Biblical Allusions In The Scarlet Letter

1109 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The interpretation of “the scarlet letter”

The Scarlet Letter in Regards to the Parable of the “Pearl of Great Price”
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter makes use of Biblical allusions to deepen its treatment of the moral superiority of Hester Prynne. Write an essay that explains how familiarity with the parable of the ‘pearl of great price’ from the book of Matthew helps the reader understand the overall meaning of Hawthorne’s novel. Highlight your thesis and claims in yellow. Staple your notes to the back of the essay.

In the Book of Matthew, Jesus redefines many ordinances set out by God and speaks to the people mainly in parables, which is a story heavy in comparisons/analogies to teach a moral truth. Jesus’ reasoning is that man “shall indeed hear but never understand.” (Book of Matthew, 13:14) Hawthorn utilizes many biblical allusions in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. The parable of the “pearl of great price” (Book of Matthew, 13:45-46) has an immense correlation with the principles and meaning of The Scarlet Letter. The “pearl of great price” refers to a merchant who sold all he had for a perfect pearl. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about a young woman named Hester Prynne. After losing her husband in a shipwreck two years …show more content…

So, when Hester Prynne committed adultery, it affected many people. Specifically, Hester Prynne, Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, and Dr. Robert Chillingworth were adversely affected. The application of the parable of “the pearl of great price” provides clear insight into the minds of these three characters. As the merchant sold all he had for a great pearl, these three colonists all had their symbolic pearls they paid an immense price for; Hester paid her reputation and position in society for her child, Pearl; Reverend Dimmesdale paid his health for his faith and position in the clergy; Dr. Chillingworth paid his sanity and personality for his

Show More
Related

  • Hester Prynne Sacrifice

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne is a character who gave up everything, even love, for her child. Hester Prynne sacrificed her peace, her beauty, her entire being for her child and this shows her determination and profound understanding of the world. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s piece, “The Scarlet Letter” shows the other side of the sinner’s story and not as a villain, but a victim.

    Read More

  • Pearl Indoctrination In Scarlet Letter

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, tells the story of a young adulteress named Hester Prynne and her bastard daughter, Pearl, as they endure their residence in a small town of the Massachusetts British settlement in the1600s. Pearl’s illegitimate birth is the result of the relationship between Hester Prynne and a minister of the Puritan church, Arthur Dimmesdale. Through public defamation and a perpetual embroidery of an “A” upon her dress, Hester is punished for her crime. Whereas, Arthur choses to suppress the secret over illuminating the truth and endures internal and self-inflicted punishment as consequence.

    Read More

  • Pearl's Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, a sinner, living in a puritan society. As punishment, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter on her chest. Her daughter Pearl is the product of her sinful ways, and a constant reminder of her wrongdoing. Pearl’s embodiment of the Scarlet Letter causes her hostile relationships with the world and her mother. However, when Dimmesdale kisses her, he frees her from isolation and allows her to form human connections.

    Read More

  • The Truth Shall Set You Free: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    The characters Hawthorne develops are deep, unique, and difficult to genuinely understand. Young, tall, and beautiful Hester Prynne is the central protagonist of this story. Shamefully, strong-willed and independent Hester is the bearer of the scarlet letter. Burning with emotion, she longs for an escape from her mark, yet simultaneously, she refuses to seem defeated by society’s punishment. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale claims the secondary role in The Scarlet Letter; he is secretly Hester’s partner in adultery. Conflicted and grieved over his undisclosed act, he drives himself to physical and mental sickness. He fervently desires Hester, but should he risk his godly reputation by revealing the truth? Dimmesdale burns like Hester. Pearl, the child produced in Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, is the third main character. She is fiery, passionate, perceiving, and strikingly symbolic; at one point in the novel she is referred to as “the scarlet letter endowed with life!” Inevitably, Pearl is consumed with questions about herself, her mother, and Dimmesdale. The reader follows Pearl as she discovers the truth. Altogether, Hawthorne’s use of intricately complex, conflicted ch...

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Hester Prynne

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his essay On the Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence explores Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne. Lawrence focuses on and condemns Hester’s sin itself rather than its consequences. Instead of supporting Hawthorne's depiction of Hester as an innocent character, Lawrence sheds light on what he believes is her true character, a deceiver.  He argues that Hester Prynne has a false appearance of purity through his use of critical diction, sarcastic tone, and biblical allusions.

    Read More

  • Symbolism for Adam and Eve in Nathanial Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter"

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through the use of numerous symbols, Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter serves as an allegory for the story of Adam and Eve and its relation to sin, knowledge, and the human condition that is present in human society. Curious for the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, which resulted in the revelation of their “humanness” and expulsion from the “divine garden” as they then suffered the pain and joy of being humans. Just as Adam and Eve were expelled from their society and suffered in their own being, so were Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter. Hester was out casted and shunned, while Dimmesdale suffered under his own guilt. After knowledge of her affair is made known, Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest to symbolize her crime of adultery, and is separated from the Puritan society. Another “A” appears in the story, and is not embroidered, but instead scarred on Dimmesdale’s chest as a symbol of guilt and suffering. Hester’s symbol of guilt comes in the form of her daughter, Pearl, who is the manifestation of her adultery, and also the living version of her scarlet letter. Each of these symbols come together to represent that with sin comes personal growth and advancement of oneself in society as the sinner endures the good and bad consequences.

