Scarlet Letter: A Psychological Novel

When Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote his novel, The Scarlet Letter, he was praised as
being the father of the psychological novel. Since the completion of his landmark story, many
other authors have taken their work in similar directions, and have tried to reveal human
psychology through their writing. Authors have been trying to convey truths about human
behavior and explain the human psyche, often unsuccessfully. Edith Wharton's novel, Ethan
From, is an excellent example of a novel that succeeds in revealing truths. She fills her characters
with nuances that reflect the subconscious and her setting is alive with reflected symbolism. She
is able to interpret the characters actions in a way that can relate to all humans. Each word and
phrase seems to be chosen so that it reflects a part of the subconscious in the characters. Edith
Wharton's Ethan Frome is a psychological examination of the human mind, based on her use of
setting to reflect emotion, characterization to show human tendencies towards chaos and other
psychological aspects of the human mind. In Ethan Frome, Wharton uses the setting to show the
feelings and psychology of the characters. Because the tone of the novel is somber and the
characters suffer greatly, Wharton used the gothic technique of matching the scenery to the
characters emotions. The principal setting of the novel is Starkfield, which is a small farming
based community. The houses are mostly several miles from the "center of town. Richard
Worth, a literary critic, says of Starkville, "...even the name suggests utter desolation (64). The
name of the town gives the initial impression of the mindset of the characters: hopelessness.
"The New England winter... the physical landscape can reinforce psychic tensions oppressing the
people in the community (McDowell 85). The narrator, Harmon Gow, describes the setting and
says, "...the winter set down on Starkfield, and the village lay under a sheet of snow,
perpetually renewed from the pale skies(7). During the entirety of the novel, the
Starkfield weather is brutally cold and snowy. Because winter and coldness are
some of the predominant images n the book, it was first published under the title
L'Hiver, which means winter in French. The snow and cold restate the cruelty of the
characters' situations. The setting, using the bleakness of winter, "...provides a
complicated time scheme through which the author could dramatically contrast the
bleak existence of her characters in the present with their youthful expectations in
the past. (McDowell 74).

In the book The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is convicted of adultery and ordered to
wear the scarlet letter "A" on her chest as a permanent sign of her sin. Hester is
sentenced to never take off this badge of shame, and doesn't until chapter thirteen.
As the novel proceeds, Hawthorne presents several questions that are left
unanswered. How does the nature of the letter "A" seem to change? What role of
does Hester's own response to her situation play in changing the meaning of the
letter "A"? How does the letter "A" come to be seen as a symbol of the mysterious
connection between human experiences (sinful in nature) and a kind of wisdom that
would be impossible without failure? Why does Hester not tell who Pearl's father is
when she is on the scaffold?
Hawthorne does not tell us very much about Hester's life before the book opens.

