How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Dramatic Irony In The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 18th century novel The Scarlet Letter tries his hand through the novel to use dramatic irony to develop suspense and foreshadowing within it. Hawthorne creates these ideas through the character transformation of the many bodies within his story, those being Hester Prynne from her punishment from sin, the townspeople from the predominant characters, Dimmesdale from his hidden sin, and Chillingworth from his heinous, devilish intentions. These people are used as they’re the main focus of the book, and when interacting together can create all three of the aforementioned traits, be it through the sight of Chillingworth through the towns people’s eyes or the connection between Dimmesdale’s pain and Hester’s mark on her chest. To begin, the primary literary device that dominates a vast majority of the book lies within one of the three tones of irony: Dramatic Irony, which transpires

As the towns people compel Dimmesdale to take Chillingworth as his doctor, they are unknowingly passing Chillingworth the person they want. Hinted at in Chapter 3, and more so confirmed later on, Dimmesdale is Hester Prynne’s lover whom she committed adultery with, creating Pearl from such ‘sinful’ behavior. The two characters taking occupancy in one household leaves the reader with great anticipation with the feeling of the setting being quite suspenseful, not knowing how or when Chillingworth will discover the true identity of Dimmesdale or when he will complete the enevitable, killing off Dimmesdale for revenge of ‘stealing’ his wife. The reader knows what Chillingworth does not, the sin commited by Dimesdale, creating the heavy suspense and ironic feeling. Not only these, but the scene also enforces the third and final of the discussable literary devices,