When he was engaged to marry Sophia Amelia Peabody, a painter who copied the works of famed contemporaries with “widespread praise”, Nathaniel Hawthorne was awaiting two pictures she had produced “expressly for him.” (both GOLLIN 2001: 114)1 In a letter he assured her:
I never owned a picture in my life; yet pictures have always been among the earthly possessions (and they are spiritual possessions too) which I most coveted. (…) I have often felt as if I could be a painter, only I am sure I could never handle a brush;– now my Dove will show me the images of my inward eye, beautiful and etherealized by her own spirit. (GOLLIN 2001: 115)
This essay will first try to outline whether these lines are just flattery or in how far the visual arts really played an important role in Hawthorne’s life, and since Hawthorne was of course quite able himself to lay out before the world the images of his inward eye with great success, it will then try to show what visual techniques Hawthorne incorporated in his work, particularly in his classic The Scarlet Letter. It will be seen that, rather than creating a colorful tableau, as Hawthorne was also capable of doing in other tales (GOLLIN 1991: 53)2, he creates an atmosphere in The Scarlet Letter in which “the color pattern (…) is essentially a contrast of red against black” (MATTHIESSEN 1945: 265)3, while the truly dominant technique Hawthorne puts to use is chiaroscuro, the application of light and shade.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Hawthorne and the Visual Arts
2.1 Portraiture
2.2 The Daguerreotype
2.3 The Pieta
3. Color or the Lack thereof
4. Light at Play
4.1 The Moonlit Parlor
4.2 The Bright Morning Sun
4.3 The revealing midday sun
4.4 Utter Darkness
4.5 The Valley of Darkness
4.6 Opposites Attract
4.7 The Glow
4.8 No Sun for Hester
4.9 The Flood of Freedom
4.10 Love Shines Through
4.11 Artificial Light
4.12 The Meteor
5. Conclusion
Research Objective and Core Topics
This paper examines how Nathaniel Hawthorne integrates the influence of visual arts and specific lighting techniques to construct the atmospheric and symbolic depth of his novel The Scarlet Letter.
- The historical role of visual arts (portraiture and daguerreotype) in Hawthorne's life and work.
- The symbolic use of color, specifically the contrast between red and black.
- The application of chiaroscuro as a dominant narrative technique.
- Analysis of light and shadow as tools for character development and thematic revelation.
- The interplay between the "Actual" and the "Imaginary" through different lighting scenarios.
Excerpt from the Book
4.3 The revealing midday sun
Later on, Hester has to endure the revealing nature of the “hot, mid-day sun burning down upon her face, and lighting up its shame.” (47, my italics) This mid-day sun lends its importance as the brightest (the sun is at or around its zenith), and therefore the most revealing light of the day to many other key scenes as well. Pearl, who, at more than one occasion, tries to make Dimmesdale profess his fatherhood openly, and not only in secrecy, asks him during the second scaffold scene whether he will promise “to take my hand, and mother’s hand, tomorrow noontide?” (114, my italics) – at noontide for the whole world to see. The following meteor spectacle shows everything “with the distinctness of mid-day” (115, my italics). Hawthorne relativizes this distinctness, however, since this particular light only appears to lay things open, while in truth noone but Chillingworth even takes notice of Dimmesdale’s almost-confession – the meteor’s brightness lights the scene “also with the awfulness that is always imparted to familiar objects by an unaccustomed light.” (115)
When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest around midday, Dimmesdale is still safe from revelation, because in the “dim wood” (142) there is nothing but “gray twilight into which the clouded sky and the heavy foliage had darkened the noontide,” (142, my italics) and so much so that at first Dimmesdale does not know of Hester “whether it were a woman or a shadow.” (142) But in his eventual revelation, after which Pearl accepts and returns her father’s kiss and his love, “The sun, but little past its meridian, shone down upon the clergyman, and gave a distinctness to his figure.” (190, my italics) Before this midday revelation, Pearl calls Dimmesdale a “strange, sad man”: “In the dark night-time, he calls us to him, and holds thy hand and mine, (…) [a]nd in the deep forest (…) he kisses my forehead (…). But here in the sunny day, and among all the people, he knows us not.” (172)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction outlines the research focus on how Hawthorne incorporates visual arts and light-based techniques into the narrative structure of The Scarlet Letter.
2. Hawthorne and the Visual Arts: This chapter explores how portraiture, the advent of the daguerreotype, and historical religious art (like the Pieta) influenced Hawthorne's approach to character portrayal and symbolic representation.
3. Color or the Lack thereof: This chapter discusses the deliberate, limited color palette of the novel, focusing on the powerful contrast between red and black.
4. Light at Play: This extensive section analyzes various lighting manifestations—from moonlight to midday sun and artificial light—and their symbolic functions within the novel's scenes.
5. Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes that Hawthorne acts as a "Rembrandt of his art," using light and shadow to trace character parallels and set the emotional mood for the entire story.
Keywords
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, visual arts, chiaroscuro, portraiture, daguerreotype, symbolism, light and shadow, chiaroscuro, color pattern, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl, narrative technique, nineteenth-century literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on Hawthorne’s application of visual art concepts and lighting techniques in The Scarlet Letter to create symbolic and atmospheric meaning.
Which specific visual arts are discussed in the work?
The study covers the impact of traditional portraiture, the invention of the daguerreotype, and historical art motifs like the Pieta.
What is the primary objective of the analysis?
The goal is to determine how Hawthorne uses light, shade, and color as sophisticated narrative devices rather than mere descriptions, thereby enhancing the novel's thematic depth.
What scientific or literary method does the author employ?
The author uses a close-reading approach, synthesizing historical context and literary criticism to analyze how visual techniques define character and setting.
What is the significance of the "light at play" concept in the central part of the book?
This section explores how different intensities and sources of light—such as the "revealing" midday sun versus "utter darkness"—function as markers for truth, shame, and freedom in the characters' lives.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include chiaroscuro, symbolism, visual arts, Hawthorne, and the specific opposition of light and shadow.
How does the author interpret the specific contrast of "red against black" in the novel?
The author argues that this color scheme sets the mood for fire, danger, and alertness against the black of sadness, death, and Puritan severity.
How is the meteor scene analyzed in terms of lighting?
The meteor is described as the most impressive lighting effect, representing a "strange and solemn splendour" that reveals secrets within an imagined "other world" where the Actual and Imaginary meet.
- Quote paper
- Michael Helten (Author), 2006, Light at Play in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter', Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/57025
