Symbolism in Scarlet Letter

Contents:

• Introduction……………………………………………………………………………3

• Symbolism……………………………………………………………………………….4

• Symbols from the Bible……………………………………………………….5

• The symbolism of names………………………………………………………5

• The scarlet letter…………………………………………………………………6

• The rose, the prison and the cemetery……………………………7

• The symbol of the Forest and the Meteor……………………..8

• Symbols of color and light…………………………………………………..8

• Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..10

• Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….11

Introduction

“In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter, which made his fame, changed his fortune and gave to our literature its first symbolic novel. In this novel were concentrated the entire resources of Hawthorne’s creative personality and experience.”

Hawthorne found his inspiration for writing in the materials about “the ethical view of life of his Calvinistic New England ancestors, and his tales are almost always allegories with morals attached.” The central theme of Hawthorne’s stories is “the psychological effect of the conviction of sin on the lives of the early colonists.” Hawthorne explored the depths of the human soul and was investigating the problems of moral and social responsibility. He was discovering the Puritan past of his family, “the persecutors of Quakers and “witches”.” Hawthorne lived in a town where the witch trials very often took place. He was very familiar with the history of Salem and the lives of the Puritan colonist,