Actually, the passionate moment between Hester and Arthur that the whole book is
centered around was left out. Hawthorne relies more on the emotional and
psychological drama that surrounds Hester, than action. Hawthorne shows us how
remarkable Hester's character is, revealed through her public humiliation, and her
isolated life in Puritan society. Her inner strength and compassion may have been
there the whole time, as we don't know because we weren't told anything about
Hester before the book opens, but the scarlet "A" does bring all these qualities to
our attention as we read the book.
Hester is physically described in the first scaffold scene as a tall young woman with
a "figure of perfect elegance on a large scale." Her most impressive feature is her
"dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam." Her
complexion is rich, her eyes are dark and deep, and her regular features give her a
beautiful face. Contrast this with her appearance after seven years of punishment
for her sin. Her beautiful hair is hidden under her cap; her beauty and warmth are
gone, buried under the burden of the elaborate scarlet letter on her bosom. When
she removes the letter and takes off her cap in Chapter 13, she once again becomes
the radiant beauty of seven years earlier. Symbolically, when Hester removes the
letter and takes off the cap, she is, in effect, removing the harsh, stark, unbending
Puritan social and moral structure. Hester is only to have a brief respite, however,
because Pearl angrily demands she resume wearing the scarlet "A". With the scarlet
letter and her hair back in place, "her beauty, the warmth and richness of her
womanhood, departed, like fading sunshine; and a gray shadow seemed to fall
across her." While her punishment changes her physical appearance, it has a far
more profound effect on her character.
What we do know about Hester from the days prior to her punishment is that she
came from a "genteel but impoverished English family" of notable lineage. She
married the much older Roger Chillingworth, who spent long hours working on his
books and experiments; yet she convinced herself that she was happy. When they
left Amsterdam for the New World, he sent Hester ahead, but then he was
reportedly lost at sea, leaving Hester alone among the Puritans of Boston. Officially,
she is a widow. While not a Puritan herself, Hester looked to Arthur Dimmesdale for
comfort and spiritual guidance. Somewhere during this period of time, their solace
becomes passion and results in the birth of Pearl. Which brings up the question:
Why didn't Hester tell who Pearl's father was on the scaffold? The reason she didn't
do this is because she was still in love with Dimmesdale. She was still married to
Chillingworth, but she was in love with Dimmesdale. The decision shows Hester's
determination to stand alone despite the opinion of society. Despite her lonely
existence, Hester somehow finds an inner strength to defy both the townspeople
and the local government. This defiance becomes stronger and will carry her
through later confrontations with both Chillingworth and Governor Bellingham. Her
determination and lonely stand is repeated again when she confronts Governor
Bellingham over the issue of Pearl's guardianship. When the governor determines to
take Pearl away from her, Hester says, "God gave me the child! He gave her in
requital of all things else, which he had taken from me Ye shall not take her! I will
die first!" When pressed further with assurances of Pearl's good care, Hester
defiantly pleads with him, "God gave her into my keeping. I will not give her up!"
Here Hester turns to Dimmesdale for help, the one time in the novel where she does
not stand alone.
Over the course of the novel the nature of the letter "A" seems to change.
Throughout the novel it is mentioned the letter becomes more elegant and

glamorous. This is a symbol for what the letter has come to mean to Hester. While it
was meant for a punishment, society began to see the letter as something
beautiful, because it seems to have set Hester free. The scarlet "A" went from
meaning adultery, to Able. The Puritans may see the letter gaining in beauty
because they find the separation appealing, an escape from their own secrets and
pain. Despite the scarlet letter, Hester proves that she is full of strength,
compassion, and honesty. Hester is the opposite of Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is the
embodiment of cowardice, envious of Hester's courage. He wishes he too could
break away from the conformed ways that have swallowed his life. Yet he will keep
all of his guilt and painful emotions inside, all because of his fear of being looked
down upon by his society. Whether courageous Hester is analyzed or Dimmesdale's
cowardice character, the results are the same. During a time that was filled with
strict morals and very conservative ideas, the most important value in self-learning
and maturity was the realization of individuality. This time period strongly frowned
upon diversity, so the struggle to express oneself was extremely difficult, and that's
exactly what Hester was able to do. This novel was very focused on teaching the
idea of valuing your own morals and ideas above everyone else's. Even when the
battle is you versus everyone, even when a large conformed society is very hard to
fight.
By the end of the novel the letter "A" comes to be seen as a symbol of the
mysterious connection between human experiences (sinful in nature) and a kind of
wisdom that would be impossible without failure. What this means is that are going
to sin no matter what. It is impossible to live a human life without sinning. It's
human nature to sin. There is a link between sinning and wisdom. Wisdom is gained
from human experiences, most notably mistakes. It would be impossible to gain
knowledge and wisdom if we didn't have any experiences to learn from. Hester
committed the sin of adultery. From that sin we were shown what kind of courage,
honesty, and strength she has inside her. All of those attributes won't make her
previous sin of adultery go away, but the knowledge she gained from the
experience will stay with her throughout her life.
In the end, Hester's strength, honesty, and compassion carry her through a life she
had not imagined. While Dimmesdale dies after his public confession and
Chillingworth dies consumed by his own hatred and revenge; Hester lives on,
quietly, and becomes something of a legend in the colony of Boston. The scarlet
letter made her what she became, and, in the end, she grew stronger and more at
peace through her suffering.