The Scarlet letter was one of the most recognizable uses of symbolism in a novel over the last two centuries. The letter “A” has been given more than one meaning in the book. As a reader delves deeper into the book, “adultery, angel, and able” are all the symbols of “A” that the people associate the scarlet letter with.
The main character Hester Prynne, a Puritan, married woman, commits adultery with a very ironic figure, a pastor. He goes by Dimmesdale, and in the act Hester gets pregnant. With the Puritans strong in faith, they publically shunned Hester and thus made her wear a permanent fabric around her bosom which read “A”. The letter stood for adultery. The longer she wore it the more it seemed to glow with shame and hate; a action so invigorating that no justice could seem to ever be taken and that left a hollowed shell of what used to be a shining young woman was now a humiliated girl that can never outrun her past. However, it was mainly her burden because she now had to raise a child she was not prepared to raise, but her sinner Dimmesdale had to bear consequences as well. He had a red letter “A” branded on his chest for the act. While all of this is going on, they want to keep the identity of Dimmesdale a secret from Hester’s husband Roger …show more content…
This scares hester and makes her mad at the same time. They then travel into the forest which is a evil place but the irony in the book is that it was their safe haven. Dimmesdale then passes and after him Chillingworth dies and Hester is left alone. She finally embraces her past and changes everyone's outlook on the scarlet letter to “Able”. This simply means there is hope, a small miniscule glimpse of hope in her lifetime of shame. When Chillingworth passes, he leaves his fortune to Pearl and she becomes rich. Hester lives alone in the town and becomes what we would call nowadays as a
The main character Hester Prynne, a Puritan, married woman, commits adultery with a very ironic figure, a pastor. He goes by Dimmesdale, and in the act Hester gets pregnant. With the Puritans strong in faith, they publically shunned Hester and thus made her wear a permanent fabric around her bosom which read “A”. The letter stood for adultery. The longer she wore it the more it seemed to glow with shame and hate; a action so invigorating that no justice could seem to ever be taken and that left a hollowed shell of what used to be a shining young woman was now a humiliated girl that can never outrun her past. However, it was mainly her burden because she now had to raise a child she was not prepared to raise, but her sinner Dimmesdale had to bear consequences as well. He had a red letter “A” branded on his chest for the act. While all of this is going on, they want to keep the identity of Dimmesdale a secret from Hester’s husband Roger …show more content…
This scares hester and makes her mad at the same time. They then travel into the forest which is a evil place but the irony in the book is that it was their safe haven. Dimmesdale then passes and after him Chillingworth dies and Hester is left alone. She finally embraces her past and changes everyone's outlook on the scarlet letter to “Able”. This simply means there is hope, a small miniscule glimpse of hope in her lifetime of shame. When Chillingworth passes, he leaves his fortune to Pearl and she becomes rich. Hester lives alone in the town and becomes what we would call nowadays as a