Consider The Quest For Meaning And How This Relates To The Relationship Between Society And The Indi Essay, Research Paper

The Scarlet Letter asks whether this state of opposition between passion and authority is necessary ; it expresses the hope that society allowing individual expression might evolve, but it does not commit itself to a certain conclusion.1 Nina Baym’s analysis of The Scarlet Letter underlines a key theme that dominates the writing of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville: The omnipresent conflict between, on the one hand, the creativity of the individual, and on the other, the repressive structures of society. However, Baym recognises that this on-going opposition is one that is irreconcilable. In texts that refuse to present irrefutable meanings ‘the relation of nature and civilization’2 remains unresolved. In The Scarlet Letter, the letter itself stands at the centre of the text, ‘pervasive and all important, defining the dramatic contours of narrative.’3 To appreciate the value of the scarlet letter it should be remembered that it is the ‘rag of scarlet cloth’(p.31) that Hawthorne is first drawn to in ‘The Custom-House’. The letter is more real than anything else in the tale, more tangible than the early Boston society in which it was created and outliving the characters for whom it first had significance. Terence Martin emphasises the importance of the scarlet ‘A’: Hawthorne begins and ends with the letter, which encompasses and transcends all its individual meanings, which signifies, totally and finally, The Scarlet Letter itself.4 The first appearance of the scarlet letter on Hester’s breast, as she stands before the people of Boston, is an initial indicator of its role as an ambiguous and contradictory signifier. The letter, which we as readers initially assume to stand for ‘adulteress’ (though Hawthorne never overtly states this) is described as ‘elaborate’, ‘fantastic’ and ‘gorgeous’.(p.53) Through her decision to make the symbol decorative, Hester is paradoxically celebrating her shame. The scarlet letter already has a contrasting dual significance: a mark of guilt imposed by Puritan society and at the same time an emblem of Hester’s individual creativity. Richard Brodhead seizes on the contrast between Hester’s individual construct, open to multiple interpretation, and the fixed meaning attached to the symbol by the rigid outlook of the Puritan community: While the art of the Puritan’s A has the sanction of divine truth, her personalized letter is presented as an act of creative self expression, a product of her own imagination that has its meaning in terms of her own knowledge of herself.5 In celebrating the scarlet letter, Hester is subtly subverting its meaning, undermining the intentions of the society that condemns her to display it. Even if we take the badge to signify ‘adulteress’ the symbol will still operate on two levels, For Hester it will function as a symbol of her own personal desire and experience, while for the people of Boston it operates as a fixed impersonal signifier, the mark of a criminal. Baym draws a parallel between Hester as child-bearer and letter-stitcher and Hawthorne as novel writer. Both occupy creative roles: just as Hawthorne must express himself through the social construct of language, so Pearl, Hester’s anti-social creation, must be presented in terms of a social marker – the scarlet letter.6 This analogy between author and character explains in part Hawthorne’s preoccupation with the restricting effect of society on the expressive individual: Like Hester, also an artist and stigmatized by her emblematic ‘A’, Hawthorne is forced to inhabit a ‘circle of seclusion’(p.95) because he feels that society is antipathetic to the creative temperament.7 Hawthorne employs the seventeenth century Boston community as a metaphor for society in general. The Puritan ideology is one of structured, clearly defined meanings in which symbolism is rigid and the world is categorized in terms of good and evil. In this sphere, the scarlet letter stands unambiguously for adultery. However, this notion of fixed meanings is one that Hawthorne’s text challenges. In American Hieroglyphics, Irwin stresses the efforts made by Hawthorne to present ‘Hester’s insignia’ as a multivalent signifier, ‘not with the one true meaning of the hieroglyph but rather with a host of possible meanings.’8 The concept of any ‘true meaning’ is one that The Scarlet Letter puts in doubt. Even in his use of language Hawthorne is keen to deconstruct any notion of stable meanings. Things ’seem’, ‘appear’, or ‘can be imagined’ rather than categorically ‘being’ and the author shrouds everything in doubt with terms such as ‘perhaps’ or ‘may be’. All statements are qualified rather than absolute and Hawthorne employs ambiguous nouns and verbs that defy fixed interpretation. ‘The narration that supposedly tries to specify the meaning succeeds only in enriching the interpretative problem, not in resolving it.’9 Characters, objects and events in the text all have a double or, more often, multiple nature: meaning is generated through ‘a technique of dynamic interrelationships, meaning that is for the reader in a perpetual state of becoming’.10 This notion of ‘becoming’ is one that dominates The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne produces a dynamic text, never claiming to resolve the conflicts it sets up. Its open-ended form stands in stark contrast to the Puritan world in which meanings are presented as stable and static. Hawthorne is able to dismiss the notion of ‘true meaning’ by producing a text in which the