The Scarlet Letter: Plant Imagery Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses plant imagery to symbolize both negative and positive character traits and to create the atmosphere of the novel. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set during the Puritan era in Boston, where a young, attractive Puritan woman, Hester, commits adultery with the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. Chillingworth, Hester's husband, who had been captured by the Indians, arrives in town, but only Hester knows his true identity. Chillingworth vows to find out who Hester's lover is and succeeds. Ultimately, this novel contains deception and guilt in the form of plant imagery. Hawthorne uses many different negative variations of plant imagery to illustrate his ideas. First of all, the plant life, which describes Chillingworth's torture of Dimmesdale, remains evident throughout the novel. For example, when Chillingworth went into the forest to gather herbs, he “digged roots and tore twigs from the forest trees” (111), which symbolizes how Chillingworth was “ripping” the life out of Dimmesdale piece by piece. Furthermore, Hawthorne describes the grass as pure and without weeds that kill it; however, "when poor Mr. Dimmesdale thought of his grave, he wondered whether grass would ever grow upon it, for a damned thing must be buried there" (131). Furthermore, weeds symbolize the secrecy and impurity of society. During the secret discussion between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale about the “powers of nature which call so earnestly to the confession of sin, [and argue] that these black weeds have sprung up from a buried heart, to make manifest an unexpressed crime” (120 ) illustrates the idea of ​​weeds that fill the heart with sin and guilt. Furthermore, “the black flower of civilized society” (45-46) refers to the Puritans' harsh attitude towards sinners when they see Hester's punishment. Above all, the image used with the leaves allows for different interpretations. “You will forgive me! cried Hester, throwing herself upon the fallen leaves beside him [Dimmesdale]” (178) illustrates that Hester begs nature's forgiveness for her sin by falling upon the leaves. Likewise, Hester “threw it [the scarlet letter] afar among the withered leaves,” (185) for that instant, her guilty conscience was dying along with the withered leaves. Although Hawthorne uses a great deal of negative plant imagery, the positive plant imagery balances the two. Initially, the moss symbolizes the hardships Hester and Dimmesdale have endured.