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A for Adultery? The Scarlet Letter is an epic story, the first of which brings symbolism to the United States, is a deceiving love story that leaves the reader wanting more. The theme of this piece revolves around the letter A. There are a multitude of representations this letter eventually comes to light on. Hawthorne doesn’t want the reader to be content with the obvious depiction of A, which initially stands for Adultery. The letter’s representation runs a gamut of different ideas that are subjective to whom ever it is that happens to be viewing it at the time. Hester Prynne is the unfortunate woman that this scarlet piece of fabric rests on; this critique will elaborate on the interpretation of the infamous letter A. The symbolism embeds itself in every aspect of this novel. From the stream that little Pearl plays about, to the forest itself. The greatest emblem though, is the scarlet letter. Hester was assigned to wear this piece because she had a child out of wedlock. The violation of the Seventh Commandment was extremely heinous amongst the Puritans. So terrible that it is punishable by death. But our matriarch, Hester, has to stand before the people of Boston for three hours and bear the mark of Adulteress upon her chest. Thus came to be the scarlet letter. Hester wore this garment with great pride. She has an exceptionally strong will that is able to stand strong in the face of so many “good Puritan people”. The elaborately gold embroidered scarlet letter A demonstrates that Hester is a true artist. This is one of the many other aspects of the A that Hawthorne wants us to view. She is very skilled at her craft and her work becomes very sought after amongst the Puritan people for many different occasions. That is, all except weddings. Art was considered a sin to the Puritanical people of the seventeenth century. Hawthorne himself says that many people looked down upon him for being a “storyteller” and that he was no better that fiddler. This says a lot about the views of the Puritan people. They are able to misconstrue the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne to the lowly position of storyteller! That sounds asinine. He has had innumerable great pieces of writing and he gets labeled with this title. Another form of her art is Pearl. “Pearl is the scarlet letter come to life…The real and the fantasy meet in her so that she emerges different, romantic, and compelling”(Stephens, 24). When she is dressed in the scarlet dress with gold ribbon she is the epitome of the scarlet letter adorned on Hester’s chest.
Approximate Word count = 1673
Approximate Pages = 6.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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