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Literary theories for isolation
Literary theories for isolation
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Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, examples of physical, mental, and emotional isolation are evident in the many different characters. The novel is populated with men and women facing some form of unattachment in their lives, be it caused by peculiarity, secrets, shame, judgements, or barbaric actions. For some, the detachment is a choice forged from the circumstances of their lives. For others, the detachment is thrust upon them. Mistress Hibbins chooses to live in isolation. Roger Chillingworth, once seen as a blessing, is avoided like an illness. Arthur Dimmesdale’s self-induced separation effectively causes sickness to overcome his body, casting a dark cloud over his heart and mind. Hester Prynne gains strength …show more content…
and resolution in her isolation, respectfully accepting without a word of complaint. Pearl Prynne’s exile from society, with only her mother’s companionship, is an extreme form of seclusion. As the narrative unfolds, isolation, in its many forms, shapes and defines each character in body and action. Mistress Hibbins resides on the top rung of the social ladder in the community, and yet she experiences isolation due to her peculiar nature. Residing with her brother, the governor, she spends her days cooped up in a mansion. The narrator reveals that her later conviction of witchcraft could explain her “...bitter-tempered...” (80) ways. Her only sources of social interaction are during special, public occasions and her frequent visits to the forest to meet with the ‘Black Man.’ Mistress Hibbins’ solitude is not solely due to the fact that members of the community choose to avoid her. Her alienation from the rest of society is partly, if not mainly, her own choice. While she experiences physical isolation, other members of the town face separation in different ways. Roger Chillingsworth experiences many different levels of isolation throughout the novel. While living with the Native Americans for a period of time, he was separated physically from the society and life that he was accustomed to. This form of dissociation ceases once he becomes a member of the town in which Hester Prynne lives in. As the physical isolation is replaced by an emotional isolation, Chillingworth detaches himself from almost everyone around him, except Hester, by concealing his true identity. This forms a barrier between himself and the townsfolk since he cannot truly reveal who he is to them. This self isolation is magnified as his focus and determination to seek revenge on Pearl’s father causes everything else in his world to fade into the background. Initially, the people of the town think of him as a miracle, but when the veil is later stripped away, they learn he is not who he appears to be. Chillingworth further removes himself from the community from a religious standpoint. The novel describes him as “...transforming himself into a devil” (116). While he attempts to hide his wickedness, at times the truth of his character emerges and his evil tendencies are revealed. It follows that this hatred he carries within his heart effectively and wholly removes him from society and leaves him an outsider looking in, especially where Dimmesdale is concerned. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale’s sense of guilt shapes his isolation. While he is revered in the society as an honest and holy man, he too keeps the truth of who he is and what he has done from the people of the town. An emotional barrier is erected in his mind between himself and his parishioners. Unable to rectify his actions, he torments himself with memories and people of the past to the exclusion of the world around him. For a period of time each week, Dimmesdale confines himself to a room where he either tortures himself with shame or writes a sermon for the coming Sunday concerning the Lord, allowing “...the anguish in his inmost soul…” (100) be written out for all to hear. He separates himself from the present and solely focuses on his life in the past. His self-inflicted isolation truly affects his nature and mannerisms, so much so that he physically weakens “...suffering under bodily disease…” (97.) For Dimmesdale, physical, emotional, and mental isolation, due to his sin, culminates in the very physical manifestation of illness. The only times when he feels rejuvenated is when Hester Prynne is near. With her, he is able to pull back the curtain on who he truly is and what he has done and not feel alone in the aftermath and consequences of those choices. Hester Prynne, due to her adulterous actions and subsequent punishment, carries the constant burden and consequential weight of separation at almost all times.
The first moment the reader is introduced to Hester, she is walking out of the prison with her young child and the scarlet letter, effectively creating a resolute barrier between her and the women of the town. From the commencement of her punishment, Hester lives in physical isolation in the prison. As another form of her public punishment, she is forced to stand on the scaffold in the market place for all to see “...clutch[ing] [her] child so fiercly to her breast” (41). When she walks into town with Pearl at her side, the people of the society carefully keep their distance from her. Hester acknowledges her dissociation from the community and accepts it as part of her sentence. Her home, located on a peninsula secluded from the town with not a neighbor in sight, also reflects the physical isolation that defines her existence. She accepts her isolation as a form of punishment with her Pearl “...of great price...” (61) as her sole …show more content…
companion. Pearl, Hester Prynne’s daughter, faces isolation from the moment she is born.