    Read More

  • Liberation from Sin through Pearl in The Scarlet Letter

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    This, as Arthur Dimmesdale almost prophetically expresses in the early scenes of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, was the role of Pearl, the elfish child borne of his and Hester Prynne's guilty passion. Like Paul's thorn in the flesh, Pearl would bring trouble, heartache, and frustration to Hester, but serve a constructive purpose lying far beyond the daily provocations of her childish impishness. While in many respects a tormentor to Hester, Pearl was also her savior, while a reminder of her guilt, a promoter of honesty and true Virtue; and while an embodiment of Hester's worst qualities, a vision of a better life for Hester and for herself.

    Read More

  • Metaphors Throughout The Scarlet Letter

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hawthorne manages to create many metaphors within his novel The Scarlet Letter. The rose bush outside the prison door, the black man, and the scaffold are three metaphors. Perhaps the most important metaphor would be the scaffold, which plays a great role throughout the entire story. The three scaffold scenes which Hawthorne incorporated into The Scarlet Letter contain a great deal of significance and importance the plot. Each scene brings a different aspect of the main characters, the crowd or more minor characters, and what truth or punishment is being brought forth.

    Read More

  • Symbolism Used in The Scarlet Letter

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, symbolsim is constantly present in the actual scarlet letter “A” as it is viewed as a symbol of sin and the gradally changes its meanign, guilt is also a mejore symbol, and Pearl’s role in this novel is symbolic as well. The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and crucial symbols. these devices of symbolism are best portayed in the novel, most noticably through the letter “A” best exemplifies the changes in the symbolic meaning throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • Biblical Names In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    264 Words  | 1 Pages

    In literary works, often, authors use references to biblical names and meaning to effectively represent a character’s personality. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is just one example of character symbolism. Hawthorne uses biblical names intentionally to depict the personas of Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Pearl, the product of an adulterous woman Hester’s affair, is her mother's prized possession. Pearl’s name was chosen to symbolically allude to her backstory. Biblically, the name Pearl refers to being precious, of great value, and the merchant (in the bible verse sought out the pearl) who sacrificed everything for the pearl. Similarly in Hawthorne’s novel, the narrator describes Hester “judging one token of her

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter, Pearl

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The plot focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale, which means they are adulterers and sinners. As a result, Pearl is born and Hester is forced to where the scarlet letter. Pearl is a unique character. She is Hester’s human form of her scarlet letter, which constantly reminds her of her sin, yet at the same time, Pearl is a blessing to have since she represents the passion that Hester once had.

    Read More

  • Unrelenting Selflessness In The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well known novel, The Scarlet Letter, extensive diction and intense imagery are used to portray the overall tone of the characters. In particular, Hester Prynne, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter, receives plentiful positive characterization throughout the novel. Hester’s character most notably develops through the town’s peoples ever-changing views on the scarlet letter, the copious mentions of her bravery, and her ability to take care of herself, Pearl, and others, even when she reaches the point where most would give up and wallow in their suffering.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Pearl

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1700’s, puritan society focuses highly on sin. Pearl, from the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1800s is a superior example of sin in a person’s life. In “The Role of Pearl” by Anne Marie McNamara, the significance of Pearl’s character is thoroughly analyzed. Pearl is the daughter of the main character, Hester; who is an adultress. People tend to ignore the importance that Pearl represents in the novel. Pearl gives meaning to many ideas throughout the story, especially structure. Without Pearl, the story would not come together as well. The people of the village realize that Hester has sinned when she is seen pregnant. Therefore, McNamara stresses the embodiment of sin, the significance of Pearl protecting her mother, and

    Read More

  • Moral and Social Themes in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel.  Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel.  In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects.  Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters.  The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way.  Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel.  Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter is a fictional novel that begins with an introductory passage titled ‘The Custom-House’. This passage gives a historical background of the novel and conveys the narrator’s purpose for writing about the legend of Hester Prynne even though the narrator envisions his ancestors criticizing him and calling him a “degenerate” because his career was not “glorifying God”, which is very typical of the strict, moralistic Puritans. Also, although Hawthorne is a Romantic writer, he incorporates properties of Realism into his novel by not idealizing the characters and by representing them in a more authentic manner. He does this by using very formal dialogue common to the harsh Puritan society of the seventeenth century and reflecting their ideals through this dialogue. The Puritans held somewhat similar views as the Transcendentalists in that they believed in the unity of God and the world and saw signs and symbols in human events, such as when the citizens related the meteo...

    Read More

More about Biblical Allusions In The Scarlet Letter

Open Document