author, characters and reader all search for the inner meaning of the letter ‘A’. What is essentially more important is not any definitive explanation for the symbol, but the process of searching for its meaning. This quest takes place at the interface where the interests of society and the individual meet: ‘In each of its manifestations the letter has an analyzable meaning in terms of the character’s and the community’s experience’11 Any meaning we ascribe to it will be influenced both by the fact that the letter is physically created by Hester, an individual, and that the badge is a social construct. Although the two spheres are in conflict, they also remain inseparable. The scarlet letter functions simultaneously as an emblem of Puritan orthodox symbolism and an individual token of adultery. Symbolism is by no means confined to the scarlet letter that dominates the novel. The text is infused with the recurrent theme of duality: everything in the physical world is mirrored in the psychological domain. Brodhead sees all meaning as functioning in a system of cross-reference: It is all but impossible to isolate an item in The Scarlet Letter that does not make both physical and metaphorical appearences.12 Pearl’s function in the text is in many ways similar to that of the letter. Her role as a symbol is overtly stated, she is referred to as the ‘emblem and product of sin’(p.93), the ‘living hieroglyphic in which was revealed the secret they so darkly sought to hide.’(p.207) Pearl can be viewed as a living scarlet letter. While the social consequences of Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin find form in the letter, the physical product of their adultery is Pearl. Just as the ornate letter is something through which Hester both celebrates and feels a burning shame, similarly Pearl embodies both that which Hester loves and the manifestation of her crime. In this personification of the scarlet letter Hester is perpetually confronted by the paradoxical symbol of torture and happiness. In some respects Pearl is an even more powerful signifier than the ‘A’ upon Hester’s breast. Though the letter’s meaning is multiple, it is at least static in its physical form while Pearl, typically portrayed ‘dancing up and down, like an elf’, (p.97) is a dynamic symbol. Through her child Hester is constantly reminded of her passion; Pearl becomes a signifier of her desire. Pearl can also be viewed as a symbol in opposition to the letter. The cloth ‘A’ is an emblem attached to Hester by society, and therefore exists as a product of that society. Pearl, in contrast, is an anti-social figure, she lives outside the boundaries of the community and the few interactions she has with society are antagonistic. One of the most important passages in regard to the theme of society and the individual, is that in ‘The Child at the Brook-side’ in which Pearl is pictured at ‘the margin of the brook’(p.207). That Pearl has lived the first seven years of her life at the ‘margin’ of society means she is relatively untouched by social order. The absence of a father figure symbolically seems to reflect her freedom from patriarchal institutions. As Pearl confronts her own image ‘in the mirror of the brook’(p.209), there is a sense that she is making a transition – entering the social world. Pearl, we are told, ’strayed out of the sphere in which she and her mother dwelt’(p.208), and facing her own image in the water, she becomes aware of the distinction between self and other. Here, Hawthorne is conveying one of the underlying themes of the text: Pearl is unable to remain isolated, merely functioning on the level of desire and the individual; she must become part of society. What Hawthorne appears to suggest is that the parameters of self, (where Pearl the ‘elf-child’ plays in the wilderness) and the boundaries of the society, (within the strict Puritan community) are ultimately overlapping and inescapable. The scarlet letter combines a symbol of social definition with an act of creative self-expression. Pearl must transcend her social isolation to become an individual: she must adopt a public identity. Herman Melville is an author whose works are often compared with those of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Both writers are preoccupied with the metaphysical dimensions of the text and employ symbolism to emphasize the fluidity of meaning. Irwin, posits the notion that ‘for Hawthorne and Melville, the ambiguous character of the hieroglyphics was their prime significance’.13 The most important aspect of any signifier is that what it signifies is not fixed but open to multiple interpretation. Melville’s Billy Budd is a text that deals with many of the same themes as The Scarlet Letter. At its core is the recurrent theme of the conflict between nature and civilization. Melville’s short story is set at sea where he sets up two delineated societies within the crews of, initially, the Rights of Man and for the main part of the text, the Bellipotent. These ships are microcosms of civilization; they have fixed boundaries with no forest-zone at the margins as in The Scarlet Letter. Sea vessels, however, have the paradoxical qualities of being both fixed communities, in that they are self-enclosed, and dynamic societies, perpetually on the move. Melville sets up the conflict between individual and society as Billy Budd makes the transition from Rights of Man to the Bellipotent. Manlove highlights the symbolic implications of the transfer: civilization is at war with nature in the form of the rights of man: and it is from a merchant ship of the latter name that Melville has Billy Budd pressed