final draft

Ana Cerda

Instructor Knapp

English 1B

May 12, 2010

Through a Formalist Perspective

            Possessed: spurred or moved by a strong feeling, madness, or a super natural power… I have analyzed The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, through a Formalist Perspective and there are many things that have captured my attention. “Possessed” seems to be a word of great interest because it is used throughout the novel, and mainly used by the Puritan people to describe Pearl. Symbolism is a key factor that both affects and gives the novel a whole new meaning; the actual scarlet letter A, sunshine, the Black Man, the meteor, Pearl, and the forest are some of the many symbols that helped shape the book. Nathaniel Hawthorne used tension to contribute to the novel’s ambiguity, and symbolism throughout the story to show the believes of Puritan people and how they were highly against evil.

            Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne’s husband, sent her away to America with a promise that he would soon meet up with her. He was captured by Native Americans before he could go to America, and when he was finally set free and in Massachusetts looking for Hester, he found out that she was being accused of adultery. The townspeople knew about Hester’s marriage and that her husband probably died on sea, since he never joined her, so instead of having Hester die they sentenced her to wear a piece of fabric on her chest. She was to wear an A, for “adulterer” on her bosom for the rest of her life. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father, but received no public humiliation because Hester refused to give up the name of her accomplice. Chillingworth ends up staying in Massachusetts but his priority and main focus is to get Hester to confess the name of the other sinner and by doing so, he begins to further torment her and Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is forced to live with this guilt and before dying, in the end of the novel, he ends up confessing that he is in fact Pearls father. Chillingworth dies a year after since he no longer has someone to torment, and ends up leaving all his fortune to Pearl. Hester continued to live in the town and although she was no longer forced to wear the A she still kept it on until the day of her death.

In Puritans, John F. Wilson stated that “Puritans emphasized Bible reading, prayer, and preaching in worship services… they stressed grace, devotion, prayer, and self-examination to achieve religious virtue” (Wilson). Puritans were involved in religious activities like praying and preaching because they were very religious people and they believed that they had to do these practices in order to live a good life. They opposed all wrongdoing and made sure to badger and punish anyone who was involved in any sort of evil action.  Puritans also used symbols to control society and interpreted these same symbols as signs sent from God.

Hester Prynne was looked upon for committing “adultery” by the townspeople because of this same reason. She broke the law the day she slept with Dimmesdale and was therefore forced to wear the A on her chest. Pearl also became their target because she was the living proof and the reminder of Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin. One of the townsman stated “thus she will be a living sermon against sin, until the ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone” (Hawthorne 98). Hester was the one forced to wear the A on her bosom but both she and Pearl became the ridicule of the town and the Puritan people were so harsh to them because sin was seen as something evil, and evil was forbidden.

The novels structure contributes to the tension and ambiguity of The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne creates mystery by making the readers wonder certain things, like who is Pearl’s father. He lets us know that Dimmesdale feels some guilt for something he did but doesn’t state what it is; Hawthorne reveals that Dimmesdale is Pearls father until later on in the story. In one of the scenes, Dimmesdale asked Hester, “Has thou found peace?” and when Hester asks him that same question he answers, “None—nothing but despair! What else could I look for, being what I am, and leading such life as mine?” (Hawthorne 302). Hawthorne creates mystery and it is not clear, until the last chapters, that Dimmesdale’s guilt has something to do with Hester’s sin. In this same scene, the Reverend assures Hester that he is suffering more than her because although everyone in the town harasses her and Pearl, they are aware of her sin but Dimmesdale can’t move on with his life because he keeps bottling that secret.

Dimmesdale’s remorse gets the best of him and he starts doing things that later begin to affect his health. His guilt increases throughout the novel and he then begins to do certain things to release that guilt, things like whipping himself and fasting. He lives a conflict and seems to become two different people during night and day. During the day, he hides his secret and walks around as though nothing is wrong with him, the guilt is there but he just doesn’t show it as much. He acts in a way that he knows he will be socially accepted by the townspeople. Once the night comes though, he becomes a different person and starts punishing himself but in a discrete way so no one will notice. The Reverend’s mentality completely changes and his sin doesn’t let him live in peace, “and the infectious poison of that sin had been thus rapidly diffused throughout his moral system. It had stupefied all blessed impulses, and awakened into vivid life the whole brotherhood of bad ones” (Hawthorne 350). He feels tempted to say things that will offend others and one night he even goes to the same scaffold where Hester was publicly shamed to confess his sin.

