Hester vs. the Community in The Scarlet Letter Essay

Hester vs. the Community in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter seems to be created around Hawthornes obsession with the forbidding quality of the scarlet A, the symbol from which the novel takes its title. Rrom the rose-bush which Hawthorne selects a flower from as an offering to the reader(1) to the elfish child Pearl, every aspect of the story is drenched in this letters scarlet hue. Perhaps this repetition reflects Hawthornes own repressed desires, as some critics suggest(2). However, what seems more compelling is the function which the symbol serves for Hester Prynne and the community which has condemned her. For Hester the symbol is clearly a literary one; she fashions the scarlet A to†¦show more content†¦Whereas the symbols that Freud describes as appearing in dreams, or dream-like states, rise not from a balanced blending of abstract and concrete, but from an unsuccessful and ill- proportioned attempt to confront and represent the repressed. Thus Freud conveys an explanation of the symboli c expressions of emotion or sensation which thrive on the deeper abstraction of truth, rather then the clarification of it: In Freudian symbolism the symbol evolves from the resistance to the truth of the unconscious. Rather than a unique appropriateness the symbol expresses what one may call a unique oppositeness to the unconscious idea.(6) Here, for elucidation of this distinction, Weiss points to the story of Oedipus, one of Freuds favorites: Jocasta represents the passive, feminine spirit of conservation--repression, begging Oedipus for Gods sake not to seek the truth.(7) Jocastas desire for the continued repression of the truth displays the fear of the uncertainty which comes from unleashing a menacing truth. Thus the power of the Freudian symbol finds root in its concealment of a threatening or forbidden truth. With these distinctions between literary and Freudian symbols in mind the task can be taken in hand of determining which sort of symbol the Puritan communitys and Heste rs scarlet A is. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter : Wilderness Vs. Society1259 Words   |  6 Pages Wilderness vs. society In the novel Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne presenting the idea for humans to endure the laws of nature and conscience, rather than following the laws of man, to fulfill happiness. The novel consists of a young woman named Hester Prynne carrying her infant daughter named Pearl. The golden letter A embroidered on Hester’s bosom symbolizes adultery, a vile sin which is looked down upon in her community. She encounters Dimmesdale, an influentialRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By John Hawthorne1478 Words   |  6 PagesThe Scarlet Letter is a novel about Hester s punishment for committing adultery and how she and the people around her view and act as a result of that sin. 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