at her, they saw not a gentlemans gentleman being, not Hester Prynne, but they saw a living sermon against sin, until the blackened letter be engraved upon her tombstone (44). The town used Hester and the scarlet A to strike fear into their children, to warn them against the sin of adultery.The l etter absorbed Hester Prynne. However, the towns view of Hester changed, thus altering the symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter. Hester never oblationed irritation or irksomeness. She never battled with the public, but submitted uncomplainingly to its worst usage (110). She helped those in need and was always there to offer a helping hand. Most people in the town had no choice but to refuse to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. The A no longer exemplified adultery, but rather it represented able. The town acknowledged Hesters strength, which was what managed to change the symbolism of the A. While Hester Prynne was bosom the A, Reverend Dimmesdale was struggling to escape his own scarlet letter. Dimmesdale was respected and look up to by the town, which caused him extreme guilt. He watched as Hester was publicly humiliated, yet he felt as if he could not confess because of his occupation. He was acrophobic of the light his vague confession would be viewed (99) by the town. He would be refused as a curate, and seen as the remorseful hypocrite that he was (99).Dimmesdale became so consumed with his guilt and shame, that he became physically ill. The A represented his self-punishment, which was worse than if he had confessed publicly. In fact, Dimmesdale envied the ease with which Hester dealt with her scarlet letter so much that he confessed to her how much his unavowed burned within him Happy you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom Mine burns in secret Thou flyspeck knowest what a musical accompaniment it is, after the torment of a s thus far years cheat, to look into an eye that recognizes me for what I am (131).Dimmesdale was strained to live with the guilt of his misdeed, whereas Hester did not have to hide what she had done. The scarlet letter represented his sin as much as it represented hers, only he could not confess his. When he was with Hester, he felt relief because Hester knew the truth about what he had done. It is when Dimmesdale finally confessed to his sin and claimed Pearl as his daughter that he was able to let go of his guilt, changing what the scarlet letter meant to him. He revealed his involvement with Hester by telling the town to look again at Hesters scarlet letterHe tells you that, with all its mysterious horror, it is but the shadow of what he bears on his own breast, and that even this, his own red sucker, is no more than the type of what has seared his inward heart (174). Dimmesdale removed his shirt to reveal an A, marked onto his own chest, whether by Dimmesdales own hand, or by the hand of God. For him, the confession freed him of his guilt and shame, allowing him to forgive himself. The scarlet letter that once symbolized his sin, represented his courage to confess and his ability to finally forgive himself.Dimmesdale died after that, because the release of his grip on the scarlet letter that tortured him, allowed him to release his grip on a life that which was haunted by his sin. A character with a alone(p) perspective in the novel, as well as an interesting perception of scarlet letter was the product of the sinPearl. The scarlet letter last symbolized the life and love of Pearl. She was pure and had the ability to see the true selves of others, which she mum when she said Come away, mother Come away, or yonder dreary Man will catch you He hath got hold of the minister already.Come away, mother, or he will catch you But he cannot catch little Pearl (92). She knew that Dimmesdale had sinned, although she did not know what the sin was, and she knew that she was innocent and pure, and could not be touched by sin. Although the meaning of the scarlet letter did not change much for Pearl, exactly what it meant to her shone brightly through the words on the pages. Pearl knew that the great letter A (122) had given life to her. Hester thought that Pearl did not know what the letter meant, because of the fact that Pearl consta ntly asked her mother for the meaning of the A.Perhaps Pearls innocence kept her from seeing the sin that both her mother and Dimmesdale had committed, but it is clear when Hester asked Pearl if she knew what the letter meant, that Pearl indeed understood it represented sin It is for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart (122). Since Pearl was able to sense the actus reus of others, she knew that Hesters physical scarlet letter embroidered on her bosom and Dimmesdales internal scarlet letter seared into his chest were both results of sin.She could not grasp that her mothers letter meant anything atrocious because it was so long-familiar to her she had lived her entire life seeing the letter upon her mothers chest. To Pearl, the A represented her mother and their life together. In the end of the novel, the scarlet letter appeared to represent perhaps the most important element of The Scarlet earn Family. Hester and Dimmesdale struggled throughout the book to forgive each other and forgive themselves. They were not able to join together as one unit, protecting and attractive their daughter, Pearl.Both characters sought to find meaning from the scarlet letter, aside from the negative one bound to it by the town. However, as Dimmesdale built the courage to confess his sin of adultery, he was able to let go of his guilt and accept Pearl. The A indeed might have represented an A for able. For, even though the town had doomed Mistress Prynnefor the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom (43), and Dimmesdale suffered from the weight of shame, they were able to overcome the stigma of the scarlet letter and bring life to the marvelous meaning of the scarlet letter Love.