The Metamorphosis of The Scarlet Letter

In "The Scarlet Letter," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, Hester Prynne is condemned to suffer the punishment of bearing an embroidered scarlet letter "A" on her chest for committing the sin of adultery. It serves to represent a physical symbol of shame for her, an act that is meant to help her repent for her sin. However, as time progresses, the symbolic letter "A" comes to be interpreted differently. Thus, as the story progresses, the symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter eventually works to establish many different themes through a gradual metamorphosis in meaning.

For example, the literal interpretation of the scarlet letter changes throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, the scarlet letter is a blatant symbol of shame for the atrocity of Hester Prynne's sin. It is meant to disgrace Hester and serve as "living sermon against sin" (10) and its consequences. Thus, most people would expect Hester to fall under the weight of the shame, but Hester proves herself to be a strong woman by not becoming bitter and resentful of the people who publicly shamed her and essentially stripped her of her humanity by using her as a symbol against adultery she embraces her own shame which shows her humility and works to better herself as her own voluntary penance for the crime she has committed. Here, the scarlet letter serves to establish the theme of sin which the scarlet letter is a direct representation because the scarlet letter is a punishment for committing adultery. The scarlet letter also establishes the theme of penance as well. For Hester, "...the scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers - stern and wild ones - and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss" (88). Rather than blaming others like Hester could have, she admits her own shortcomings and seeks to use it to better herself, something that not every person can manage to do for it required Hester to be able to acknowledge that the fault is hers.

As the book approaches the end, the scarlet letter comes to serve a different meaning. Hester having sought to better herself overrode what the scarlet letter had stood for through her own compassion and heart. The very same townspeople who had condemned Hester with the scarlet letter proudly say to strangers "Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? ... It is our Hester--the town's own Hester--who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!" (67). It is quite ironic almost that the townspeople mention the scarlet letter as an embroidered badge. This comparison makes it seems as if the scarlet letter was a symbol of goodwill and compassion almost like an honorably awarded decoration. This greatly contrasts to the beginning of the story when certain townspeople express the view that "[Hester] has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die; is there no law for it?" (3). In this quote, Hester seems to be a person that is beyond reproach, differing greatly from the almost saintly description of Hester later on. For the townspeople, "the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too" (124) because in their eyes, it is because of the scarlet letter that Hester has become such a model person. In this aspect, the scarlet letter has indeed metamorphosed itself to become a symbol of righteousness when it should have been a symbol of sin. Here, the scarlet letter bears establishes the theme of forgiveness because as a result of Hester's compassion, her sin is forgiven so much so that nobody jeers or scoffs at Hester's scarlet letter in mockery for it has become the opposite.

Although for the townspeople, the scarlet letter comes to serve as a more positive connotation, for Hester, "the pang of [the scarlet letter] will be always in her heart" (3). By this, it is meant that Hester still feels trapped by the memories of the shame that the scarlet letter carries such that when Hester removes the scarlet letter, "the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit ... She had not know the weight until she felt the freedom!" (90). Here, it is mentioned that Hester "did not know the weight until she felt the freedom" (90) signifies that it is only when Hester casts away the scarlet letter that she felt release from it. Hester no longer feels the associations with the scarlet letter whether it is positive or negative. In this aspect, the scarlet letter's interpretation has changed for others from a symbol of shame and sin to a symbol of righteousness, however, for Hester, it has always remained a symbol of burden feeling the full weight of shame and righteousness. Such is the case for Hester that, when she casts it off, it is almost as if she is a new woman who has regained "her sex, her youth, and the whole richness of her beauty" (90) to make her whole again ever since she had put on the scarlet letter. Here, the scarlet letter establishes the theme of Hester's own individuality. Never did it really matter to Hester that the scarlet letter was a symbol of shame nor did it matter that it became a symbol of virtue. Hester saw it as a something that society branded her as which would show conformity. This when Hester finally removes the scarlet letter, she literally becomes free of the societal norm.
The cause of the many themes in "The Scarlet Letter" is a result of the many symbolic meanings of the scarlet letter. For Hester and the townspeople, each interprets the scarlet letter differently at different points of the story throughout the book. As a result, the many themes are established as a result of the metamorphosis of the scarlet letter's meaning.