The A of The Scarlet Letter Part 1
From the characters to the elements of nature, what makes Nathaniel Hawthorne one of America’s greatest writers is that very little is without meaning. “The Scarlet Letter” is a novel that bursts with symbolism and critique of all different shapes and sizes. One of the most salient and well recognizable symbols is that of the scarlet letter itself, the red and gold embroidered A upon the breast of Hester Prynne.
The scarlet A begins its life meant as a public beacon of shame for Hester, a symbol of negativity, to announce to the world that she has committed the sin of adultery. The A sits on her chest not just so all may bear witness and know of her actions so shame may always befall her, but so her sin and shame may weigh heavy for the rest of her life, represented by her beating heart. As her heart circulates blood all throughout her body, the shame the letter brings Hester is meant to do the same. With every fiber of her being, she is meant to feel the shame at all times, every day of her life. Red is also the color of humiliation, of a burning face. The letter represents the humiliation she feels at having to wear the letter and suffer the constant shame and judgement directed at her from others. Furthermore, the scarlet A and her blood share a similar color. The A is like a wound that never heals, and the letter being on her chest represents that her heart is always on display, vulnerable to the shame and judgment cast upon her by others. But the heart symbolizes passion just as does the color red does. Passion being the sin that provides Hester with the A on her breasts is represented by both the color and the letter’s placement. Her being unable to be with Arthur Dimmesdale, the one she committees such passion with, is like a wound over her heart as well.
But the A is not exclusively a symbol of negativity of shame and impossible love, but also represents the pride of Hester. By her own needle work, the A blazes on her breast in scarlet and gold, accentuated with “elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes” — an object of beauty (50). Upon her reveal, although the public looks on her with judgment and condemnation, they cannot help but to “be impressed” by the letter, as if “It had the effect of a spell” (51). The beauty of the A is representative of her pride, and how although she bears the shame of the A, she will never truly lose her pride because she feels that her actions, although seen in Puritan society as a sin, should be without guilt — the desire for love and companionship being a fundamental aspect of human nature. The beauty of the A is representative of the beauty of the action of the sin, the beauty of the action of two humans coming together in desire for one another. Being together in each other’s embrace, they fend off the emotions of loneliness and the sadness and desperation that comes along with such feelings.
To be continued…
