Essay on Symbolism of the Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter

In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we notice that action only happens in a few places, among which are the forest, the market place, the governor’s residence, and Dimmesdale’s house. Although all these locations are significant to the story, the most important symbol among them is certainly the scaffold in the market place, where the story begins and ends. The scaffold’s meaning changes throughout the story and has different values for different characters. It represents humiliation, then insight, and finally redemption for Hester and Dimmesdale, but for Chillingworth, it symbolizes birth of sin, growth of sin, and ultimately consummation by sin. At the beginning of the story, the scaffold â€Å"constituted a portion of†¦show more content†¦Through these same circumstances, the devil planted the seed of revenge in the cuckold’s heart. Chillingworth soon became obsessed with the identity of Hester’s lover and vowed to f ind the man in order to torture his soul. In contrast to the first scaffold scene, the second one happened during the night, completely unseen by the other villagers. Again, we see Dimmesdale and Hester (and Pearl), but this time, the lovers appeared to be both on the platform of shame. In this passage, Dimmesdale finally decided to act upon his guilt since he â€Å"had been driven hither (to the scaffold) by the impulse that Remorse which dogged him everywhere† (132-133). This scene symbolizes a moment of great insight for the minister because he started to understand a way to repent himself. As Dimmesdale touched his little girl’s hand, he experienced â€Å"[an]other life than his own, pouring like a torrent into his heart and hurrying through all his veins, as if the mother and the child were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system† (137). The miserable sinner, who lived in utter darkness and despair for such a long time, at last began to grasp his responsibility towards Hester and Pearl and his role in the redemption of all three characters. However, Dimmesdale’s insight was not complete because he was still bounded with fear. When Pearl asked him to expose his sin to the public and admit her as his legitimate child, his courageShow MoreRelatedSymbolism In The Scarlet Letter1247 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism in The Scarlet Letter Symbolism is simply defined as the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Symbolism is a common occurrence in literary works and many books use symbolism to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. As in most literary works, symbolism also appears in The Scarlet Letter. There is lots of symbolism used in The Scarlet Letter to convey multiple things and to express many ideas. 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