This book by Nathaniel Hawthorne was quite interesting in my opinion and I believe it was loaded with symbols. From the rose bush to the scarlet letter itself, almost everything was a symbol in this book. The two symbols I found most interesting, though, was the scarlet letter A that Hester Prynne had to wear and Hester's daughter Pearl. I believe these two things are symbols for what is generally the same idea.
Both Pearl and the scarlet letter represented the terrible crime Hester had committed. The fact that she was an adulterer for having a child with a man who was not her husband. I believe that Pearl was a much more substantial symbol of the crime to Hester and for good reason. An A on your chest can be a little humiliating if everyone knows what is stands for, but I am sure you could get used to it after a little while, but Pearl was a living, breathing version of what the letter stood for. Hester had to wear the letter on her clothing forever, but from her standpoint you could take it off at any time and anybody who was not up with the situation had no idea of your crime. There is no getting rid of a person that is your daughter. She will be there for the rest of your life, so that is why Hester could never truly escape from the scarlet letter's clutches until she was no longer around her daughter. Do not get me wrong, Hester loved her daughter, but I believe she wished she would have had her under different circumstances.
The time in which this novel takes place also has to do with a major part of the story line. In the times today, Hester would not have gone to prison for having a kid with a man who was not her husband. Sure she would have probably gotten a divorce, but the only rule breaking she was taking place in was breaking one of the ten commandments, not breaking any state or national laws. Generally speaking this is not an uncommon thing today, not saying it is right or anything, but the whole community would not have looked down upon her today. I do not believe her punishment back then would have been so severe if she was a man, either. When you hear stories of back then, you never hear stories of women cheating on their husbands. It is always vice versa even if that, you never really do hear stories of anybody cheating on anybody from that time period. Women from that period are portrayed as always staying in the house, taking care of the kids, cooking, and cleaning. This was a very uncommon thing that Hester did especially for a woman. In the long run, I guess it would have been different if she got married to the minister before she had her kid because she had all the right in the world to believe her husband was dead after he had not shown up and she wanted to move on.
When Hester returns from Europe, she still wears the scarlet letter. I believe it really has lost it's symbolism because Hester is no longer with her daughter. He daughter was the solid force binding her to that letter. Once the daughter was gone, it was just something that was pinned to her clothing.
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It's funny that you say the scarlet letter and pearl are symbols for what is "generally the same idea" because they are compared to each other in chapter 8. I agree with you when you say this, and I also agree that Pearl may even be an even bigger symbol, since she is the outcome of what was considered Hester's bad doing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the "A" lost its meaning after Hester was no longer with Pearl or was even still being punished for having Pearl, but I think that Nathaniel Hawthorne may have been symbolising Hester's need to never forget the "wrong" she did so that she would never do it again. Because Pearl was not with her she probably felt that she could more easily forget what she did, so the "A" was a way to remind her every day.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that Hawthorne did a great job in recognizing the time period the novel is placed in by showing how women were viewed in society at the time.
That was an intense symbolism about that letter. Like i figured she just believed in it (which she did) but you showed me how she just made it like something she wore, and after thinking about that it truly did lose its symbolism. Good blog.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the A became so much a part of her that she just couldn't live without it. After time passed, she didn't need to wear it any longer, no one knew the real story anymore and it didn't seem to matter. Remember, the A changed meaning toward the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteYou raise an interesting point with the idea of male/female roles. In our day and age, Hester would be accepted because the values and morals in the 21st century are very different from the 19th century; would you agree? Nonetheless, this book explores the taboo topic of sexuality. Even though it is widely accepted now (look at television alone), Nathaniel Hawthorne was exposing a part of human nature that was never really discussed. This book delves into the darkness of humanity, the reality of humanity causing the novel to become more psychological than entertaining. Would you agree?