Scarlet Letter Light And Dark Symbolism

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In the book The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many symbols to develop the theme or progress story, or to leave room for the reader to wonder and hypothesize on the true meaning of his words. The symbolic element being used to represent theme in The Scarlet Letter is color, both light, and dark. The Scarlet Letter is full of symbolism, in chapter 17, Hester goes to meet Arthur Dimmesdale in the forest, the darkness isolates Hester from everyone else. Hester and Arthur met when no one was around and they were free to act and speak to each other as they pleased without the prying eyes of the public. The light showing through the forest, coincidentally, arrives when Hester comes to the resolve of leaving to England with Arthur and Pearl to have a new and fresh start, where they could be together without dealing with the harsh prejudice of the townspeople. The darkness symbolizes the weight of the sin Hester has been contrived to bear by the austere society, while the light shining …show more content…

It is mainly represented in the forest scenes, where Hester and Arthur meet. After having spent time alone, Arthur is startled and confused by Hester’s voice, not knowing it’s her. “Clad in garments so sombre, and so little relieved from the gray twilight into which the clouded sky and the heavy foliage had darkened the noontide, that he knew not whether it were a woman or a shadow.” (185). The darkness of the forest is used in a way that presents a mysterious and gloomy setting. To connect with the gloomy setting is the next quote: “about the gloomy sky, the threatening storm, and, next, the health of each.” (187). The quote directly speaks about the “gloomy sky”, and uses the weather to foreshadow the problems that will face them in the future with “the threatening storm” (187). Darkness plays a large part in The Scarlet Letter it can mean anything from the black of Hester’s soul, to shadow of the

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