Irony in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Irony is ever-present in the great American novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Irony is used to let the readers understand what is going on and help them know what the characters do not know, as well as something that happens that is not expected by the readers. It is used throughout the growth of the characters in the novel, and irony is used as a key to help the readers know what is happening since they cannot be there for themselves. Without irony, nearly everyone would be lost and the novel would lose meaning. Beginning with chapter two, a woman in the crowd waiting for Hester to come outside, says “People say… that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation,”(44; ch. 2). This is an excellent example of irony because, although the reader does not know it yet, Reverend Dimmesdale is the father of the bastard child. He was very upset that such a “scandal” would happen in his congregation, but he is more upset that it happened and he can be held accountable. Not only is he sorry that this dishonor has occurred, but he also asks her in front of everyone, “I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer! Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him?” This command for her to tell all listeners who the father is is ironic because not only is the father asking for her to tell everyone, but he is nearly begging her even though this will ruin his career. This is ironic because it is the opposite of what one would expect a guilty reverend to do(56; ch. 3). Another example of Irony in The Scarlet Letter …show more content…
He tells them what he has done and proves how terribly he feels by displaying his A that is on his chest. This mark was placed there to cause him pain as well as to humiliate him. Although it succeeds at being caustic, it does not humiliate him as he had hoped. The congregation chooses to ignore the letter carved into him, and a majority claimed to have never seen it. “Certain persons, who were spectators of the whole scene, and professed never once to have removed their eyes from the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, denied that there was any mark whatever on his breast, more than on a new-born infant’s. Neither, by their report, had his dying words acknowleged, nor even remotely impied, any, the slightest connection, on his part, with the guilt for which Hester Prynne had so long worn the scarlet letter,” (202; ch. 24). It is ironic that the Puritans could just look past this obvious sign, yet could not stop mocking Hester and Pearl for a materialistic embroidered A that would one day fade away, unlike the scar on Dimmesdale. This shows how Puritans were extremely stuck in their ways, believing that a reverend could do no wrong, especially not one of their
Irony is ever-present in the great American novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Irony is used to let the readers understand what is going on and help them know what the characters do not know, as well as something that happens that is not expected by the readers. It is used throughout the growth of the characters in the novel, and irony is used as a key to help the readers know what is happening since they cannot be there for themselves. Without irony, nearly everyone would be lost and the novel would lose meaning. Beginning with chapter two, a woman in the crowd waiting for Hester to come outside, says “People say… that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation,”(44; ch. 2). This is an excellent example of irony because, although the reader does not know it yet, Reverend Dimmesdale is the father of the bastard child. He was very upset that such a “scandal” would happen in his congregation, but he is more upset that it happened and he can be held accountable. Not only is he sorry that this dishonor has occurred, but he also asks her in front of everyone, “I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer! Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him?” This command for her to tell all listeners who the father is is ironic because not only is the father asking for her to tell everyone, but he is nearly begging her even though this will ruin his career. This is ironic because it is the opposite of what one would expect a guilty reverend to do(56; ch. 3). Another example of Irony in The Scarlet Letter …show more content…
He tells them what he has done and proves how terribly he feels by displaying his A that is on his chest. This mark was placed there to cause him pain as well as to humiliate him. Although it succeeds at being caustic, it does not humiliate him as he had hoped. The congregation chooses to ignore the letter carved into him, and a majority claimed to have never seen it. “Certain persons, who were spectators of the whole scene, and professed never once to have removed their eyes from the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, denied that there was any mark whatever on his breast, more than on a new-born infant’s. Neither, by their report, had his dying words acknowleged, nor even remotely impied, any, the slightest connection, on his part, with the guilt for which Hester Prynne had so long worn the scarlet letter,” (202; ch. 24). It is ironic that the Puritans could just look past this obvious sign, yet could not stop mocking Hester and Pearl for a materialistic embroidered A that would one day fade away, unlike the scar on Dimmesdale. This shows how Puritans were extremely stuck in their ways, believing that a reverend could do no wrong, especially not one of their