Assignment
topic: The politics of “A” in The Scarlet Letter
Name: Jinal B. Parmar
Roll no.: 11
M.A. Semester: 3
Year: 2014-15
PG Enrolment
no:13101025
Paper no: 10 the
American Literature
PG Enrolment
no:13101025
Submitted to:
Department of English
Smt. S. B. Gardi
Maharaja Krishnakumar
sinhji Bhavnagar University
Introduction:
Nathanial Hawthorne
Nathanial Hawthorne was one of the prominent writers of
the English Literature. He was born on 4th July, 1804 in Salem,
Massachusetts, U. S. He was an American novelists and short story writer.
Hawthorne became one of the leading writers of his time moving away from
formalism and exploring the ideas of individual responsibility, the importance
of creative expression and man’s relationship to the world.
Hawthorne was very much
connected with Salem, Massachusetts. After he lost his job at the Salem custom
House, due to change in political administration, Hawthorne denounced his wish
to leave Salem, which he called the “abominable city”, saying that he now had
no reason to remain.
Hawthorne has written very
famous novel “The Scarlet Letter”. In this novel reflects the idea of the harsh
Puritan society and presents the situation of the women of the Puritan times
and reveals reality of society. Hawthorne writes,
“Be true! Be true! Be
true! Show freely to
The world, if not your
worst, yet some
Trait whereby the
worst may be inferred!”
Introduction:
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is one of
the Romantic fictions written by Nathanial Hawthorne. This novel published in
1850. This novel “The Scarlet Letter” considered to be his one of the magnum
opus and set in 17th century Puritan Boston Massachusetts during the
year 1642 to 1649.
In this novel Hawthorne has
presented the central idea of the mentality of the puritan people. In this
novel there are many characters but main characters are Hester Prynne, Pearl,
Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Hester is the key character of the
novel and she has played vital role in this novel.
This is the novel about sin,
punishment, and adultery committed by the characters of Hester and Dimmesdale,
a secret father of Pearl. Hester is punished by the puritan society for her
adultery. Hester is stand alone with her daughter Pearl in front of the puritan
society. Hawthorne has presented the dark side of the puritan mentality of the
people.
Hester Prynne
In this novel the character
of Hester Prynne is the central character of the novel. She is the protagonist
of the novel. In this novel this character has been called “among the first and
most important female protagonists in American Literature”. Hester is married
to Roger Chillingworth and has an affair with Arthur Dimmesdale and from that
affair she has a daughter, namely Pearl.
In this novel “The Scarlet
Letter” Hester plays many roles like, abandon lover, devoted mother, estranged
wife, religious dissenter, feminist and out cast. Hawthorne has created very
powerful character of Hester who stands against the puritan society. He
portrays Hester fondly, “as a woman of strength, independence, and kindness,
who stands up to the judgment and constraints” of her society.
Throughout the entire novel
the character of Hester fight against the puritan society and passes through a
very tragic condition of her sin and punishment. Throughout this character
Hawthorne challenges the puritan society and their rules.
The politics of “A” in the Scarlet Letter
The title of the novel it has
very symbolic meaning that the Scarlet means “a bright red color”. In this
novel the symbol of “A” gives the core idea of entire novel. In this novel “A”
is presented which shows the puritan society through the journey of the novel
“The Scarlet Letter”.
In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne
includes many profound and important symbols. This device of symbolism is
portrayed well in the novel, especially trough the Scarlet Letter “A”. the
“A”is the best example because of the changes in the meaning throughout the
novel Hawthorne has presented ambiguity of letter “A”.
In the beginning of the
novel, the scarlet letter “A” is viewed as a symbol of sin. The middle of the
novel is transition period, where the scarlet letter “A” is viewed differently.
In this novel Hawthorne has mostly put stress on the puritan society. In the
beginning of the novel, the letter is taken as a “label” of punishment and sin.
In the commencement Hawthorne introduces a character of Hester. Hester loves
Dimmesdale and she has committed adultery with Dimmesdale and she has little
daughter also namely Pearl.
Hester is punished and she
bears the label of the letter upon her chest. Hester is presented as in centre
and society is on periphery. She stands as a label of outcast in front of
society. She is wearing this symbol to burden her with punishment throughout
her life. She stands on a plank where her punishment is given,
“Thus she will be a
living sermon
Against sin, until the
ignominious
Letter be engraved
upon her tombstone”
Society places its blames upon
this woman. It is because of this one letter that Hester’s life is changed. The
letter’s meaning in puritan society banishes her from her normal life. The
puritans view this letter as a symbol of the devil. The letter also put Hester
trough torture:
“of an impulse and
passionate nature she had fortified herself to encounter the stings and
venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult
but there was a quality so much more terrible in the solemn mood of popular
mind, that she longed rather to behold all those rigid countenances contorted
with scornful merriment and herself the object”
This implies that Hester’s
sin of bearing a child without the presence of a husband will always be
remembered. Hester in this novel give the Feministic idea that how a woman are
treated and faced the inferiority by the society. Hester voluntarily resumes
the letter as a,
“Woman stained with
sin, bowed down with shame”
Although, Hawthorne adds that,
“Not the sternest
magistrate of that
Iron period would have
imposed it”
These two quotations tell about
the situation of women in the society and also present the narrow mentality of
the puritan society. It shows that how Hester suffers from the isolation and go
through the pain of her own stain character.
