As setting dramatically sets the context of a piece, the clothing reveals more about characters than their fashion sense. Clothing provides insight into how the author wishes certain people to be viewed and what they represent. From the time children are very young, they associate clothing with different jobs and types of people. Superheroes wear capes. Construction workers wear neon vests. Doctors wear long, white coats. While a man wearing jeans in a grocery store could be a doctor, he is not directly associated with that profession based simply on his appearance. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the clothing worn by groups of people influence the work as a whole because of the strong stereotypes attached to them specifically
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Embroidering clothing, to be exact. Dresses, gloves, gowns, and robes that all belonged to very prestigious and hypocritical people. The clothing she embroiders for the Puritan officials are flashy, colorful and elegant. All of these things go against what Puritans believe: submission to God and to be humble by nature. The grandiose houses also fall under the category of hypocrisy due to their conceited reflection on the owner. Hester’s needlework is especially ironic because it is by her so-called sinful hands that she makes clothing the Puritans selfishly cherish. Moreover, they demean her for sinning while they too are sinning. Another use of clothing in characterizing Hester Prynne comes in the everyday clothing she wears. She normally wears incredibly drab and coarse clothing, only to be decorated with the scarlet A on her bosom. While the A has gold embroidery like clouds have silver linings, the A will never leave Hester in life or death. As Hester changes as a person, so does the letter, “[shifting] in meaning from what the narrator delicately calls ‘its original signification’ to ‘Able’” (Hawthorne in Ginsberg 19). Though she wears the same physical clothing on her sleeves, she is seen less as a nuisance or disgrace and more like a saint, helping others and do whatever needs to be done without asking for recognition. As Pearl is an extension of Hester, it makes sense for the scarlet letter to be a large part of Pearl as well. Most significantly, in the forest when Hester discard the scarlet letter, Pearl refuses to obey or even recognize Hester as her mother. This fascination with getting her own letter and never letting her mother remove the letter shows how important Hester’s clothing is to Pearl. Without her A making her sorrowful, Pearl is unable to recognize Hester in all of her youthful beauty. Pearl’s clothing,
Embroidering clothing, to be exact. Dresses, gloves, gowns, and robes that all belonged to very prestigious and hypocritical people. The clothing she embroiders for the Puritan officials are flashy, colorful and elegant. All of these things go against what Puritans believe: submission to God and to be humble by nature. The grandiose houses also fall under the category of hypocrisy due to their conceited reflection on the owner. Hester’s needlework is especially ironic because it is by her so-called sinful hands that she makes clothing the Puritans selfishly cherish. Moreover, they demean her for sinning while they too are sinning. Another use of clothing in characterizing Hester Prynne comes in the everyday clothing she wears. She normally wears incredibly drab and coarse clothing, only to be decorated with the scarlet A on her bosom. While the A has gold embroidery like clouds have silver linings, the A will never leave Hester in life or death. As Hester changes as a person, so does the letter, “[shifting] in meaning from what the narrator delicately calls ‘its original signification’ to ‘Able’” (Hawthorne in Ginsberg 19). Though she wears the same physical clothing on her sleeves, she is seen less as a nuisance or disgrace and more like a saint, helping others and do whatever needs to be done without asking for recognition. As Pearl is an extension of Hester, it makes sense for the scarlet letter to be a large part of Pearl as well. Most significantly, in the forest when Hester discard the scarlet letter, Pearl refuses to obey or even recognize Hester as her mother. This fascination with getting her own letter and never letting her mother remove the letter shows how important Hester’s clothing is to Pearl. Without her A making her sorrowful, Pearl is unable to recognize Hester in all of her youthful beauty. Pearl’s clothing,