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Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a dark tale of sin and redemption, centers on the small Puritan community of Boston during the seventeenth century. In the center of this bustling community is the market place. With in it are all the central features of the town, the most symbolic of these is the scaffold. Many a soul is scarred upon this scaffold.
It is a place of intense scrutiny and upon it, reality comes into a brutal light. In exceptional contrast to the scaffold is the forest beyond the town. Here, there is no judgement and reality waxes and wanes. Hawthorne creates this place for the characters to escape and themselves without restraint or worry. The comparison is clear: the market place, especially the scaffold, represents the harsh reality of Puritan society and the forest provides escape. The scaffold is the center of criticism.
Here, any unfortunate soul to climb the stairs is subject to the superficial examination by the eyes of society. Those below the scaffold see a light of the character distorted by their own jealousies and suspicions, and clouded by gossip. Where the truth may be unacceptable to them, it is substituted by things society coerced them to believe. Those on the scaffold experience reality.
The only comfort is the ability to see beyond the town from this pernicious pedestal. As Hester spends her allotted time in the spotlight, her mind escapes as she gazes off into the distance. But while some are able to escape, others such as Dimmesdale, find the probing eyes unbearable. To him, the scaffold represented guilt and shame. In the market place emotions and true feelings are suppressed and overwhelmed by the importance of conformity. With out an escape, Hawthorne's characters would have never completely come to life.
The forest is also a location where the truth is not forbidden, but embraced. After Hester's judgment on the scaffold, she and her daughter Pearl find refuge there. The trees of the forest, unlike the people in town, listen to and welcome them, sins and all. On the edge of the forest, Hester and Pearl see the town and know that they do not belong. Their knowledge of the truth is dangerous to the townspeople.
Therefore, they choose to live in their own world, free from the perception of the town. Hester is weary of the town, warning Pearl "We must not always talk in the market place of what happens to us in the forest (225) ." The forest itself is the very embodiment of freedom. Nobody watches in the woods to report misbehavior, so it is here that people may do as they wish. It is here that many of the pivotal characters bring forth hidden thoughts and emotions. It is here that Dimmesdale openly acknowledges Hester and his undying love for her. The thought of Hester and Dimmesdale having an intimate conversation in the confines of the society in which they live is incomprehensible.
Yet here, in the forest, they can throw away all reluctance and finally be themselves under the umbrella of security the wilderness provides. Finally, the forest brings out the natural appearance and natural personality of those within. When Hester takes off her cap and unloosens her hair, the reader is reintroduced to the light of Hester long forgotten; the real Hester, who has been hidden this whole time under a shield of shame. Her eyes grow radiant and a flush comes to her cheek. The sunlight, which previously shunned Hester, now seeks her out, and the forest seems to glow.
Dimmesdale has also come back to life, if only for a short time, and he is now hopeful and energetic. This dimension of Dimmesdale's character disappeared in Chapter 1, and after this resurfacing, never appears again. Puritan society, represented by the scaffold in the market place, is harsh and crippling to one's inner self. Hawthorne created the forest to give the characters a place to escape and express their true thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. It was here that thoughts and ideas flowed endlessly, and emotion was as wild as the forest itself. There are no restraints in the natural world, because it is just that, natural, not imposed and superficial like Puritan society.
No intrusion from people means no disturbance in the natural order, and therefore serves to bring its inhabitants away from their world, and into this older one.
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Research essay sample on Puritan Society Market Place
