The Scarlet Letter: The Symbolic Scaffold

Part I of Essay
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the powerful scaffold setting three times throughout his novel, The Scarlet Letter to portray the themes woven into his tale of sin. The title of Hawthorne’s novel alludes to the fact that the scarlet A, the symbol of Hester Prynne’s adultery, pla ....

Part II of Essay
.... (the father of Mrs. Prynne’s illegitimate child), and Pearl (the illegitimate child). Here, we find that the Reverend’s guilt over his sin becomes too much to bear alone. Dimmesdale goes to the scaffold to confess to God. Soon after, Hester and Pearl arrive, and join Dimmesdale on the scaffold. A meteor that appears and leaves an image of the scarlet A across the sky illuminates the three. This scene is symbolic because it shows how the Reverend wishes to confess his sins and overcome them. The final scaffold scene takes place at the ....