by Martin Reftorr

Created on: June 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

Along with many of his fellow Romanticist authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne examined the wonder of nature and explored its effects on those people who experience influential contact with it. A prime example of this trait, Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter encapsulates his contrasting views of urban settings and uninterrupted, natural settings. In this novel, the author communicates the relationship between true repentance and nature while also equating manmade environments with deception and lack of dignity.

Primarily, Hawthorne creates this setting contrast by first clearly illustrating the distinct actions which occur in a Puritan town. The townsfolk condemn Hester Prynne, a woman who birthed a child through an extramarital affair, to constant degradation by forcing her to wear a large scarlet A', even towards the end of plot when it is evident that Hester repented her sin. Ironically, Reverend Dimmesdale, whom the reader learns also partook in the affair, witnesses this spectacle while bearing no public shame since he does not confess to the act and he thus symbolizes undignified deceit. Rather than be honorable and face the consequences of his actions, Dimmesdale feels the pressure of the town (and what the townsfolk would think of him were he to confess) bear down on him and chooses to immorally save his public reputation instead of clear his private shame. The town's environment, Hawthorne argues, brings out the worst in Dimmesdale and causes him to wrongly withhold his confession to the sin.

Hawthorne 's contradiction of setting is completed by his inclusion of a drastically different scene, the forest (representing nature), in which the characters exhibit a unique philosophy through their actions. Simply because he feels free from the pressures of the town, the reverend openly comes to terms with his sinful behavior and internally repents while surrounded by nature in the forest. Pearl, Hester's "illegitimate" child, who personifies the scarlet A' which Hester wears on her dress, also acts much more freely in the flowery and serene forest. This indicates Hester's increased ability to come to terms with her sin when in the forest since the symbol of her shame forgets the solemn punishment it usually acts as and instead takes form as a delighted and openly playful young child. In revealing both main characters' true repentance of their collective sin in the forest (nature), even when little of the whole plot occurs outside of the town, Hawthorne juxtaposes the meaning of his natural setting (which is that of honorable repentance) with the meaning his urban town communicates.

While comparing the existence of two contrasting philosophies regarding shame and confession, Nathaniel Hawthorne includes two contrasting settings, the forest and the town, to serve as emblems for each train of thought. His town, representing human interference and influence, inhibits the reverend from confessing his sin and thus is an agent of deception and indignity. On the contrary, his natural scene of the forest symbolizes honorable confession by offering a more open environment for the characters to repent.

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