THE SCARLET LETTER

- NARRATIVE STRUCTURE. NARRATOR. NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES -

As Hawthorne himself suggests in his introduction, The Scarlet Letter is a story

considered quite improper by the readers at its publication time. Even today, some of the
subjects it touches upon are still considered as contentious as they were two centuries ago.
The narration seems simple and dramatic at the first glance, but it overflows with symbols
and allusions, which are topped by the intriguing presence of an omniscient judgmental
narrator. This paper aims to present some aspects related to the narrative structure of the
novel, the narrator, the tone and perspective of the narration and some narrative techniques
that were used by the author.

The narrative structure:

- Frame narrative (the beginning and the ending are connected, while the middle,
which represents the main story is set in past times)

- “A Custom House” (the introduction) forms a connection between the narrator and
the reader, as Hawthorne uses a remorseful and high-spirited tone when writing “The
Custom House”, only to later switch to a much darker and gloomy tone in The Scarlet
Letter.

- Narrator addresses the reader in “The Custom House” and an audience in The
Scarlet Letter

The Narrator:

The Scarlet Letter is written in both the first-person (“Introductory. The Custom-House”) and
the third-person (the main story). “The Custom-House” is told from a first person perspective
and it contains autobiographical semi-fictional elements from Hawthorne’s life. As he was
working at the Salem Custom House, the narrator tells the reader how he came upon a
manuscript and a cloth scarlet letter “A”. After he was fired, he decided to turn the tale from
the manuscript into a novel. In fact, The Scarlet Letter is that novel. The sense of accuracy is
ensured by the first person perspective and by the presence of a manuscript which is the
evidence for the validity of the story. The main plot is omnisciently narrated from third-
person perspective which presents the characters’ thoughts and emotions and also the
community’s views. The narrator's observation on what they are currently feeling is very
significant since the characters are often reserved and hidden. He often adds opinions
regarding the characters and their behaviour in order to alter the understanding of the reader.
The narrator directly addresses the reader, highlighting the fact that he is engaged in an
interpretation of a fictional work. The omniscient third-person narrator acts on the one hand
like a moral judge and on the other hand like the all-knowing one. The narrator is very
opinionated in The Scarlet Letter about the events that take place in the storyline, he is not
neutral or passive. Not only he presents the events of the moral story, but comments and
judges them while also being a subjective narrator. The narrator contemplates on
Dimmesdale’s character and adds a wise comment: “No man, for any considerable period,
can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered
as to which may be the true” (p. 178). Furthermore, the omniscient third-person narrator, the
all-knowing narrator, reveals the characters’ implicit views and emotions, which would be
unreachable to the reader otherwise. Hawthorne uses an “internal focalisation” in Gérard
Genette’s terms.

The Scarlet Letter's tone associates deep irony with empathy for the novel’s characters,
contrasting the hypocritical society and Hester and Dimmesdale’s effort to live respecting
the rules of religion. The narrator makes use of this ironic tone in “The Custom House”, when
he introduces the reader to some ridiculous figures, such as the Inspector, whose greatest
existential problem was a "mishap with a goose." (p.19). Eventually, this antipathy for his
neighbours contradicts his compassion toward Hester and Dimmesdale. The narrator
pinpoints that Hester and Dimmesdale’s story is "a story of human delicacy and distress",
suggesting that the imminent aftermath of human existence is found in the unhappy ending
and the pity represents the attitude that the reader should have. However, the tone employed
to describe the community suggests the same ridicule as the characterization of the narrator’s
neighbours: “out of the whole human family, it would not have been easy to select…
persons… less capable of sitting in judgment on an erring woman’s heart” (p. 55) The novel's
tone is frequently highly moralistic, the narrator often doubts the happenings, showing that
the other topics of the tale are more important than Hester and Dimmesdale's story. The
narrator also offers many interpretations of the events. His frequent doubts and explanations
highlight the idea that the moral of the story is what really matters.

Narrative Techniques:

A. Foreshadowing
B. Use of symbolism
C. Combination of the dramatic and the descriptive

A. Foreshadowing

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, the narrator suggests multiple times that the minister is
Pearl’s father, thus when he finally confesses the truth, it does not shock the reader anymore.
The narrator also foresees in the introduction that Hester’s story will have a happy ending, as
she is associated with an angelic presence who uses her life to help needy people. However,
the true use of foreshadowing is highlighted in the clues regarding the real personalities of the
characters.

1. Dimmesdale - a passive character

He is introduced to the reader for the first time when the governor asked him to persuade
Hester to reveal who is her child’s father. While Dimmesdale’s position is a very powerful
one, Hawthorne describes his nature as weak and passive (“there was an air about this young
minister – an apprehensive, a startled, a half-frightened look.”) Even throughout the novel,
Hawthorne showcases how, even though both him and Hester bear the same weight of the
shame and sin, Hester is stronger than him. Dimmesdale does not accept his acts and does not
move on in life because of it. This characterization foresees that although he has a major role
in the society, he is weak and powerless. Hester is strong and courageous enough to keep her
composure on the scaffold, while Dimmesdale breaks down into crying the first time and then
dies the second time.
2. Chillingworth – unsatisfying revenge

Chillingworth has the sole purpose of taking revenge. Nevertheless, Hawthorne hints early in
the novel that his wish for revenge will bring him no joy and that he will die still afflicted by
the unsatisfactory result. His self-control is constantly shattered by the fact that he cannot
fight his own feelings (“a writhing horror twisted itself across his features… his face
darkened with some powerful emotion, which, nevertheless, he so instantaneously controlled
by an effort of his will.”)

