Scarlet Letter Nature Vs Society

Humans constantly balance the need for freedom and the need for conformity. The Scarlet Letter poses a perspective on this matter through symbols, the wilderness is used as a symbol of free will that conflicts with the strict nature of society. This conflict is conveyed through the characters of the story who go against the Puritan society’s laws and ideals. Nature in The Scarlet Letter represents freedom from the constraints of society; nature’s influences on Arthur, Hester, and especially Pearl reflect humans’ base instinct to seek freedom which conflicts with the need to conform to the structure of society. Freedom from the restrictions of society is symbolized by the wilderness. In the opening chapter, a wild rose bush is juxtaposed with the prison Hester is held in, contrasting civilization …show more content…
The town in The Scarlet Letter is a Puritan one, Puritan society had many restrictions and “established a wide variety of punishments to enforce their strict laws,” which included whipping, ducking, public shaming, execution, banishment, etc (Punishment in Puritan 2). The Puritan church was widely concerned with controlling the citizens of its community, which reflects the need to obey the law else be punished by the governing power. This state of control the church seeks to maintain in the book is challenged by Pearl’s wild nature. Pearl endangers the entire structure of society because “she is a child of nature. Nature is wild, untrammeled, because man cannot put his stamp on it and regulate it” (Eisinger 327). Pearl is representative of the wilderness which can not be tamed by society, her freedom conflicts with the need of conformity. She is a free being of nature, able to think for herself and act on her own will. Pearl disregards society’s attempts at restraining her freedom, disturbing the gears that allow the community to