Fictional techniques in hawthorne's the scarlet letter

The present study attempts to unfold the fictional techniques in Hawthorne‘s The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne succeeds in depicting and describing the harsh and inhuman qualities of puritan milieu which authenticate that dissidence and errant behavior are condemned and the adultery goes against social norms. But individual impulses and sentiments are also powerful and cannot be suppressed for long by social rules. It becomes imperative for the author to use some literary devices for the expression of these impulses. The Scarlet Letter is a symbol of romantic notions and with the help of this symbol Hawthorne treats the effects of adultery on Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne (the adulteress), Pearl (their illegitimate child) and Roger Chilling worth (Hester‘s cuckold husband) Hawthorne takes recourse of the marvelous, the supernatural which lends credence to romantic atmosphere in the novel. Moreover, Hawthorne freely makes use of allegory which makes the novel a beautiful specimen of Romance where an abstract idea is personified and the author maintains full control over his characters. The four main characters, whose mental agony and psychic impulses are dramatized by Hawthorne, cannot escape the sin, they commit directly or indirectly. Ultimately, Hester redeems from her sin after a long suffering and undergoes a lot of psychological maturity about the weakness and strength of human nature. Dimmesdale achieves spiritual idealization by accepting the guilt publicly. Pearl is a living symbol of their sin which Hester and Dimmesdale throughout the novel, and she becomes, “pearl of great price”. Roger chilling worth changes at the end when he bequeaths his property to Pearl which in a way shows the progress of morality. So, Hawthorne has used many fictional techniques like symbolism, allegory, novel within the novel, ambiguity in the scarlet letter, the portrait of the artist, the theme of sin and redemption and the sexual passion in the characters.