The Scarlet Letter: Chapters 1-4

 Chapters 1-4: 

Hawthorne opens his exquisite novel with incredibly detailed imagery and the subtlest of hints at background. Hawthorne never explicitly explains to the reader what is actually happening, but it seems to create a sort of mystery for the reader to unravel. I already have an idea of who the father is but don't worry, I won't share it. Hawthorne creates a sort of fantastical chase for the reader to understand characters and their motivations. I felt almost excited while reading in trying to discern what was happening and what the characters meant by what they said.

Hawthorne employs significant imagery to juxtapose Hester from the rest of the townspeople. He paints Hester as a strong, independent, beautiful, almost holy woman. Through this, Hawthorne seeks to encourage the reader to like Hester’s character compared to the drab, dark, sullen descriptions of the townspeople. He presents Hester as this radiant bright spot in the dark, depressing town.

While Hawthorne presents Hester as this strong, radiant character, there is a brief description on page 51 which leads me to believe that her punishment takes a small toll on Hester. Hawthorne writes, “Hester Prynne might have repaid them all with a bitter and disdainful smile. But, under the leaden infliction which it was her doom to endure, she felt, at moments, as if she must needs shriek out with the full power of her lungs, and cast herself from the scaffold down upon the ground , or else go mad at once” (51). This brief quotation shows the complexity of Hester’s feelings. While she puts on a brave face, Hester is still a person and isn’t unaffected by the harsh abuses hurled at her by the people from her town.

The Scarlet Letter, Chapters 5-8

     Reading The Scarlet Letter, Chapters 5-8, I was struck primarily by the otherworldly diction used to describe Pearl, Hester Prynne’s independent and fiery daughter. When first describing the physical beauty of Pearl, the narrator relates “that there was an absolute circle of radiance around her, on the dark some cottage-floor” (Hawthorne 81). Within the first passages concerning Pearl, her existence is already characterized by contrast. While she herself is glowing in her loveliness, she is placed in a dismal reality of ostracism that is represented in the dark setting of the cottage.

    This contrast is continued in Pearl’s comparison to societal expectations for children of her age. Born from the passion of the affair, Pearl is noted to be “wild, desperate, defiant” with a future “prolific of the storm and whirlwind” (82). While the other Puritan children are described as rather pious and obedient, Pearl is the incarnation of an untamed storm. Her spirit seemingly influenced by the passion and vitality of the moment in which she was conceived, Pearl defies the decided conventions of Puritan society. In fact, her own mother even questions her origins, wondering during her “wild flow of spirits” if Pearl is “rather an airy spirit” (83). Pearl seems to so embody an elven creature or fae that Hester doubts her daughter’s human origins. 

Yet, Pearl’s abnormality of behavior and temperament can be partially accounted for by extreme social exile and disconnect from her peers. When the children see Pearl and Hester walking together and conspire to pelt the two outcasts with mud, Pearl fiercely defends her mother, embodying “the scarlet fever, or some such half-fledged angel of judgement” (92). In the absence of typical community ties and security, Pearl has transformed into her own protector and bringer of wrath. Through shouted threats and powerful stances, Pearl drives off her attackers since she alone can defend herself and her mother. 

When Pearl and Hester reach Governor Bellingham’s residence thanks to Pearl’s assurance of their safe passage, Pearl is described as a “little bird of scarlet plumage” as she flits about the room (98). Dressed in red, Pearl is a shocking deviant in homogenous Puritan society. The men are taken aback by Pearl’s wild and strong-willed demeanor, wondering if she does not possess magic. Mr Wilson asks if Pearl’s “tiptoes touched the floor” as she darts out of the room, while Mr. Dimmesdale asserts that she “hath witchcraft in her” (104). In her abundant spirit, Pearl seems to have unearthly qualities, pushing the Puritan leaders to suspicion. Much like her mother, Pearl has become the young focus of this town’s distrust. 

Throughout these chapters, Pearl is depicted in every way but the typical. She is a storm, an elf, an angel of judgement, and a witch. Beyond inheriting her mother’s defining sin, Pearl is further ostracized by her brazen personality and strong temperament. As the novel progresses, I look forward to watching Pearl’s development. In particular, I am interested to see if Pearl abandons defiance in her character or if she remains otherworldly, seemingly not constrained on a spiritual level by the opinions and affairs of the townspeople. 

