Let me preface this by saying in my entirety of reading novels during high school and up until now The Scarlet Letter was one of the hardest reads I have ever encountered. A lot of people say that the book is horrible but I believe it's because most people can't comprehend what the text is actually describing and get turned off by it. I embraced it and took it as a challenge to my intelligence and I have to say I understood it very well.
When Nathaniel Hawthorne sat down in his cottage with his candle dimly lit on his table with ink by his side and a pen in his hand he crafted a story that's one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of literature. I was enthralled by how many separate themes are continuously going on at the same time and I'm sure that most people never even spot them while they are flipping one page at a time getting ultimately to the end of this timeless classic. I was most taken aback by the theme of external pain versus internal pain. The main protagonist in the story is Hester Prynne who was a woman living in Boston during the Puritan days back in the 1,700's. She was sent to America from England by her husband and when she arrives she has an affair and a child. When she's broached about the identity of the partner of her heinous act she refuses to tell. She is then punished by being forced to wear the letter A colored in Scarlet on her gown. Her sin and therefore her guilt is out in the open for everyone to see and judge. The other culprit was the Minister Arthur Dimmesdale and he being a man of cloth could never be able to let the public know of his act. Not only would he most likely be sent to the gallows but all of the parishioners would lose faith. He was highly regarded in the community and if he could commit a sin then no one could be trusted. He has to keep his guilt inside and deal with it. Throughout the novel the pain of his sin eats at him and he starts to become old past his years. He is where Hawthorne's story becomes legendary. Throughout the whole story the Minister keeps holding onto his chest and at the very end of the novel he reveals it to show a letter A engraved into his body. Hawthorne never explains how they A got there but there are three different conclusions that readers have come up with since the book was first published. One was that he branded himself with it as a sign of contrition.Another thought was that his doctor Roger Chillingworth who was Hester's husband from England had used some of his necromancy potions on the Minister to punish him for what he done. The last notion was that the Minister had so much remorse for his sin that it started to show through from the inside. The idea that you will never know the truth about how the letter came to be on the Minister's chest is a work of art. It leaves the reader with the ability to culminate their own opinion based upon their experiences and way of thinking.
The theme of forgiveness is evident in this story too. The story lasts in a scope of a seven year period from when Hester is first punished until the eventual death of the Minister. By the time the end of the story has come most of the people in the town have forgiven Hester because she became very dependable in the community with her ability to sew and hem outfits for people for special occasions. They saw that she still wore the scarlet letter on his gown and knew that she could take it off at anytime if she pleased. She kept it on as a way to show her repentance for what she had done and would take it off when the time was right. The Minister on the other hand had an enemy in his own abode and he didn't even know. When Roger Chillingworth first came over from England and finding out his wife had been unfaithful to him he dedicated his life to find the man who had participated in the crime. He went to see Hester and asked her for the name of this man and she declined to tell him. He then said he would make it his life's goal to punish the man for what he had done. He soon became the Minister's doctor and started to put the pieces together. Hester never told him at first that he was her ex husband because she didn't want any more controversy to ensue. On finding out that Arthur Dimmesdale was the culprit he was looking for he didn't confront him but he tortured him mentally in a way that the Minister never even knew what he was doing. He would make him feel his guilt by having conversations with him indirectly about the subject and making the Minister's pain even worse. The town could forgive Hester and let go but the doctor couldn't forgive the Minister until he paid the ultimate price. When he finally got his vengeance with the Minister dead on the wooden stage his mission had been over and soon died only months afterwards. He was living basically just for vindictiveness. The towns people let the lord punish Hester and the doctor didn't want to leave it in the lord's hands but instead in his own vile hands.
Throughout the story Hawthorne displays a lot of symbolism which in time the book has become known for. One instance is the child in the story Pearl the daughter of Hester and the Minister. As I was reading the book I was becoming more and more inclined to believe that Pearl was the the physical embodiment of the sin and the scarlet letter. She was the scarlet letter to Hester constantly reminding her of what she did merely by glancing over at her. Her actions were wicked and wild but on the inside she had a big heart. She knew throughout the story who the Minister was to her and always asked him about why he held his chest all the time.
When I first picked up this perfect collection of words I never thought that I would be here thinking back on how astonishing that it was to read. I always heard about The Scarlet Letter but I never thought it could hit me so close in my heart as it did as I was reading it. I think everyone has a scarlet letter internally that they punish themselves for and never let go. The story is reaching out the to reader to say look let it go and be honest because the truth will set you free. Everyone deserves another chance because the only people not capable of sin are God and Jesus. There was a reason why Jesus died on the cross and that was so we could be forgiven for our sins so don't let them eat at you like poor Arthur Dimmesdale. Try to become stronger everyday and learn from your mistakes and realize you're not perfect. There will be a time when you do something you shouldn't but if in your heart you really feel repentance then God will forgive you. All in all this book is definitely something every one should read even if you need to get cliff notes with it to get you through the story.
Brian's Review Score: 5/5