The young girl does not stray far from her mother or home whether by habit or timidness. She throws fits and screams at nearby people, warding them off by flinging mud in their direction. With physical, emotional and mental separation, Pearl is completely isolated. She possess a free-spirit and “...kindred wildness…” (140) that is apart from anyone else's . With her lack of human contact, she fails to interact with people in a civilized manner or “...be made amenable to rules” (62). She is called by many an elfish girl or demon child. Members of the town do not know what to think of the young girl and mind her carefully. Since Pearl has never experienced a life different from that which has been inflicted upon her by both society and her mother, she remains unaware of the disfunction such isolation has had on her
development. The cast of leading characters in The Scarlet Letter experience isolation at different points during the unfolding storyline. This separation is physical, mental, emotional, or a combination of these. Isolation is processed and dealt with in different ways depending on the nature of the individual struggling with it. Mistress Hibbins is almost oblivious to her detachment from the world around her. Chillingworth allows his isolation to fester and turn into revenge. Dimmesdale uses his separation as a form of self-persecution and penance. Hester deals with her dissociation from society silently and humbly. Pearl does not know a life outside of isolation and thus, has no idea of its impact on her life. Nathaniel Hawthorne eloquently depicts the idea of isolation throughout the pages of his novel giving opportunity for thoughtful consideration of what a life of seclusion does to a person.
There are situations during the first part of the Scarlet Letter where Hester responds to the community’s power differently. As Hester stood on the scaffold, babe in hand, community officials demanded she “Speak out the name!” (Ch. 3; Pg. 47). Though pressed with legitimate power, Hester refuses and withdraws from answering who the father of the sin-born baby is. The reader already begins to notice the strong spirit of Hester. The characterization of Hester continues to develop throughout this section when she “ … did not flee.” The adulterer’s inner strength to not withdraw is astonishing. Why not leave the people who just judged you and imprisoned you? Hester and Pearl lived “On the outskirts of the town … but not in close vicinity to any other habitation” (Ch. 4; Pg. 55). The mother decided to stay, but still withdrew from the community. Hester begins to do service for the poor as well as make clothing for a community that harshly judged her. She begins to embrace her position in this power imbalance by doing good deeds, and the narrator suggests that “None so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty” (Ch. 13; Pg. 110). The view of Hester by the community changes towards the end of the book. Her “A” was now viewed to mean “able.” No longer did it mean it regular interpretation. Hester at first was on the negative spectrum of responses to power, but we see her embrace her position in the community in the third part of the
Isolation can affect people in many different ways, for example, it could affect someone physically or emotionally. Isolation can drastically affect people in many different areas of their life. Hester is affected by isolation both emotionally and physically. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn Hester becomes alienated, isolated, physically and emotionally because of the red letter that she wears on her chest.
But this isolation is not without its unseen advantages, in Hester’s case, her isolation is her “badge of shame". The Scarlet letter distances her from others, but it contributes to her moral and mental growth. She “transcends her separation from society by good deeds and the companionship of miserable people". With all of this isolation that Hawthorne creates there is good because in the end she frees herself from her past. She frees herself from her past by redeeming herself by coming back into town many years after her and Pearl fled that dreadful day on the scaffold. She redeems herself by returning to her charitable work and never asks for anything in return. When she dies she goes down as a legend and people totally forget that the A on her chest ever stood for adulter. Personally I think that this was a fitting way for Hester to die because it is a quaint way to spend her live and the fact that she dedicates her life to helping those her persecuted her for all of it is very noble of
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.
As Hester wears the scarlet letter, the reader can feel how much of an outcast Hester becomes. When walking through town, “…she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter and passed on” (Hawthorne, 127).She believes that she is not worthy of the towns acknowledgments and chooses to ignore them. The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason of her change in personality.
...eril of death and infamy, and the inscrutable machinations of an enemy; that, finally, to this poor pilgrim, on his dreary and desert path, faint, sick, miserable, there appeared a glimpse of human affection and sympathy, a new life, and a true one, in exchange for the heavy doom which he was now expiating.
Hester Prynne, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, the Scarlet Letter, faces a crucible. She commits adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale and becomes pregnant with a daughter, Pearl. She is isolated from the community and the general public except for when she must stand upon the scaffold for three hours as part of her punishment for her sin. She must also wear a scarlet letter “A” for adultery on her breast. The town looks at her differently because of her sin but Hester stays true to her personality. Hester fairs her life by honoring her punishment and her mistakes, as well as taking care of Pearl and teaching her to be kind.
