Nathaniel Hawthorne’s the Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s the Scarlet Letter

  • Submitted By: rnoble
  • Date Submitted: 10/31/2008 3:59 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 259
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 1

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
Many events throughout one’s life have the ability to bring about truths otherwise kept hidden from the naked eye. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s passage from The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne matter-of-factly talks about a light caused by a passing comet; however, he then mystically describes the light as supernatural and unreal. By contrasting the literal meaning and real cause of the light with the supernatural cause, Hawthorne portrays a moral truth about Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale.
Through his language choices, Hawthorne creates a sense of divine revelation. “Doubtless[ly] caused by one of those meteors,” the night sky becomes illuminated by the “power” and “radiance” of the passing comet. Hawthorne’s certainty of meteor causing the light adds irony to the passage since the light arrived immediately following Arthur’s comment of not standing in daylight with Hester and Pearl. The intensity of the light causes shock and disbelief, adding to the total effect of the phenomenon. The glow of the comet sheds “unaccustomed light” upon the whole town showing all the details including “the early grass springing up” and “reveal[ing] all secrets” hidden within the sleepy settlement. The light now takes on an unreal feel, one that has the power to reveal everything in a split second. The light contains a sense of purity, illuminating the new grass, highlighting the freshly turned garden plots, revealing the secrets of the town. This foreshadows a new beginning for the threesome, even if it means telling the unthinkable truth of the secret family.

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