The Informant and Parallels of Literature
During the infancy of the United States, the genre of classic American Literature was, unbeknownst to the writers and audience, at its peak, with hundreds of prominent pieces being composed. This period of time has since taken on the identity of the Romanticism Era, and among the most distinguished works, are The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the essays written by Ralph Waldo Emerson entitled “Nature”, “The Transcendentalist”, “Self-Reliance”, and “The Oversoul”. True to their time, these works touch greatly upon ideas of idealism and transcendentalism. That being said, The Scarlet Letter and essays by Ralph Waldo present indisputable thematic similarities as well as display similar fundamental truths that give emphasis to concerns consistent with the times.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn relays themes that are undoubtedly parallel to “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. One such thematic similarity can be found when Emerson writes “There is no object so foul that intense light will not make beautiful” (9). This quote illustrates the idea that the beauty of light far surpasses any depth of ugliness that may be present in a given context. This idea is corroborated by Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter: “The light lingered about the lonely child” (152). The previous excerpt illustrates that though little Pearl was born into the stigma of the scarlet letter, light was still able to seep within her due to her jubilant breadth of life. This theme brought up by Emerson can further be found in The Scarlet Letter when Hawthorne says, “She made the somber crowd cheerful by her erratic and glistening ray” (200). Because of the light that was encapsulated by Pearl, citizens of the Puritan society were able to see past her mother’s transgressions and her own origins. They allowed themselves to put aside their antipathy and bask in the light that reverberated from Pearl. Further analogies between The Scarlet Letter and “Nature” can be found in Emerson’s idea that “to go into a solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society” (5). This quote connects to a later quote in which Emerson states: “Nature is a discipline of the understanding in intellectual truths” (19). When one connects these two quotes together, they discover Emerson’s thought process of the solitude and unity of nature that brings one understanding. Hester in The Scarlet Letter is a prime example of a character who has uncovered this truth. “As a first step, the whole system of society is to be torn down, and built up anew. Then, the very nature of the opposite sex, or its long hereditary habit, which has become like nature, is to be essentially modified…” (Hawthorne 137). This quote directly notifies the reader of the information that Hester has uncovered through her solitude and contact with nature. It is an example of how she has used her time and resources to think upon the society in which she lives, and in turn, she has gained insight on the issues that press. These thematic elements involving light and understanding can both be found in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.
Whilst reading the essay “The Transcendentalist” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader can uncover several unequivocal thematic similarities between the two. One such is the idea presented by Ralph Waldo Emerson that states “The materialist respects sensible masses, society, government, social art and luxury, every establishment, every mass, whether majority of numbers, or extent of space, or amount of objects, ever social action” (83). Emerson here proposes the position and values of the materialist, and in The Scarlet Letter, the character, Hester, directly juxtaposes this idea and aligns herself with values of the transcendentalist.
Even the attractiveness of her person had undergone a similar change. It might be
partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress and partly to the lack of demonstration in her manners. It was a sad transformation, too, that her rich and luxuriant hair had either been cut off, or was so completely hidden by a cap, that it a shining lock of it ever once gushed into the sunshine. (Hawthorne 135)
The authors words here show the lack of sympathy that Hester has towards her outward appearance- a value, as stated by Emerson, that the materialist encompasses. Emerson also describes the transcendentalist as “The idealist has another measure, which is metaphysical, namely the rank which things themselves take in his consciousness; not at all the size or appearance” (83). In the aforementioned excerpt of The Scarlet Letter, Hester compares more to this description of the transcendentalist than that of the materialist. Further evidence of parallels between both literary works can be found in Hester Prynne’s lack of regard for authority. “The world’s law was no law for her mind” (Hawthorne 136). This correlates with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s viewpoint on transcendentalists: “…he does not respect government, except as far as it reiterates the law of his mind…” (83). Both Emerson’s description of transcendentalists and Hester Prynne fit the criteria of disregarding the world’s laws and following that of their subconscious. “The Transcendentalist” and The Scarlet Letter are two literary master pieces that can compare in their thematic qualities concerning authority and ideologies.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter encompass similar motifs that enable comparison between the two. In Self Reliance, Emerson says:
There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. (133)
He is successfully attempting to convey the idea that one must rely on themselves in order to achieve what they aspire. Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter comes to this realization as well. “She possessed an art that sufficed… to supply food for her thriving infant and herself. It was the art- then, as now, almost the only one within a woman’s grasp- of needle-work” (Hawthorne 68). Much like what Ralph Waldo Emerson implies, Prynne has recognized her position in society and the indignation that she receives. The quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates Hester relying on herself and her talents in order for her and her child to survive in such a hostile environment. Furthermore, in “Self-Reliance”, Ralph Waldo Emerson states “your genuine action will explain itself and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing. Act singly, and what you have already done singly will justify you now” (139). Here Emerson is implying that one should not conform to the patterns of the world and that they should break the mold that holds them captive. He is also saying to do what is unexpected and what one feels, for if it is representative of themselves, there can be no fault. This parallels Hester’s appearance in The Scarlet Letter. “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” (Hawthorne 46). Here, Hester can be seen pushing boundaries in her decision to make the mark which taints her gown, elaborate rather than simple. One would assume that she would try to conceal her transgressions, or at least try to bring as little attention as possible to them. The materials and embroideries in which she uses are nothing of the sort. The Scarlet Letter and “Self-Reliance” entail thematic similarities centered around nonconformities and quite literally, relying on one’s self.
One last piece of literature by Ralph Waldo Emerson, that which could be thematically compared to The Scarlet Letter, is “The Oversoul”. In “The Oversoul”, Emerson writes, “that Unity, that Over-Soul, within which every man’s particular being is contained and made one with all other… meantime within man is the soul of the whole” (237). The author here is conveying the idea that, essentially, everyone is connected and combined into a singular entity. In The Scarlet Letter, the characters Hester Prynne, Pearl, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth, are all connected by their involvement, whether direct or indirect, in the act of adultery. Moreover, the entire town of Boston is connecting by this infraction. “Thus the young and the pure would be taught to look at her… as the figure, the body, the reality of sin” (Hawthorne 66-67). Elders of the Puritan society taught their youth to look upon Hester Prynne as a sinner, and thus planted familiar seeds of wretchedness within their hearts. This disdain and darkness of heart brought the community together and gave them a common ground upon which they could stand. This idea of connection is precisely what intertwines “The Oversoul” with The Scarlet Letter.
Classic symptoms of romanticism literature can be found in works by both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. More specifically, they can be found in Emerson’s essays “Nature”, “The Transcendentalist”, “Self-Reliance”, and “The Oversoul”, and in Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter. Because of the similar time period in which these pieces were written, thematic similarities can be found at the turn of each page. These similarities vary from the discussion of ideologies, to the role of nature, to the object of human reliance, and the topic of interconnectedness. After reading these ideas more than once, one might be inspired to use these pieces of literature to explore and influence their own values and ideas.