Prior to providing its "where are they now?" epilogue, the narrator in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter offers some reflections on what one should purportedly take away from the novel. The most blunt articulation comes as a response to minister Dimmesdale's pain, the narrator advising his reader to "Be true," and to "show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred" (591). This assertion, with its neat morality, does not quite mesh with the some of the novel's morally ambiguous moments, nor does it sit quietly with the narrator's methods of constructing Hester Prynne's story.
The most obvious example of this moral ambiguity comes in the form of Hester's transfiguration of her ignominy into a source of, at the very least, outward pride, as well as using her position to increase her philanthropic work, not to mention her needlework. Some might point out that we cannot be sure that Hester would not have gone through these positive changes had she avoided her mortal sin, but I would elect to take up the view that Hester's transformation can suggest that out of bad can come good.
One need only look to Pearl for confirmation of this idea. Though frequently described as elfish or even as the daughter of the Black Man, Pearl's most notable characteristic is her precocious intelligence. This intelligence extends into almost supernatural territory for much of the novel, Pearl seemingly possessing the ability to see to the heart of matters she should not understand. Though the puritan citizens suggest that this ability is a sign of evil or darkness, this merely suggests that they can only attribute things they are unused to to iniquitous means. If anything, this dimness suggests a stifling code that, despite its most pious efforts, does not achieve morality but a false construction of it.
Similarly, the narrator's declaration of truth to be the goal of his story is at odds with his disclaimer in "The Custom House" stating that the story that follows is highly embellished. This points out the fact that the narrator is trying to reach some sort of truth through the careful unfolding of various untruths. Though obviously a common method, the very use of it contradicts the narrator's pleas for the truth.
This is a really interesting post. Your discussion of Hester and Pearl is interesting to consider in the context of the narrator and several other characters' focus on Pearl as a product of Hester and a symbolic manifestation of her adulterous act. It's important that Hester's primary skill (and means of liberation) is physical needlework while Pearl is gifted with intelligence. These two talents--often considered to represent two different positions in society--reveal a clear distinction between the two characters and may perhaps suggest that Pearl overcomes or escapes the social class her mom's reputations threatens to confine her to.
ReplyDelete