One of the key symbols in the narrative is the forest. Many of the interesting and important events seem to happen outside of town in the mysterious forest. Traditionally western culture has seen Nature as dark and mysterious—a place of magic, danger, and evil. This makes sense, because for the Puritans the natural world was a very real danger, full of wolves, bears, unpredictable weather, and other threats compared to the relative safety of “civilization.” Is Hawthorne challenging that conception of Nature as evil? Is he challenging the idea that natural areas are “wastelands”? To what extent is our society today still influenced by this traditional conception of Nature as something to be conquered, tamed, and civilized? Have we changed that belief, or is it still a driving force in our conception of ourselves and how our civilization relates to the Natural world?
It seems to me that the author intended for the forest to be something that was changed by the way society worked, not that the forest changed the people. Note the part where Hester was in the forest and she took off the "A", and the forest seemed to grow brigher.
ReplyDeleteThe forest represents a dark and a free world where Puritan law can't exist. Hawthorne uses it as "shelter" for an escape from the Puritan life because there aren't any rules out there.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Hawthorne admires and is fascinated by the forest. The forest seems to be a mysterious place where strange things can happen, and it is fitting that several of the mysterious aspects of the book take place in nature, or involve nature in some way.
ReplyDeleteit seemed to mean that in nature, people were held to a separate standard, as if the morals of puritans did not have jurisdiction within the forest.
ReplyDeleteI have to wonder, though I know that the book was written in a time period where things like the forest were considered frightening, but if that opinion of the forest was removed from the book, how deeply would that impact the plot? The idea that the forest and nature are scary and wild wasn't as much a fixture in the actual time period the book was set in, so I wonder how much the forest and that ideology from Hawthorne's point affects the actual direction of the book.
ReplyDeleteThe forest is one of the safe places where Hester can meet Dimmesdale, it is really important place in the story, not “wasteland”.
ReplyDeleteThe forest was a mystical place to Hawthorne, but he also admired it greatly I believe.
ReplyDelete@Blackmilk: Maybe the forest seems safe because it seems scary to everyone else and it is being avoided. Kind of like Detroit, except older.
ReplyDeleteToday, we conquer and alter nature to our own purposes in almost every aspect of our civilization. This purposes to increase our comfort and living standards by technology and man-made structures. But during the course of all this many people look to nature as an escape, or as a place to find peace. This may be because we find that we have created an almost too easy standard of living for ourselves. In contrast, in Boston where life isn't simple and clean, nature presents a frightening challenge.
ReplyDeleteHawthorne intended for the forest to be a symbol of the characters. When they are depresses the forest is dark and when they are excited the forest is brighter. It was a mysterious place that supported the Puritan's beliefs to some extent. The forest is a place with no rules which seems to be the reason why Hester and Pearl spent so much time there- because it was an escape from their controlled community.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Puritans felt safe within their settlements and away from nature because religion can only exist within the hearts of its followers. To deviate from their beliefs, as Hawthorne displays would be to waltz through the forest.
ReplyDeleteI believe the forest is a safe place for Hester. Since she's the outcast of the town she has something in common with the forest. The forest usually is a reminder of darkness, danger, and even evil which is also what Hester is to the townspeople. She can find refuge in the forest because it's a place for her to think and not be tormented by the people.
ReplyDelete@gahilovebeinpurple: Do you mean that the control of the Puritan society would be undermined if they lived in plantations for example?
ReplyDelete@Brightyellow23
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your point that she has 'outcastism' in common with the forest. But at the same time, Hawthorne makes seem that even Hester feels more tormented by the townspeople than the forest, which doesn't mean that she thinks it is a perfect hiding place, but that it's simply a better experience when compared with the townspeople's remarks.
Maybe the forest is where Hester can be alone with her thoughts. Like how some people write deep and personal poems but show up to school and pretend like everyone else? Hester finds her escape in being literally away from society and the city.
ReplyDelete@H3llo People
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I was thinking. A sort of escape from the constant fear of being in the town, she can be to herself even if where she goes is frightening.
I think this goes back to Hawthorne's view on the way that the Puritans viewed magic. I dont know if he is exactly challenging the belief that nature is viewed as a dark and mysterious place, but he is challenging the Puritans view of magic and how it reflects in nature
ReplyDeleteI agree with H3llo People about the forest being a place where Hester can escape, but I think it is more a place where she feels truly comfortable and accepted.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Hawthorne believes that nature hides secrets. The forest is where Dimmesdale and Hester met in secret and spoke of their sins and where Pearl was finally able to interact with her father. I'm not sure if Hawthorne is saying that nature is evil, but because the forest is dark, mysterious, and hides the unknown, I can see how that can become a conclusion.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts guys, but can Hester only run to the forest because its the only place that she has any control in her life? Look at my first comment for further reading.
ReplyDeleteTransendantilists would argue that nature is one way in which a person can learn about truth. Hawthorne uses this idea by creating a safe haven out of the forest, a place where Hester and Dimmesdale can talk freely and where truth can be put down. The only reason that the forest is safe however is because the Puritans are so afraid of it, which reinforces the Puritan belief that the forest and nature are evil.
ReplyDeleteHawthorne certainly seems to be challenging the perception of the nature as evil and dark. The way that he describe the changing lights and conditions within the forest as interactions between characters carries on there gives it a more dynamic sense to it and makes it not simply a place of gloom and doom. Even the way that Hawthorne stages some of the very important events of the book in the forest especiallly the conversation and dedication agrred upon between Dimmesdale and Hester show how the forest is not all dark.
ReplyDeleteCould the forest be a metaphor for Hester's "wild, unburdened by soceity(city)" emotions and thoughts? She takes the A off in the forest, not the city. Its got to be deeper than Hester being afraid to take it off in the city. She has showed that the city doesn't affect her very much.
ReplyDeleteI think that the forest is what keep all the people believing her in their community because they do not know what is beyond it. This forest seems like a reason that this Puritan community holds ao strong.
ReplyDeleteI think that Hawthorne is using the forest as the setting for important things to show that nature is a place where people can be honest and are not pressured by society. In the forest, Dimmesdale and Hester decide to throw off the morals and values of the oppressive society they live in. It is a place they can be free.
ReplyDelete@DHbro
ReplyDeleteThe Puritans didn't necessarily believe that the forest and nature was evil. It's my understanding that Hawthorne is where this is coming from.
Hawthorne is arguing that nature is not evil, but peoples' perceptions of it make it that way. In Chapter 18 page 213, Hawthorne says the forest was "stern" to those who "brought guilt and troubles" into it. But to Pearl the forest is a happy "playmate." This is Hawthorne's modernist take on how perceptions alter "reality".
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