The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter: A Study in the Overuse of Symbolism The Scarlet Letter is considered to be the first psychological novel, dealing with the interworkings of the characters’ minds rather than with their actions. In this novel, acclaimed as Hawthorne’s masterpiece, the author liberally, generously sprinkles the pages with symbolic imagery. One such symbol, perhaps the most obvious one, is the scarlet “A” embroidered upon Hester Prynne’s bosom. Henry James, …showed first 75 words of 1078 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1078 total…into the most unlikely of places, such as the aforementioned scene of Chapter 12. Hawthorne turned what might have been a fundamental work of literature into a fairy-tale that cannot, should not be taken for an example of excellent writing. Henry James could not be more accurate in his criticism when he pointed out that Hawthorne overused the symbolic elements. Perhaps none are so trite now to the reader as that scarlet “A.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** none