Theme of Light and Dark in The Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne wrote his incredible, psychological novel, The Scarlet Letter, not only in the literal sense, but also symbolically to thoroughly ingrain his strong ideas into the minds of his readers. Hawthorne uses sunshine, the forest, roses, the scarlet letter and Pearl to portray deeper thoughts. Throughout the novel, there is a dark atmosphere surrounding Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne’s relationship. In each situation in the novel there is either a light side representing good and truth or a dark and shadowy side which represents the lies being told, the truth being hidden or the bad in general.

Throughout the novel light is used to make good characters ‘shine through’. One of the most cheerful and positive characters is Pearl. She is the character most recognized for drawing the sun to her and in return she is often drawn to the sun. In chapter 16, A Forest Walk, the novel says, “Pearl set forth at a great pace, and, as Hester smiled to perceive, did actually catch the sunshine, and stood laughing in the midst of it, all brightened by its splendor, and scintillating with the vivacity excited by rapid motion”. Just before, the text reads “”Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom” (Hawthorne 174). This is an important page to the reader because it elaborates on the fact that Hester, while wearing the scarlet letter, represents sin and lies but little Pearl has no secrets and lives her life out in the open. Also, the sunshine symbolizes Pearl’s innocence and Hester’s lack thereof, in addition to its representation of honesty, freedom from sin and supposed happiness and peace.

Earlier on in the book, Hester and Pearl are in the governor's house and Pearl adores the sunlight shining through the stained glass windows. Subsequent to this, Pearl asks her mother for some of her sunlight and Hester responds with, “”No, my little Pearl!” said her mother. “Thou must gather her own sunshine. I have none to give thee!” (Hawthorne 88). Again, sunshine is representing Pearl’s innocence. Hester tells Pearl to find her own sunshine, and that she has none to give her, because Hester has lost her innocence, because of her sin of adultery. Throughout the novel, Hester is not seen much in the sun. She avoids going into the sun because it illuminates and exposes the scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest. Heser used to be one of the finest and most beautiful puritin women in the town. The sunlight would shine down on her almost brighter than it did on the other puritans, almost like a halo. Though when Hester committed her sin of adultery, her light and beauty quickly vanished. She no longer had the halo shining over her head, but now it seemed as if a curtain of darkness fell over her soul and presence. Throughout chapters 16 and 17 of the novel, Hester redeemed her puritan soul and got her light back. She had plans to travel to Europe with her partner in sin, Dimmesdale, and Pearl. At this time, she took off her bonnet and ripped the scarlet letter ‘A’ off her chest. A beam of light then shone down upon her and upon her bosom, revealing her cleansed soul. She now looked nearly as beautiful as she had in the beginning of the novel, no longer carrying that painful weight upon her shoulders. When this was all happening, Hester called for her daughter Pearl to come to her but Pearl did not come and it was as if she did not recognize her own mother without the scarlet letter upon her chest. This symbolized that Pearl will always be a reminder of Hester’s dark life, no matter where she goes.

Another example of the sun's representations is shown in then quote, “It was only the darkened house that could contain her. When sunshine came again, she was not there. Her shadow had faded across the threshold. The helpful inmate had departed, without one backward glance to gather up the need of gratitude, if any were in the hearts of those whom she had served so zealously” (Hawthorne 141). Hester refused to be present in any times of celebration or joy. ALthough her scarlet letter came to stand for “Able’ rather than “Adulterer,’ she refused to receive the new title and would often remind people of the true meaning. Times of sunlight meant joy and happiness and Hester thought she was undeserving of happiness because of her sin. She was always ready to lend a helping hand when people faced bad times, yet not in happy times.

Reverend Dimmesdale, the man who Hester had an affair with, was once represented by light because he used to be a respected and mannered man. He was not punished for his actions, for nobody knew it was him who had committed adultery with Hester. Although he wasn’t punished, he brought himself down with his own guilt, which for him was a very injurious punishment. His guilt made him a darker person as the novel progresses, and this same guilt is the cause of his death later on. Dimmesdale is similar to Hester throughout the story because they both share the same sin, and just like Hester, he was once a character represented by light but darkness quickly took him over. In the quote, “All his strength and energy-all his vital and intellectual force-seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun” (Hawthorne 229). In the novel, the sunshine and light represent the truth, something that Dimmesdale can never seem to reach. He is always standing in the dark, with all of his secrets hidden. However, when he is finally in the sunlight, and all of his secrets are revealed he ‘wilts’ away and dies, suffering when the truth is revealed, and he is in the sunlight for once. Dimmesdale knew that he should be going through the same punishment, which only built his guilt. The guilt that was created was so sincere and strong that Dimmesdale became very sick and depressed. As the novel continued he only got more sick and sad whilst simultaneously becoming darker and darker. The people of the town thought it was Chillingworth making Dimmesdale sick and depressed and that Chillingworth was a messenger from ‘the black man’. Dimmesdale knew this was not true and his guilt was the culprit. At the conclusion of the novel, Dimmesdale could no longer carry around his guilt. He stood upon the scaffold and confessed his sin, causing him to die. Dimmesdale’s own guilt killed him and the darkness was quick to overtake him. Toward the end of novel Howthrone writes, “The sun, but little past its meridian, shone down upon the clergyman, and gave a distinctness to his figure, as he stood out from all the earth to put in his plea of guilt at the bar of eternal justice”. For the first time, Dimmesdale is in the sunlight, ready to reveal his sin and guilt to the town. Prior to now, Dimmesdale was always in the dark and hidden behind shadows hiding his secrets and sin to the best of his ability. Yet, when he is in the light and all truth is known, he is finally able to plead guilty to his crime.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the theme of light and dark and writes in such a way that it plays one of the most important roles in the novel. He uses light and dark to represent good and evil and truth and lies, which in turn sets the mood for the entire story. Without the usage of light and dark in the novel, there would be no real conflict between characters and their lives. In conclusion, the use of light and dark is what makes The Scarlet Letter come alive and what causes it to be such a well-respected novel.