The Obliquity of Signs

Option #1

AMANDA POWERS

Millicent Bell’s “The Obliquity of Signs: The Scarlet Letter”

The critical article “The Obliquity of Signs: The Scarlet Letter” discusses the different symbolism and signs used in the text. From the beginning of the book, signs are immediately used as a way to catch the reader’s attention, but at the same time make you think. Nathaniel Hawthorne constantly expresses the importance of signs in his writings and deliberately declares the use of words such as “type, emblem, token, and hieroglyph.” An example in the Scarlet Letter for type would be calling Hester Prynne “a scarlet woman and worthy type of her of Babylon.” Token can be seen upon Dimmsdale’s distaste for Chillingworth’s appearance, according to Bell. An emblem, of course, would be the mark of the “A” worn on Hester’s clothes, not only is this an emblem, according to Bell, but a device to be etched on her tombstone.

Millicent Bell also touches upon Hawthorne’s inability to settle questions or provide any answers to problems occurring in the novel. He refuses to assign a final significant say to this phenomena. He lets the reader choose from any of his theories.

The letter “A” for example plays a major role in the entire story. It is what sets Hester apart from everyone else, and is almost her “personal cross to bare.” Being the first letter of the alphabet, in a way it symbolizes literacy, as Pearl reads her alphabet book and is draw specifically to the letter A. It is the sign of “adultery” without ever spelling it out. Bell states, “the word, like the act is invisible in the text-the act held inaccessibly out of the reader’s sight while the word only hovers in his mind.” The “A” represents an absolute evil. The A, again, could also be a sign of Original Sin. Then the “A” transforms to able because of her good works. Pearl herself is the animate letter, and also a mark.

The symbol of nature and artistic imagination is also greatly surrounding Pearl and Hester. Pearl has a bond with nature, and Hawthorne refers to nature as the “symbolizer.” Nature just babbles. The forest keeps secrets through a “babbling brook” that constantly speaks to them. Nature is consistently playing a stronger part in the book then just scenery. Thus, this plays into the book’s type of American Romanticism. Hester herself is an artist of needlework. Her works are distinguishable by heir power of symbolic exhibition. The symbols also branch into the medical world, proposes Bell such when Chillingworth calls about a “spiritual disease that is a manifestation of spirit.” The use of symbols in the scientific realm of the book surrounds Chillingworth and his hallucinations and delusive signs.

Hawthorne could have used signs for quite a few reasons actually. He may have felt that his say against skepticism was to believe in an ultimate revelation or he may have believed that no ultimate meanings exist. Regardless, he uses signs in the book to maybe express secrets or to maybe prove that there really is no secret.

I personally agree with what Millicent Bell is trying to portray in her critical article, however it seems somewhat over thought. I think that perhaps Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote for the joy of it, and did not exactly put a background into every single sentence in the book. Yes, I agree symbolism is an exceptionally large portion of the book, but the symbols are not what make the story. The story is successful because it goes against Puritan beliefs and something so common today was deemed absolutely horrible then. Bell’s idea that perhaps Hawthorne was trying to portray secrets, I could not quite fathom. I did however strongly agree with every statement made about the letter “A.” Some of these I had not even thought about until after reading this argument.