Hawthorne in this text presents
the poor law of the puritan age and takes very powerful example as feministic
reading of the novel. He also represents the cruel reality of the puritan laws
through the character of Hester.
In the commencement of the
novel the character Hester has wear “A” as a Adulteress and she stands alone
even no one with her to support only her daughter pearl. Who also suffers the
pain and punishment. “A” letter is very symbolic which symbolizes the puritan
society. During the first few years of Hester’s punishment, the letter was a
daily reminder of shame. Hawthorne writes,
“……Hester Prynne had
always this dreadful agony
In Feeling a human eye
upon the token;
The spot never grew
callous; it seemed,
On the contrary, to
grow more sensitive with daily torture”
Hawthorne says that Hester who
was always torture to wear “A” and it daily remind to shame. As the story
unfolds, though this letter comes to mean other things to Hester and the people
rather than bringing torture to Hester, it eventually becomes a symbol to some
people meaning “Able” Hawthorne writes,
“They said that it
meant ‘Able’; so strong was
Hester Prynne, with a
woman’s strength”
“The Scarlet Letter
had not done its office”
The Scarlet letter was meant
as a punishment for Hester. It shows the strongness of the women to fight
against the society and feminine power. Hawthorne writes,
“Thus, we seem to see
that, as regarded
Hester Prynne, the
whole seven years of outlaw and
ignoming had been
little other than a
Preparation for this
very hour”
Hester was “Able” to deal
with a society that hated her, and then a town that accepted her for her good
works. The society was able to look past their hatred for her and saw that in
fact they needed her and finding Hester was able to stay, where she wanted to
be.
Over the time the fact that
Hester didn’t crumble and in fact stood taller despite her exclusion from the
puritan society. Opened their eyes to see that good can survive even in the
heart of a sinner. Thus her adulteress turn into her ability to survive and
faced the society.
Throughout the novel “The
Scarlet Letter” there are various meanings to the scarlet letter. It means
different things to different people,
“a sign of wealth to
the butler, curiosity for pearl, guilt for Dimmesdale, rebelliousness, revenge
or motivation for Chillingworth and betrayal of one’s spouse, to name a few.”
The true duty was to punish and teach a
lesson.
In this novel “The Scarlet
Letter” is only one of the symbols representing Hester’s Shame and Punishment.
Another one we see early I the novel, at about the same time we see Hester
wearing scarlet letter for the first time in public, is the Scaffold on which
she stands after walking out of the prison. Hawthorne writes,
“It was, in short, the
platform of the pillory;
And above it raised
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
The very ideal of
ignominy was embodied and
Made manifest in this
contrivance of wood and iron.”
The Scaffold, like the scarlet
letter, to the puritans, it a place of public shame for those persons who
decide to break the puritan law. It represents the sin of the person standing
upon it and it shows the puritan way of dealing with sin.
In the Scaffold scene where Dimmesdale stands with Hester and Pearl, a
meteor traces out an “A” in the night sky. To Dimmesdale, the meteor implies
that he should wear “A” mark of shame just as Hester does.
The meaning of meteor is
“small body from outer space becoming incandescent when entering earth’s
atmosphere in short bright star falling down to the earth” but Hawthorne has
interpreted here differently by the rest of the community, which thinks that it
stands for “Angel” and marks Governor Winthop’s entry into heaven. But “Angel” is an awkward reading of the
symbol of “A”.
The puritan society commonly looked to symbols to confirm divine
sentiments. In this novel narrative, however, symbols are taken to mean what
the beholder wants to mean. The incident with the meteor obviously highlights
and exemplifies two different uses of the symbols:
Throughout this novel Hawthorne
has gave various symbols of “A” and also tells about the sign and the
significance of the scarlet letter “A”. in this entire journey of the novel,
the letter “A” characterized Hester’s immoral position and her strength to
fight against the law system of puritan society.
Introduction of Pearl:
Pearl is illegimate daughter
of Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl serves as symbol of her mother’s shame and
triumph. Hawthorne describes Pearl as “the scarlet letter endowed with life”.