The End of the Awakening

     The last chapters of The Awakening are undeniably sad and difficult. The cascade of personal liberations leading up to Edna's suicide begin with her moving out of the house. She moves out, and then truly begins sexual and romantic relationships with Robert and Arobin. Throughout the last chapters, the symbol of childhood is repeatedly used in regards to Edna, causing us to see the full course of her awakening. In relation to Edna's own children, it is evident how much she cares about them. Although she may not care for her husband at all, her children still mean something to her. Before Edna's death, she is at Madame Ratignolle's house, when she is in labor. Edna helps her, and that makes her uneasy. She remembers having her own children, and describes the act of giving birth as torture. This relates directly to the rest of Edna's life: it is torturous. Besides her children, which often do not bring her joy, she is alone. When Robert leaves, she cannot handle it anymore. At the end of the book, Edna swims naked in the cold water, ultimately committing suicide. This is a direct parallel to her swimming out at Grand Isle in the middle of the book, when her awakening began. In her first swimming experience, Edna thinks,"'How easy it is!'...'It is nothing,' she said aloud; 'why did I not discover before that it was nothing. Think of the time I have lost splashing about like a baby!'" The final passage of the book says, "She went on and on. She remembered the night she swam far out, and recalled the terror that seized her at the fear of being unable to regain the shore. She did not look back now, but went on and on, thinking of the blue-grass meadow that she had traversed when a little child, believing that it had no beginning and no end." Although the ending is sad and terrible, it was highly foreshadowed, and it sort of seems as if the book could not have ended any other way. Chopin really emphasizes the point that, as a married woman in that day and age, Edna did not have options. This is especially clear when Edna refuses to attend her sister's wedding. I think that is when Edna truly realized that the problem in her life was marriage. Or at least that is when it became really obvious to the reader. 

The Awakening: Chapters 12-20

When I first started reading this section of the novella I was impressed to see how awakened Edna had become. Within the next couple of chapters Chopin allows the reader to see how truly self-aware Edna is as well. Her physical appearance shows how she is glowing and waking up. Her imagination also starts to wake up when she and Robert are talking about pirates and gold. Robert also starts to become a major factor within Edna's life, and eventually Edna expresses her true feelings for Robert. Edna is completely and utterly infatuated with Robert and even relates the feelings she has towards him back to the crushes she had when she was young that was narrated earlier in the novel. When Robert leaves I feel as though all of the progress that Edna has made for herself starts chipping away at itself. Edna is becoming severely depressed and I'm scared for how this spiral is going to end. I have also noticed that Edna is being addressed much more as Edna except for when her time at the Grand Isle ends. When everyone leaves the Grand Isle to presume their normal lives, Edna starts being referred to as Mrs. Pontellier. This also makes me believe that any progress that Edna had made within herself is starting to fade away. Being back in her home and being expected to truly presume her duties as a wife has left Edna as a shell of a person, Mrs. Pontellier. I also believe that Edna has a panic attack of sorts when she stomps on her wedding ring and shatters the vase. I'm really scared for how this is going to turn out for Edna. 

The Awakening: Chapters 1-11

 Something that caught my eye when reading these first few chapters was all of the symbolism that I saw. There is a lot going on and it was kind of hard for me to catch each symbol and understand what each one really means. I am sure as I read on, some of these symbols will reveal their meanings. So far, I noticed a motif of water and the sea, the mystery and power of the moon, and I noticed a lot of detail about birds. There is also definitely some symbolism with the night time in general too. A lot of Edna's realizations happen either near the sea or at night or near the sea at night. She is also noticing that her soul is waking up. I am curious to know what caused her to wake up? Was it abrupt or was it gradual? It feels abrupt, although I cannot think of a specific thing that caused her soul to awaken. She does seem to really notice the Creole lifestyle though. It is described as open and candid and familial. She has also started to detach herself from others both emotionally and physically. I think this is important because as she is "waking up", she is realizing that all her life she has been an attachment to somebody else rather than her own person. Once she notices this, Edna begins to try some new things like how she swam out into the ocean. I also thought that it was funny that Edna thought she swam out further than any woman ever had, but she was still within the "safety" of her husband's watchful eyes. It's like Chopin is trying to show us that Edna is trying to break free from just being an object and she really wants to find herself, but she is just getting started. She is just now figuring out to swim and in the same way she is just now figuring out who she thinks she wants to be. How in the world did Chopin put so much meaning into just 45 pages! I was underlining almost every other sentence. Also, I have a theory. It's kind of out there, but I think it could be interesting to look at. I noticed Edna has a weird fascination with Adel. I think Chopin meant to make their names similar. Adel is described as this perfect wife whom everybody loves. I think somewhere deep inside Edna, she wants to be like Adel. Its like Adel is her alter ego that she is simultaneously admiring and resisting. I also thought it was kind of funny that Robert is frequently described as kind of less than compared to the other men. Chopin also describes Robert as more feminine than the other men. He is definitely different from them. She does the same thing with Edna. Edna is more manly sounding than the women she is compared with. I think this will be important later as the novel progresses. Anyway, that's some of the things that interested me most. I really like this book so far.