The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1800s, but the book is placed in the Puritan times of the 1600s. Hawthorne is an anti-transcendentalist, which means he thinks society is good and nature is evil and humans are naturally evil. Puritanism is a very strict religion in the 1600s. If you are a Puritan you are against all earthly pleasure and your life is hell on Earth. Symbolism is a literary device that uses symbols to represent ideas. In this novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolic significance of the Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth to contribute to the theme of guilt. To begin, Hawthorne uses the Scarlet Letter to portray the theme of guilt. In this scene, Hester Prynne is walking
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Chillingworth’s name symbolizes that he’s cold hearted and anyone who is around him gets the chills. Chillingworth came back to the town on the day of Hester’s punishment and acted like he didn’t know who she was. Chillingworth changes his name and comes into the town of Boston as their doctor. Hawthorne says, “Skillful men, of the medical and chirurgical profession, were of rare occurrence in the colony.” (Hawthorne 108). This means that Chillingworth was a very good doctor, but doctors are very rare. Back then people referred doctors as leeches. Doctors in the 1600s would use leeches to suck the bad infected blood out of their patients. Also Chillingworth is torturing and suck the life out of Dimmesdale like a leech. Chillingworth is making Dimmesdale even more ill and guilty everyday. Hester and Dimmesdale are in the woods and Hester finally tells Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is his enemy and her husband. Hawthorne says, “-the secret poison of his malignity, infecting all the air about him,- and his authorized interference, as a physician, with the minister’s physical and spiritual infirmities,- that these bad, opportunities had been turned to a cruel purpose.” (Hawthorne 174). This means that wherever Chillingworth goes he is ruining things, he brings evilness to everything about him. He has been torturing Dimmesdale for his revenge, this strengthens the guilt that’s in
Chillingworth’s name symbolizes that he’s cold hearted and anyone who is around him gets the chills. Chillingworth came back to the town on the day of Hester’s punishment and acted like he didn’t know who she was. Chillingworth changes his name and comes into the town of Boston as their doctor. Hawthorne says, “Skillful men, of the medical and chirurgical profession, were of rare occurrence in the colony.” (Hawthorne 108). This means that Chillingworth was a very good doctor, but doctors are very rare. Back then people referred doctors as leeches. Doctors in the 1600s would use leeches to suck the bad infected blood out of their patients. Also Chillingworth is torturing and suck the life out of Dimmesdale like a leech. Chillingworth is making Dimmesdale even more ill and guilty everyday. Hester and Dimmesdale are in the woods and Hester finally tells Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is his enemy and her husband. Hawthorne says, “-the secret poison of his malignity, infecting all the air about him,- and his authorized interference, as a physician, with the minister’s physical and spiritual infirmities,- that these bad, opportunities had been turned to a cruel purpose.” (Hawthorne 174). This means that wherever Chillingworth goes he is ruining things, he brings evilness to everything about him. He has been torturing Dimmesdale for his revenge, this strengthens the guilt that’s in