The Nature of Revenge in the Scarlet Letter
The Nature of Revenge in the Scarlet Letter
Hawthorne’s masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, has been interpreted and studied since it was first published in 1850. There is much conjecture on Hawthorne’s intended meaning; both literally and allegorically. However, most critics support the theme of adultery in this work. Many critics also agree with the themes of revenge and guilt. Johnston believes the gist of this novel concerns the “consequences of breaking the moral code...and failing to be true to human nature” (Johnston 2). She suggests that revenge and hypocrisy are also significant elements in The Scarlet Letter and that it encompasses “a person’s attempt to see his or her artistic side survive in a community that disapproves of the use of the imagination” (Johnston 2). The word adultery is never spelled out in the novel. Thus, the letter A could represent avenger as well as adulterer (Johnston 17). Gartner believes that Hawthorne has rewritten the Book of Esther and convincingly draws parallels between the two works (Gartner 131). Similar to Johnston’s view, another critic compares Hawthorne to Hester and attributes to Hawthorne the belief “that artists can prevail over the oppression shown them by other people in his book ‘The Scarlet Letter’” (Egan 26).
Another critic asks, “Is the main theme the effects of hidden as contrasted with open guilt?” (Waggoner 127). He also ponders:
...Why is this novel which leans so heavily on statement so ambiguous?...He is in fact letting
his images do most of the work for him, even
while he reserves the right to comment abstractly
on them, and in later chapters, on the rare but
significant actions (Waggoner 127).
Male, another scholar, deduces:
The critic faces two major difficulties in discussing the
book. Its plot is so lucid that almost every reader
thinks he already knows what The Scarlet Letter is
about. Thus what see to be the most obvious symbols-
Pearl, Roger Chillingworth, the letter itself- are actually
the most often misunderstood (Male 93).
Male believes the novel is about man’s “search for truth” and “the consequences of sin” (Male 93).
Close scrutiny of the action in The Scarlet Letter divulges a theme of revenge with the three main characters acting as avengers. Though Chillingworth is...