aboard the warship Bellipotent.14 Billy leaves the Rights, a merchant vessel, which carries more than just its cargo – it conveys the implication of free-trade with undertones of a creative process, one that is mutually beneficial. The Bellipotent is a warship and it is characterized by the strict regulations of a naval vessel, in contrast to the freedom associated with trade. It is ultimately not a creative ship but one built for the purpose of destroying. Thus, from the outset of the text, Melville establishes certain thematic oppositions: merchant/military, constructive interaction/destructive interaction and perhaps also the contrast between the Rights as an American merchant vessel and the Bellipotent as an English warship. Even at this early stage in the tale there is a noticeable contrast between the text itself and its principal character. As readers we are facing a text which transmits meaning as much through symbolism and metaphor as it does through literal description. Billy Budd, we are told, is someone who is unable to function at this subtle level of interpretation: ‘To deal in double meanings and insinuations of any sort was quite foreign to his nature’(p.2305). As with Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, an important function of Billy Budd is that it is a text that aims to leave meanings unclear. The text has an amorphous quality, as Melville hints, intimates and digresses: ‘meanings are slightly twisted’.15 Melville employs a host of phrases and words which invite vagueness and contradiction – ‘in some cases/a bit of a/ all but/ occasionally/ in a form yet more/ more or less’. The text is characterized by a narrative that refuses to convey absolute truths, on the contrary, ‘Melville mystifies us through his style, in order that we should lose touch with certainty’.16 Mangrove interprets Billy Budd first and foremost as a text that portrays a small-scale representation of the nature/civilization opposition in the form of Billy’s trial. One of the key roles in this conflict is played by Captain Vere. As arbiter he sits as judge in a trial ‘not only of Billy, but of civilization itself’.17 Melville presents the case that civilization is based on principles which necessitate the repudiation of moral values. While Vere is sympathetic towards Billy, his ultimate loyalty lies in upholding the social system: he acknowledges to his fellow-officers the claims of natural sympathy for the innocent Billy, while asserting that those claims must be overidden.18 Captain Vere must act in a manner which appears to benefit civilization, ( in this instance the community aboard the Bellipotent). This involves a conscious contradiction of his moral principles. His personal belief, that Billy was neither plotting in a conspiracy nor intended to kill Claggart, must not influence his decision. Vere advises his officers ‘let not warm hearts betray heads that should be cool’(p.2342). Against the background of recent mutinies, in which naval society was challenged, Billy – an individual who it must be recalled has committed a mutinous act – must hang. The crew of the Bellipotent are not unlike the Puritan population of Boston. Hawthorne and Melville present discrete communities which represent society at large. These communities are underpinned by a social order, whether it be one that hangs men who kill their superiors or one that pins a lettered symbol to the breast of an adulteress. It is not for these social orders -governed by naval regulations or Puritan laws – to give specific consideration to particular cases and then to judge individuals. Whether Billy Budd is an innocent figure or Hester Prynne should be remembered more for being admirable or able than and adulteress, is not the issue. The social order is there to protect society rather than its individuals. Billy Budd is guilty of murder and Hester Prynne of adultery. Though characterized by ambiguity, the work of both Hawthorne and Melville is undoubtedly concerned with questioning the values of society – a society which ‘is founded ultimately on the rejection of the individual and of truth’:19 Civilization is shown as ultimately a juggernaut, and the foundation of law and duty, apparently made by men for their happier society, becomes revealed as destructive of human nature.20 REFERENCES 1. The Shape of Hawthorne’s Career, Nina Baym p.141 2. ‘An Organic Hesitancy: Theme and Style in Billy Budd’ by C.N. Mangrove in New Perspectives on Melville p.275 3. Nathaniel Hawthorne, T. Martin pp.110-111 4. Ibid., p.127 5.Hawthorne, Melville and The Novel, R.R. Brodhead p.45 6.Baym, p.133 7. History, Ideology and Myth in American Fiction, R.Clark p.112 8. American Hieroglyphics, J.T.Irwin p.239 9. Clark, p.112 10. Martin, p.128 11. Brodhead, p.54 12. Ibid., p.53 13. Irwin, p.239 14. Manlove, p.275 15. Ibid., p.289 16. Ibid., p.299 17. Ibid., p.278 18. Ibid., p.275 19. Ibid., p.281 20. Ibid., p.282 BIBLIOGRAPHY Baym, N. The Shape of Hawthorne’s Career Cornell University Press, (New York, 1976) Brodhead, R.R. Hawthorne, Melville and The Novel University of Chicago Press, (Chicago, 1973) Clark, R. History, Ideology and Myth in American Fiction Macmillan, (London. 1984) Hawthorne, N. The Scarlet Letter Oxford University Press, (Oxford, 1990) Irwin, J.T. American Hieroglyphics Yale University Press, (London, 1980) Manlove, C.N. ‘An Organic Hesitancy: Theme and Style in Billy Budd’ in New Perspectives on Melville ed. F. Pullin Edinburgh University Press, (Edinburgh, 1978) Martin, T. Nathaniel Hawthorne Twayne Publishers (Boston, 1965) The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 3rd edition, Vol.1