The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism in the Forest

"The path strangled onward into the mystery of the primeval forest"(179). This sentence displays just one of the multiple personalities that the forest symbolizes in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorn. As seen in the epic story Wizard of OZ, the forest represents a place of evil and delight, but in the Scarlet Letter the forest symbolizes much more then that. Each character brings out a different side of the forest, however the forest also brings out a different side in each character. For some the forest may be a place of sinister thoughts and wrong doing, but for others it is a place of happiness and freedom. The first encounter with the forest we have symbolizes just some
It is often suggestive that the
Brooke often represents pearl. One reason is because the Brooke has an unknown source, Pearl also has an unknown source, meaning that most people don't know where the Brooke or Pearl came from. One more similarity between the two is that the Brooke is woven trough a dark and often evil forest, yet the water does not stop traveling. Pearl is in the exact same situation. Throughout her hole life she has been unwillingly woven into the evil and sorrow the her mother deals with. So just as the Brooke she keeps on going. As you have seen there is a fountain of symbolism in the Scarlet Letter.
The forest is one of the most symbolized objects in the entire story. It is one thing that can bring joy, sorrow, freedom, and evil to your life, but most of all the forest brings you truth. Once you walk into the forest lies no longer exist. This is show in every example given, that the truth comes out in the forest no matter what. Maybe that is why these characters go there, because it is the only place truth