The Scarlet Letter - Symbolism Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism several times in the book The Scarlet Letter. Some examples of this are when they talk about the gallows, the stream, the forest and the sun. What I'm going to talk about is the sun. Hawthorne uses sunlight in the novel to symbolize purity and hope several times in the book. In one scene in the book, Pearl asks Hester to get some sunshine and give it to her to play with. Hester then replies, "No, my little pearl! You must gather your sunshine. I have none to give you." (p.104) Hester has no sun to give to Pearl because she has committed adultery and is not pure. Another example is when Hester and Pearl are taking a walk in the forest when a dark cloud approached the sky and Pearl said, "Mother," said little Pearl, "the sun does not love you. It runs away and hides, because it is afraid." of something on your chest." Pearl simply says this innocently jokingly, without having the slightest idea of ​​exactly how right she is. He says that the sun fears the "A" and avoids its impurity at all costs, even disappearing from the sky. Later in that walk, Hawthorne shows again how the sun refuses to be around Hester and her sin. Hester tells Pearl to run away and sunbathe and so she speeds off and, in her innocence, seems to catch it and find herself right in the middle of it. Hester comes over and tries to bask in the sun and Pearl says, shaking her head, "She'll go now." Hester replies, "See! Now I can reach out and grab some," but "As she attempted to do so, the sun vanished." This shows how the sun, being pure, adorned the Pearl in her innocence, while shunning Hester for her impurity. Hawthorne demonstrates the sun symbol best in the aptly titled chapter “A Flood of Sunshine.” In this particular scene, Dimmesdale and Hester are discussing what Dimmesdale will do about the current state of their relationship. Dimmesdale announces that he will leave the community and will have to do it alone. In the heat of the moment Hester declares that he will not have to go alone, takes off his hat and throws the