The Transcendental Philosophy Embodied in The Scarlet Letter Keriann Dignan 11th Grade

The 19th century philosophy of transcendentalism, championed by the profound literary figures of the century such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, was an accumulation of ideas built on the principles of individualism and self-reliance. The basis of transcendentalism promotes not only independence from societal standards, but complete deviation from them in pursuit of discovering one’s own purpose rather than the popular goals embedded in the commonalty. With this, transcendental philosophy denounces conformity and institutions like the church which encourage it. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader follows the spiritual journey of Hester Prynne as she faces the struggles of condemnation from her Puritan community after being convicted of adultery and forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest as a constant reminder of it. Using imagery, symbolism, and irony, Hawthorne conveys the transcendental belief in the importance of individualism throughout the novel as Hester attempts to achieve personal acceptance despite the threat both society and and religion pose to her efforts.

Hawthorne uses imagery to convey the threat religion and society pose to the transcendental ideal of...