Pearl is the public consequence of Hester’s very private sin. The character of
Pearl becomes Hester’s source of strength. Pearl defines Hester’s identity and
purpose and gives Hester a companion to love.
Pearl living “A”:
Symbol of sin for Society
Pearl is also a symbol of
the novel. Pearl who is illegimate daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl is
considered symbol of sin for the puritan society. Pearl who is also the victim
of the society even though she has doing nothing wrong. Pearl also punishes
from the society because she lost her identity.
Pearl makes constantly
aware of her mother’s scarlet letter and of the society that produces it. When
Hester removes the letter after seven years, Pearl didn’t accepts her without it and forced her
to wear it again after wearing “A” Hester said,
“Now thou art my
mother indeed!
And I am thy little
Pearl!”
The strict puritan society
punishes Hester and banishes from community, thus simultaneously punishing
Pearl and leading her into a confused childhood. Because of Pearl’s odd
attribute and the fact that she had no father, the puritan community begun to
wonder if Pearl was a, “witch-baby” fathered by the devil. Throughout the whole
novel Pearl is referred to as,
“The scarlet letter
endowed with life because she is Hester’s constant
reminder of her sin.
Because of this, Hester’s view of Pearl is obstructed
by her own guilty
conscience , and thus Hester’s own sin leads her to believe,
along with the puritan
community, that Pearl might be a “witch-baby” when
reverend Wilson asks
Pearl “canst thou tell me, my child, who made thee”
Pearl giving the answer and responds, out of
defiance, that she was,
“Plucked by her mother
off the
Bush of wild roses
that grew by
The prison door”
While Pearl giving this
answer Mr. Wilson thinks that Pearl does not believe in God and Pearl is the
different child from the other children. Pearl has also is the vital character
of novel who becomes the power of Hester and also give strength to fight
against the puritan society.
In the puritan age it was believed that
women who were pregnant with a male child had a rosy complexion and that women
carrying a female child were pale. This matter is very much related with this
novel where Pearl who is the daughter of Hester also suffers and punishes from
the society.
Pearl living “A”:
Symbol of Love for Nature
The character of Pearl is
also a symbol of love for Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale who are
the lovers but Hester marries to Chillingworth and this marriage created
problems in Hester’s life. In the novel Hawthorne tells us that Pearl is more
than a link between Hester and Dimmesdale.
Pearl serves as a “messenger of anguish”
Hester says, she is,
“The scarlet letter in
another form;
The scarlet letter
endowed with life!”
“The emblem of her
guilt and torture”
On the other hand, Pearl
serves as “the connecting link” and “an electric chain” between Hester and
Dimmesdale. That means Pearl is the embodiment of her parents true love and
passion. Because the love between Hester and Dimmesdale is the oneness of their
being, Hawthorne can therefore prophesy their salvation trough his comment on
Pearl:
“And Pearl was the
oneness of their being be the fore gone evil what it might, how could they
doubt that their earthly lives and future destinies were conjoined, when they be
held at once the material union, and the spiritual idea, in whom they met, and
were to dwell immortally together?”
Another important aspect of
Pearl’s preternatural character is her instinct for truth. Pearl’s unconscious
awareness of a blood relationship with Dimmesdale and her recognition of
Chillingworth as a “Black Man” are manifestations of a child’s semi-prophetic
discernment. The innocent child could see through their dissimulation. Pearl’s
insight into truth is the result of her enforced contact with nature which
enables her to preserve her spotless soul from society’s deleterious
conventions and lies.
Society v/s. Individual
In “The Scarlet letter”
Hester struggles a lot conceal her feeling and pain. Hester who stands in
centre and society stands in periphery.
Hester who struggled for
her love and Pearl. In the novel from the beginning to end she fight against
the society she has the same vision towards to see a situation till end but
there is change of the society and the outer perspective.
After removing the scarlet
letter “A” that she had not since been without for seven years. Hester now
struggles with the question of how she will be able to keep this glorious
feeling. In this struggle, puritan law has forced Hester to become a dull
conformist, but her natural passion inevitably overtakes her and allows her to
drop what she had thought to be repentance of sin.
This novel tells about
Hester’s positivity and puritan society’s negativity to see a situation. Hester
fights individually fight against the society.
Conclusion
In this novel we finds that
Hawthorne mostly talks about sin, punishment, pain and strict mentality of
puritan society. And throughout the struggle of the Hester presents the bitter
reality of the puritan age. Hawthorne also portrays the image of women in the
society and how they treated and questioning the women’s identity.
Throughout the novel Hawthorne
presents politics of “A” which is the politics of society which victimize the
character of Hester to wearing scarlet letter “A”. This novel is one of the
best example of the feministic study of the character of Hester. There are deep
symbols of “A” in the novel.
Thanx for sharing.
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