“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne presents the Puritan Period, the Romantic Period, and Transcendentalism. The Puritan Period is the setting of the novel, but not the period in which it was written. It started in 1620 and ended in 1699. The Puritans branched off of Calvinists and hoped to purify the Church. Their view of God was not loving; God was harsh and sent most people to Hell. The Romantic Period started around 1790. Hawthorne was a romantic writer. The romantics were a movement that wanted to interpret life. Their idea was not just about what the world was, but how it impresses you. They emphasized emotion and were interested in unexplainable events. After the Romantic period came Transcendentalism in 1829. This philosophical movement came from the burst of optimism that was the American Renaissance. The transcendentalists’ beliefs were that man has a particle of divinity in him. People can “transcend” or rise above. Since they believed everyone was part divine, they thought spiritual living was important and trusted themselves and spontaneous ideas. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his three main characters to represent Puritanism, Romanticism, and Transcendentalism in “The Scarlet Letter.”

Mr. Dimmesdale represents Puritanism in “The Scarlet Letter”. He believes he is a sinner for committing adultery and keeping it a secret has drained him of any happiness. He knew he was going to die and he felt God deserved to end his life. He wondered why people respected him. “And, all this time, perchance, when poor Mr. Dimmesdale was thinking of his grave, he questioned with himself whether the grass would even grow on it, because an accursed thing must there be buried!” (Pg 139). It’s obvious that Dimmesdale despised himself for what he had done. He even cut the letter “A” onto his chest because he felt so guilty that Hester had to wear her letter “A”. While Dimmesdale was ill, Chillingworth was his physician, who was trying to get secrets out of Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale explains to him, “There can be, if I forebode aright, no power, short of the Divine mercy, to disclose, whether by uttered words, or by type or emblem, the secrets that may be buried with a human heart.” (Pg 129). This represents Dimmesdale’s firm belief in God being the only one justified to condemn man. To further present his belief, Dimmesdale protests again when Chillingworth urges him to tell him what is troubling his soul, “No-not to thee!-not to an earthly physician! Not to thee!  But, if it be the soul’s disease, then do I commit myself to the one Physician of the soul! He, if it stand with his good pleasure, can cure; or he can kill! Let him do with me as, in justice and wisdom, he shall see good.” (Pg 134). Dimmesdale will let God judge him for his crime, not Chillingworth, the “earthly physician”. Dimmesdale’s faith that God is the absolute sovereign makes him the representation of Puritanism in “The Scarlet Letter”.

Pearl is the romantic character in “The Scarlet Letter”. She is carefree, beautiful children that does nothing but explore and enjoy life. She is curious about what cannot be explained to her, such as who her father is and why her mother wears the scarlet letter. She is constantly asking her mother questions about those concerns and of all things. She is interested in the bizarre, and asks questions about “the black man” in the forest. Pearl’s emotions are also emphasized, “If the children gathered about her, as they sometimes did, Pearl would grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones to fling at them, with shrill, incoherent exclamations that made her mother tremble-” (pg 96). Whether Pearl is feeling wrathful, fearful, or content, Nathanial Hawthorne emphasizes these emotions greatly. Pearl’s representation of Romanticism is also revealed through her connection with nature. “The truth seems to be, however, that the mother forest, and all the wild things it nourished, all recognized a kindred wildness in the human child.” (pg 194). While Pearl is waiting for her mother along in the forest, all the animals seem to be kind to her. This is a sign that Pearl is connected to nature and its beauty. Pearl is a symbol of romanticism.

Hester Prynne represents transcendentalism in the novel. This is shown through her rebellious nature and skeptical attitude towards authority. This is because she believes in trusting herself and not the group. There is no logic or reason, which is why Hester trusted the spontaneous idea to commit adultery. She doesn’t cooperate with the law as she explains to Roger Chillingworth, “It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge, were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport.” (Pg 163). She explains that she doesn’t wear the symbol “A” on her chest because the magistrates made her, but because she is not yet worthy to take it off. Hester believes events will take place as they are meant to. The “A” will stay, come off, or change its meaning based on whatever happens. She believes she hasn’t sinned just because the magistrates decide she did. Her own judgment decides whether she has sinned or not. This represents the transcendentalist idea that everyone had divinity in them, and should therefore trust themselves. Nathanial Hawthorne also depicts Hester living a very simple life near the woods, surviving by herself. The Puritans around Hester fear the “dark forest” where one would find “the black man”, but Hester doesn’t fear the forest at all. “Such was the sympathy of Nature – that wild, heathen Nature of the forest, never subjugated by human law,” (Pg 193) Hester enjoys nature because it is free and reveals God. No one would bother Hester in the forest, or judge her by the scarlet letter she wore. In this way, Nathanial Hawthorne lets Hester play the role of the transcendentalist.

                Puritanism, Romanticism, and Transcendentalism are presented in “The Scarlet Letter” through the main characters. Dimmesdale’s inner thoughts and dialogue show that he represents Puritanism. Pearl’s emphasized emotions and innocent curiosity make her a symbol of Romanticism. Hester’s rebellious actions and protests portray her as Transcendentalism. It is interesting to see how these three presentations of ways of life all clash with the presentation of Deism through Chillingworth.