Nathaniel Hawthorne creates a tripartite topography made up of the forest and wilderness, the Puritan Town, and the threshold. The forest and wilderness, composed of trees and a brook, embody freedom. The Puritan Town, which is filled with Puritans, the prison, and the scaffold, epitomizes rigidity and hypocrisy. The threshold, although relatively barren aside from a rose-bush and Hester’s cottage, signifies a boundary between Puritan Town and the forest and wilderness. Through the juxtaposition of various locations in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne sets up a tripartite topography of the forest and wilderness, the Puritan Town, and the threshold; when interpreted as one landscape, the areas effectively function to contextualize the theme of
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On the basis of sin as a betrayal of Puritan society, the scaffold and prison are glorified by the residents; the exaltation of punishment of fellow citizens illustrates the straitlaced nature of the Puritan community. When discussing Hester’s punishment, the Puritan women would like Hester to be punished severely: “‘At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead’” (Hawthorne 53). Mercilessly, some Puritan women favor a stricter punishment: Hester “‘has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die’” (Hawthorne 54). Hester’s sentence ends up as time in prison, wearing the Scarlet Letter, and public punishment on the Scaffold. Upon the Scaffold, Hester stood with her baby, Pearl. Physically, “the very ideal of ignominy was embodied and made manifest” in the Scaffold (Hawthorne 58). While the Puritans publicly humiliate sinners, Hester recognizes the Puritans are also sinners: “once in many days… she felt an eye - a human eye - upon the ignominious brand, that seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared” (Hawthorne 89 - 90). Through the realization that the Puritans sin, one can discern that the Puritans are hypocrites for punishing sinners while they also sin. Using the physical features of Puritan Town, Hawthorne portrays rigidity and hypocrisy. Since the Puritan Town comprises of symbols of austerity and hypocrisy, the physical nature of the Puritan Town matches with Hawthorne’s intended
On the basis of sin as a betrayal of Puritan society, the scaffold and prison are glorified by the residents; the exaltation of punishment of fellow citizens illustrates the straitlaced nature of the Puritan community. When discussing Hester’s punishment, the Puritan women would like Hester to be punished severely: “‘At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead’” (Hawthorne 53). Mercilessly, some Puritan women favor a stricter punishment: Hester “‘has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die’” (Hawthorne 54). Hester’s sentence ends up as time in prison, wearing the Scarlet Letter, and public punishment on the Scaffold. Upon the Scaffold, Hester stood with her baby, Pearl. Physically, “the very ideal of ignominy was embodied and made manifest” in the Scaffold (Hawthorne 58). While the Puritans publicly humiliate sinners, Hester recognizes the Puritans are also sinners: “once in many days… she felt an eye - a human eye - upon the ignominious brand, that seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared” (Hawthorne 89 - 90). Through the realization that the Puritans sin, one can discern that the Puritans are hypocrites for punishing sinners while they also sin. Using the physical features of Puritan Town, Hawthorne portrays rigidity and hypocrisy. Since the Puritan Town comprises of symbols of austerity and hypocrisy, the physical nature of the Puritan Town matches with Hawthorne’s intended