Metaphors In Scarlet Letter

855 Words2 Pages

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne provides some passages to enhance
the reader's understanding of the characters, themes, and his own literary artistry. A significant
passage in the text is the sentence that appears in chapter six, “the mother's impassioned state had
been the medium through which were transferred to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life;
and however white and clear originally, they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the
fiery lustre, the black shadow, and the untempered light of the intervening substance”. Exploring
this sentence, we find some pivotal points in understanding the development of several ideas.
This sentence is crucial because it assists in characterizing Hester, understanding …show more content…

Her child is born out of
sin and because of sin, which affects both of their lives. The ideas that she delivers to her child,
such as “fiery lustre” and “dark shadow”, are both a negative result of Hester's sin. Diction that
supports this idea of sin is included in the sentence. The word “stain” has a negative connotation,
being that we usually associate it with something that we try very hard to remove, with little to
no avail. Little Pearl's traits are stained with crimson and gold. Also, the words “fiery” and
“black”, although very different in meaning, are similar in the sense that they both have a mostly
negative connotation, and are a trait resulting from sin. The word “untempered”, while not
completely negative, is used interestingly in the sentence. “Untempered” means “not moderate or
lessened by anything”, and is used to describe Hester's light in the passage. She influences Pearl
with her unrelenting light, much like her unrelenting punishment for her sin. Sin is a continual
theme of the book, and is a crucial aspect in the selected passage.
While the sentence contributes heavily towards the theme of sin, it also helps the …show more content…

Hester is said to transfer Pearl's moral life by way of

“rays”, which supports the idea that Hester is a light source. Also, Hester transfers a “fiery
lustre” to Pearl, which conveys that Pearl has become a light source because of Hester. Another
idea that goes hand­in­hand with light is darkness. A pairing that Hawthorne repeatedly
establishes is the pairing between light and dark. Alongside “fiery lustre”, the author uses the
phrase “black shadow”, which contrasts the light. But perhaps the most important recurring idea
is the allegorical reference to the scarlet letter using the colors crimson and gold. The passage
states “they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold”, which is a reference to the letter that
Hester wears upon her bosom. The letter stands for sin, shame, and guilt. Therefore, referring to
Pearl with a moral life of crimson and sin, probably is the token of Hester's shame, guilt, and sin.
From only a single sentence we can better understand Hawthorne's work. This is one of
the most significant passages in the exposition because it assists in characterizing Hester,
understanding an essential theme, and expressing the author's literary artistry. These are

Open Document