Symbolism Overused

“Symbolism Overused”

Throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter there is the repeated use of symbolism. To some readers the use of repeated symbolism is Hawthorne’s way to unify the novel and add a deeper level of meaning to the story. To others this symbolism is seen as a monotonous repetition that becomes mechanical at times.

Henry James found the symbolism in the Scarlet Letter very repetitious. James states that, “…In The Scarlet Letter there is a great deal of symbolism; there is I think, too much. It is over done at times, and becomes mechanical…” (445). To prove his point James uses an example. James states that, “ …The Idea of the mystic A which the young minister finds imprinted upon his breast and eating into his flesh, in sympathy with the embroidered badge that Hester is condemned to wear appears to me to be a case in point. This suggestion should, I think have been just made and dropped…” (445). The A, which is imbedded into Dimmesdale bre...