Hester Prynne's guilt is the result of her committing adultery, which has a significant effect on her life. Hester is publicly seen with the scarlet letter when she first emerges out of the cold dark prison. "It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself" (49). The spell that is mentioned is the scarlet letter, "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom" (49). The scarlet letter is what isolates her from everyone else because it symbolizes sin. Hester is in her very own sphere, where her sin affects her livelihood and has completely cut her off from the world. Her entrance into the sphere marks the beginning of her guilt and it occurs when she is in the prison after her first exposure to the crowd. The prison marks the beginning of a new life for Hester, a life full of guilt and seclusion. Her problem is that her shame is slowly surfacing while she faces the crowd realizing that she has been stripped of all her pride and everything that was important to her in the past. The lasting effect of Hester's sin is the shame that she now embodies due to her committing adultery. The shame that is ass...
A symbol is an object used to stand for something else. Symbolism has a hidden meaning lying within it; these meanings unite to form a more detailed theme. Symbolism is widely used in The Scarlet Letter to help the reader better understand the deep meanings Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays throughout his novel. He shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. Hawthorne also shows this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest.
“To the untrue man, the whole universe is false,--it is impalpable,--it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself, in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow, or, indeed, ceases to exist.” (Hawthorne 115) Throughout the hostile novel The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne used contrasting settings to represent opposed ideas that were central to the meaning of the work. Some have argued that when it came to the theme that secrets have a destructive effect on the secret-keeper and truth, by contrast, was natural, a character evaluation would best advocate these differences. However, two settings, Dimmesdale’s house and the secrets that lie within, and the scaffold representing the truth, better embody the adverse ideas posed by the point at issue.
one's who stand alone with no one to look to for love or support. "For
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once said, “Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death.” This quote truly captures Dimmesdale’s death and journey to death, it is guilt that drives him to the grave and it accompanies him throughout all five grieving stages. Dimmesdale is one of many characters in The Scarlet Letter that is faced with problems both personally and spiritually. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a romantic novel about a young woman, Hester Prynne, who is permanently marked with her sin by a scarlet A she must bare on her chest and also by her daughter Pearl. Hester committed adultery with the young minister of Boston, Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester, and her beloved child Pearl, learn to over come the A and change the meaning of it from adulterer to able, while they are changing the way society views them, Dimmesdale is withering away under the “care” of Rodger Chillingworth, Hester’s past husband. Chillingworth knows about the sin and seeks revenge on Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is helpless and in a downward spiral. He let the sin become who he is, even though the towns people don’t know of his adultery until his dying breath. The Scarlet Letter is a story about overcoming the darkness that hangs above you and stepping out of the sin or gloom that controls you. For characters like Hester this is a fairly easy thing to handle, but on the flip side characters like Dimmesdale struggle and can not seem to escape their heinous acts and don’t find peace of mind until they die. The Scarlet Letter mainly focuses on the process of overcoming these troubling times and how each individual character handles the pressure, stress, and guilt that come along with it differently. Arthur Dimmesdale is a lost soul after his sin, he expe...
The Scarlet Letter is a romance written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that takes place in the Puritan Community in Boston, Massachusetts during the 17th century. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who commits the sin of adultery with the minister of the church, Reverend Dimmesdale, and conceives a baby girl, Pearl. Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth, returns and seeks revenge. As Pearl grows up, her mother learns how to deal with the scarlet letter of shame and Dimmesdale feels guilt. When they decide to run away, Dimmesdale confesses his sin in public and he dies. The story end with the death of Chillingworth and all his belongings and property go to little Pearl. Pearl grows up and probably gets married and Hester becomes a mother for all women in need.
In the novel entitled The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates the effect alienation has on individuals. The act of adultery in the novel causes many individuals to suffer the personal consequences of alienation in some way. Using direct and indirect relationships with adultery, Hawthorne uses alienation to negatively affect the lives of Hester, Dimmesdale, Pearl, and Chillingworth.
Another man in the crowd informs the stranger as to the circumstances leading to the woman’s punishment. He tells him that Hester was sent to Europe ahead of her husband, who was to follow a short time later. She has now been in Boston for two years, and has never received word from her husband. The people have been lenient in punishing her for the crime of having a child out of wedlock because of the circumstances with her absent husband. Her punishment is to stand on the scaffold for three hours and to wear the A on her chest for the rest of her life.