3. Hester accepting her faith

When the reader first encounters the heroine, she is somehow proudly wearing the sinful sign
on her chest: “She turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her
finger, to assure herself that the infant and her shame were real. Yes! – these were her
realities, -- all else had vanished!” This initial scene, when she sits on the scaffold with the
two marks of her acts, the child and the scarlet A foresees the fact that ultimately, Hester
might accept her destiny and wear the sign even after losing its initial meaning of
“adulteress”.

B. Symbolism:

The Scarlet Letter overflows with symbols.

1. The scarlet letter itself (A), which stands for adultery and whom Hester must wear
as a mark of her damnation. As the plot unfolds, the meaning of the scarlet letter evolves
from a symbol of shame and wrongdoing and sin, to a symbol of empathy and human
fragility. The letter also symbolizes the heroine’s evolution from a moral point of view, as
she now has her own way to define innocence and immorality, affection and compassion.

2. Pearl’s role in the novel is to function as a symbol. She is the living and breathing
prove of her mother’s sin, which turns her into an animated scarlet letter. However, she’s
more than just a vivid memory and a retribution for Hester, she is also the embodiment of
the passion that lead to her mother’s sin. As a result, Pearl is the one who keeps her
mother alive and helps her move on every day. Pearl maintains her symbolic status up
until the moment when Dimmesdale reveals his identity as her father. Afterwards, she
gains the “human” status.

3. The Meteor. In chapter 12, a meteor crosses an A on the sky the moment
Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl. Dimmesdale takes it as a sign
that he should wear the same letter to mark his sin just like Hester. However, the rest of
the community gives their own interpretation of the letter, that is “Angel”, a mark that
stands for Governor Winthrop’s arrival to heaven. The Puritans always interpreted
symbols as divine signs, but in this context, the symbols are interpreted the way the
beholder wants to interpret them.

4. The Rose. Like Hester, the rose appears like a beauty in a whole grey atmosphere.
The rose blossomed in front of the prison.

5. The Scaffold. The scenes related to scaffold appear at the beginning (chapter 1- 3), in
the middle ( chapter 12) and at the end (chapter 23). The scaffold is like a scene in life
 where the characters must play until they learn their lessons. It is the play of the family
ties but also the play where their dreams are crushed.

C. Combination of the dramatic and the descriptive

This technique associates the drama of the characters and the ingenious style of
putting these scenes at the beginning, in the middle and at the end.

The scaffold scenes are some of the most interesting parts of the story. The novel
contains 24 chapters. The first scaffold scene is contained in chapters 1-3. The second one is
just in the middle of the book, at chapter 12. The last one occurs in chapter 23.

In the first scaffold scene, Pearl and Hester stand alone, humiliated by the public,
while Dimmesdale watches from the distance, near the other leaders of the community. Both
physically and emotionally he is separate from her, showing the difference from the two
conventional lovers. From aside, Chillingworth learns of his wife’s sin.

The second scaffold scene contains almost the same elements, although constructed
slightly differently. Hawthorne brings us back to the market-place, and all the major
characters are here again, including Governor Bellingham (representing the state) and Mr.
Wilson (representing the church). This time, the scene takes place at night, seven years after
the novel’s action begins. More than highlighting Hester’s trauma, this scene focuses on
Dimmesdale’s guilt and remorse. In this scene, Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale hold their
hands, forming ‘’an electric chain’’. Hester learns the depth of Dimmesdale’s punishment
through Chillingwworth and makes the important decision of saving him from his enemy.

The final scaffold scene in some ways mirrors the first. Once again, all the major
characters meet in the marketplace in full daylight. Hester is again the object of undesired
attention because of the scarlet letter, turning her into an outcast, while Dimmesdale is
elevated as a saint. But this scene is different because Dimmesdale is on the verge of dying.
Realizing that this is his last chance to confess before his death, he finds courage to perform
this vital act, if for no reason than to save his soul.

References:

CliffsComplete. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Edited by Karin Jacobson. Hungry Minds,
New York, 2001, 5-10.

“a story of human delicacy and distress” nu gasesc citatul asta, desi asa apare cu ghilimele pe
net

Barry, Peter. Beginning theory. An introduction to literary and cultural theory, Second
edition Peter Barry, 2002

Bayer, John G. Narrative Techniques and the Oral Tradition in The Scarlet Letter. American
Literature 52 (1980): 250-63.
 Baym, Nina. George Sand in American Reviews: A Context for Hester. Hawthorne Society
Newsletter 10(1984): 12-15.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Knight and Son, Clerkenwell Close, 1851.

Miller, Cade S. “The Scarlet Letter and Novel structure”. Research in Literary Studies (ENG
321), 2016.

unit 14

van Leer, David. “Hester’s Labyrinth: Transcendental Rhetoric in Puritan Boston” in New
Essays on The Scarlet Letter, edited by Michael J. Colacurcio. Cambridge University Press,
1985, pp. 57-8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQqFGk2qho8

https://www.storyboardthat.com/ro/lesson-plans/scrisoarea-scarlet-nathaniel-
hawthorne/simbolism

Durst Johnson, Claudia. Understanding The Scarlet Letter. Greenwood Press London, 1995,
pp. 1-17.

Thomas, Brook. “Citizen Hester: The Scarlet Letter as Civic Myth” in The Scarlet Letter and
Other Writings. Edited by Leland S. Person. W.W. Norton & Company. Second Norton
Critical Edition.