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a lot of symbols throughout the story and most of them have a dark connotation. The Scarlet Letter A, is the symbol of sin and shame and it was meant to stand for “Adulterer”. When asked about Hester’s sin, a townsman states, “… they have doomed Mistress Prynne only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 98). Not only would the townspeople attack Hester every time they could but they served as reminders along with the scarlet letter.

“Mother” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something in your bosom… I am but a child. It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!” (Hawthorne 290). Pearl’s lack of understanding what the scarlet letter represents or the meaning behind it forces her to ask questions that only she can see. She is the closest person to Hester and the only one that can see what her mom really feels; Hester acts tough and put together when she is around the townspeople but inside and around Pearl she shows how much she’s hurting. Pearl sees the sunshine as a symbol and a metaphor of happiness, something she knows Hester lacks. Hester doesn’t have enough sunshine in her life because of the sin she committed but since Pearl is young she is still innocent. Although Pearl both questions and is intrigued by the scarlet letter, she understands that not all women are supposed to have that A on their chest and that having sins is part of human nature.

Unlike the rest of the objects used to bring shame to Hester, Pearl was the baby created by that same sin. Pearl herself “…sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion” (Hawthorne 138). And although everyone in the town considered Pearl the very proof of her sin and something inhuman, she meant everything to Hester. “’Pearl’ as being of great price, -- purchased with all she had, -- her mother’s only treasure!” (Hawthorne 138). Pearl was basically the only person close to Hester and even though everybody saw her as diabolical because she was created by a sin and she seemed different to all the Puritans, Hester protected and cared for her.

After the death of Governor Bellingham, a meteor was formed the shape of an A. “Nothing was more common, in those days, than to interpret all meteoric appearances, and other natural phenomena…as so many revelations from a supernatural source” (Hawthorne 242). Puritans were big believers of those things, so when the A appeared on the sky, many people thought the A stood for “angel” and that it was a sign that the Governor was in heaven now. Wilson also states “Some went above their daily lives living in uncertainty whether God had selected them for eternal salvation or condemned them to eternal damnation” (Wilson). The townspeople interpreted the A differently and many thought that it was a sign from God and that he was trying to warn them of any future tragedy’s. Others like Dimmesdale thought that the A was meant for him since he too committed a sin and stood quiet about the whole thing.

The meaning of the Scarlet Letter drastically changed throughout the story. At first, The A was meant to stand for “Adulterer” and its main purpose was to bring great shame to Hester. Everyone in the town made sure to offend Hester and even Pearl because they were so against sin. Slowly but surely that A started changing and people began to think that the scarlet letter had another meaning and that maybe it didn’t stand for “Adulterer” but for “Able”. Hester didn’t like the fact that she sinned, but unlike Dimmesdale, she accepted her sins and moved on with her life.

“It was perceived, too, that, while Hester never put forward even the humblest title to share in the world’s privileges, -- farther than to breath the common air, and earn daily bread for little Pearl and herself by the faithful labor of her hands...” (Hawthorne 252). Hester didn’t live in pity and she didn’t let the scarlet letter stand in her way or by any chance hold her back from supporting Pearl and herself. The scarlet letter made her lack some sense of happiness but it didn’t prevent her from economically supporting Pearl, and the whole experience made her a stronger person. The town saw shame in Hester because of her sin and as the story progressed the scarlet letter not only changed meaning but the townspeople felt a sense of pride in Hester. Many looked up to her towards the end of the novel because she went through many barriers to accomplished great things.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel based on Puritans and their beliefs. They mocked and publicly shamed others that sinned and pointed out their flaws as a way of saving themselves and not admitting to their own sins. Hawthorne’s used symbolism to show Puritan beliefs and the tension throughout the novel helped structure the whole structure and it created ambiguity.