Uprooting the Truth “The universe is composed of Nature and the soul,” said renowned Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson in his piece title Nature (qtd. in Perkins 591). The vitality of nature’s power is one of the fundamental pillars of Transcendentalism. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter mirrors this concept, nature playing a vital role in the novel from beginning to end. The influence of nature is a common theme throughout the novel. Specifically, the forest, flowers, and sunlight are used as a way of revealing a hidden sin. Hawthorne implemented these elements in The Scarlet Letter to emphasize how nature is a way of shining light on the truth. Upon the discovery of Hester Prynne’s crime, she and her daughter Pearl are exiled
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Even common wildflowers make an important appearance in the storyline. Outside the Prynne’s cabin, Pearl begins to pluck these weed-like flowers from the grass, throwing them towards her mother with the intent of striking the letter on her chest. Hawthorne “Still came the battery of flowers, almost invariably hitting the mark, and covering the mother’s breast with hurts for which she could find no balm in this world, nor knew how to seek it in another” (Hawthorne 89). There was a reason for Pearl’s actions: she Hester to confess to her the reason that she perpetually bore the scarlet letter upon her bosom. This young girl was utilizing the truth-seeking properties of nature to try to expose the secret that Hester attempted to keep from …show more content…
She even says the following to her mother as they stroll through the woods: “Mother, the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom” (Hawthorne 176). Pearl is referencing the scarlet “A” that Hester is forced to wear upon her breast; a simple mark to identify her as a sinner among the townspeople. According to Pearl, the purity of sunlight is afraid to shine itself upon the supposed dark, immoral soul which is Hester Prynne. This demonstrates the truthfulness of the sun, unable to shed its warm, gentle rays upon a woman who has done wrong in the
Even common wildflowers make an important appearance in the storyline. Outside the Prynne’s cabin, Pearl begins to pluck these weed-like flowers from the grass, throwing them towards her mother with the intent of striking the letter on her chest. Hawthorne “Still came the battery of flowers, almost invariably hitting the mark, and covering the mother’s breast with hurts for which she could find no balm in this world, nor knew how to seek it in another” (Hawthorne 89). There was a reason for Pearl’s actions: she Hester to confess to her the reason that she perpetually bore the scarlet letter upon her bosom. This young girl was utilizing the truth-seeking properties of nature to try to expose the secret that Hester attempted to keep from …show more content…
She even says the following to her mother as they stroll through the woods: “Mother, the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom” (Hawthorne 176). Pearl is referencing the scarlet “A” that Hester is forced to wear upon her breast; a simple mark to identify her as a sinner among the townspeople. According to Pearl, the purity of sunlight is afraid to shine itself upon the supposed dark, immoral soul which is Hester Prynne. This demonstrates the truthfulness of the sun, unable to shed its warm, gentle rays upon a woman who has done wrong in the