The Scarlet Letter is all about groupings of three. It takes three lines to make an "A," there are three main appearances of the letter "A,"there are three words in the title, there are three main characters who deal with the consequences of guilt (Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingsworth), and there are three scaffolding scenes placed throughout the text. In the last chapter,s the final scaffolding scene wraps up the excitement, guilt, and unfortunately, Dimmesdale's life. Three is obviously a significant number in Hawthorne's work, especially illustrated by the third scaffolding scene.However, not only is three an important number in the text, but it is also a prevalent number on our campus, specifically in Christianity. The Holy Trinity is a grouping of three that I believe is silently underlying the three occurrences on the platform. When Hester is being ridiculed, this reflects Jesus Christ, the Son, and His humiliation. When Hester and Dimmesdale and Pear meet, this reflects the bond of love that is the Holy Spirit. And finally, when Dimmesdale comes to truth within his sermon, he reflects the truth that is found in God.
And obviously, the third scene was the charm as Hester and Pearl finally began to find peace after Dimmesdale's death.
I really like this post, mostly because it's something i'd never considered before. I'm not the greatest at digging out imagery and such things, but I love it when people uncover things like this that are worthwhile. Sometimes I feel like people just make crap up. But I like this. Haaa. I promise that wasn't supposed to be a backhanded compliment.
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