"The Scarlet letter" by "Nathaniel Hawthorne's" symbols and themes, made and presented by my fellow Rania... i hope this will be helpful.

1. THE SCARLET LETTER
SYMBOLS & THEMES

2. Major Themes
1) Sin
2) Women and femininity
3) Isolation
4) Fate and Free will
5) Memories vs The Present

3. Themes In SCARLET LETTER
• 1) Sin:
Associated with breaking of law.
A hierarchy of sins
Chillingworth’s pursuit of revenge is
deemed as “worse” than the passion
of Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale to
commit Adultery.

4. 2) Women and Femininity
• In Puritan era, women were expected to
be subordinate to their male
counterparts.
E.g
Hester was willing to take on her own
shame while protecting the man she
loves .
She keeps his secret faithfully for 7 years

5. 3) Isolation
Major theme
• E.g Hester Prynne lives in isolation for years
and years, even cast out from Puritan society
for having a child out of wedlock.
Her isolation leads her to see her society in a
new light and allows her to think out of this
box.

6. 4) Fate and Free will
• Puritan’s believed in Divine Providence
Character in this novel constantly
struggle b/w letting fate run its course
and choosing a path for themselves.

7. 5) Memories vs the present
Time was passing but memories of past
were always there .
Hester learn to forgive herself for
adultery but society continues to scold
her for it.
Pearl is enough of a reminder of the wild
choices in her past.
As Pearl grows up, Hester continuous to
live in the present rather than in the past.

8. 1. Scarlet A
 Primarily represents Adultery.
It radiates other meanings as Hester
becomes a transformed person, when she
becomes Ambassador of Mercy;
now it becomes Able and Angel.
It represents the connection between
Hester, Dimmesdale & Pearl.

9. Scarlet A
Hester DIMMESDALE
Pearl

10. 2. Pearl
• Pearl represents two perspectives
Positive & Negative
Positively Innocence & Solace
negatively Sin & Punishment

11. 3. The color Scarlet
The scarlet color is associated with
1) Evil 2) Punishment
3) Immorality 4) prostitution
5) adultery 6) sin

12. 4. Brook in the Forest
• Brook in the forest, passing through tall,
gloomy trees, is a symbol of life in
puritan society.
• Trees represents puritan and brook
“divides” Hester and Pearl as life does.

13. Other Symbols
• Chillingworth is consistently a symbol of cold
reason and intellect unencumbered by human
compassion.
Dimmesdale is a symbol of hypocrisy and self-centered
; he knows what is right but has not the
courage to make himself do the public act.

14. Presented by:
Rania Habib
’01’