What Is The Scaffold In The Scarlet Letter

Throughout the existence of mankind, the arduous trail from sin to salvation has been trekked repeatedly. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne discerns the struggles of earning forgiveness. The novel focuses on the aftermath of the sin committed by Hester Prynne and her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale. It chronicles the adversities the duo face and in the process showcases the tough nature of absolution in Puritan society. Hawthorne shrewdly arranges the novel around three key scenes, all of which occur on the scaffold, the center of indignity. Over the course of the novel, the scaffold in the three scenes serves as a dynamic symbol adapting to the changing relationships between the characters and the revelation of their sins. The

three scenes trace a transforming from shame to guilt to humility.
Marking the beginning of Hester’s ignominy, the first scaffold scene revolves around the introduction of the characters and the disclosure of her adulterous affair to a cold and judgmental society. As she stands on the scaffold, she is judged harshly by “hard-featured” and “pitiless” older women, and knows that “Meagre, indeed, and cold, was the sympathy that [she] might look for, from such bystanders at the scaffold” (Hawthorne 47), while keeping “her place upon the pedestal of shame, with glazed eyes, and an air of weary indifference” (Hawthorne 47). Through a sudden alienation from the rest of society, even her accomplice, Dimmesdale, Hester faces a bleak and unsympathetic world; moreover, this scene instills in her a determination to face the world alone, knowing that she cannot expect any help or support. Hester's independence had been depicted through much of the symbolism of the letter “A” on her clothing, and the scaffold which symbolized her ignominy. The two coalesced to form Hester's distinct identity that would set her apart as a sinner. On the other hand, it is clear that at this point the relationship between Dimmesdale and Hester is distant. Dimmesdale does not seem to communicate with Hester about the relationship between the two, rather at this point, they both keep their partnership in sin a secret. In essence, the scaffold draws a parallel between shame, what it represents, and the aloof nature of their relationship.
As years passed and the characters transform, the novel takes a new course of action in the second scaffold scene which evolves from the shame Hester felt to Dimmesdale’s guilt and isolation.

As he walks up the scaffold, Dimmesdale feels a deep sense of guilt, as Hawthorne states, “Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart. On that spot, in very truth, there was, and there had long been, the gnawing and poisonous tooth of bodily pain.” Feeling the burden of his guilt, Dimmesdale contemplates the punishment for his sin -- a scarlet letter on his chest. Through spending the night on the scaffold, Dimmesdale is able to materialize his guilt; something that he wasn’t able to do in the confinements of his own house with the vengeful leech, Chillingworth. His relationship between him and Hester grew more intimate as they meet up in isolation sharing the guilt of the same sin. After Dimmesdale mounts the steps to the scaffold, Hawthorne depicts that “they would have discerned no face above the platform, nor hardly the outline of a human shape, in the dark gray of the midnight. But the town was all asleep. There was no peril of discovery.” Hawthorne’s vivid use of imagery helps bring a correlation between isolation of Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s relationship and his guilt, both as symbolic representations of the scaffold. As Dimmesdale expressed his emotions, the night shielded

the duo from being identified as sinner. While Dimmesdale wanted to relieve some of his remorse, he does so in isolation leaving him guilty regardless, since he confessed in isolation. The scaffold helps form a special bond between the family in isolation, yet the scaffold leaves him with a sense of guilt.
Concluding the passive journey of the two sinners, the third scaffold scene reveals the extrication of Dimmesdale through humility, bringing his years of torture to an end.

During the encounter between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth minutes before they mount the scaffold, Hawthorne states, “‘Ha, tempter! Methinks thou art too late!’ answered the minister, encountering his eye, fearfully, but firmly. ‘Thy power is not what it was! With God's help, I shall escape thee now!’” Through referring to Chillingworth as a “tempter”, Dimmesdale gives a reference to Satan and feels as though he has been set free from the devil’s chains. Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, keeps him off the scaffold, while his humility lets him mount the scaffold. While the overall tone of his death is not very uplifting, humility, which the scaffold symbolizes, is what allows him to die in peace. Through accepting his weakness, Dimmesdale allows himself to accept Hester's love as a pure love, as opposed to carnal lust. In his endeavor to confess, “It seemed, at this point, as if the minister must leave the remainder of his secret undisclosed. But he fought back the bodily weakness--and, still more, the faintness of heart--that was striving for the mastery with him. He threw off all assistance, and stepped passionately forward a pace before the woman and the children.” The passage suggests a last-minute struggle with his pride. Newfound humility is what lets him win that battle and die with peace and a

guilt free conscience. Through this revelation he is able to exhibit his humility and establish a close relationship with Hester, unlike the distant one earlier in the novel.
The scaffold’s dynamic meaning serves to illustrate the purposes of the character’s and their relationships. While Dimmesdale and Hester still remain sinners, they can finally reunite as a family and Dimmesdale can finally release his guilt. The transition between shame, guilt, and humility certainly portrays the scaffold as a key symbol in this exemplary work of literature.