Evil Senses
In class yesterday we talked a bit about eyes (sight) and mirrors (reflection) as symbols in The Scarlett Letter. Our discussion focused on how the characters’ perceptions of themselves and their surroundings are shaped by the peculiar, perhaps deceiving, sense of sight. I would like to continue on this vein and explore how Hawthorne portrays the traditional senses (particularly sight and touch) as well as how he compares them with the non-traditional sense of intuition, especially regarding the discovery of Truth.
Chillingworth’s manhunt for his wife’s partner in crime and Hester’s yearning to understand the origin of her daughter’s “incomprehensible intelligence” and implacable attitude are of specific interest because they both refer to intuition as special sources of power (90). These examples differ, however, in that Chillingworth, as the seeker, boasts the mysterious trait, while in Hester’s case it is Pearl, the subject of her survey, who is colored by the mystifying capacity to intuit her surroundings.
When Hawthorne first illuminates us to Hester’s fate he highlights her senses of sight and touch as being most reflective of her personal truth. Arriving at the public shaming portion of her punishment, Hester “[turns] her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and…[touches] it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame [are] real. Yes these were her realities– all else had vanished!” (54). Indeed, for Hester sight and touch are repeatedly the most powerful access points to her heart and mind; throughout the first half of the novel Hawthorne repeatedly expresses the intense pain Hester feels when others either look at or touch her scarlet letter. When her husband touches it in the prison, his finger “[seems] to scorch into Hester’s breast, as if it had been red hot” (69). Later, in the description of Hester’s response to the “[coarse expressions]” of the women in her community, Hawthorne writes that they “fell upon the sufferer’s defenseless breast like a rough blow upon an ulcerated wound” (81). Hawthorne’s frequent allusions to the physical repercussions Hester is susceptible to on behalf of the judgment of her townsfolk highlight the Puritan aim to provide more tangibility to their faith. They also symbolize the Puritan belief that during the earthly life the collective community can and should judge and punish each other according to God’s will.
The sense of intuition is seen as heightened in two characters more than the others and hints at their understanding, or capacity to discover, a deeper Truth in life: Roger Chillingworth and Pearl. Another similarity Hawthorne repeatedly alludes to in both characters, which cannot be overlooked, is an aspect of non-humanness. Pearl is referred to as an “imp,” a “sprite,” and a “demon,” especially in regards to a certain look or “perverse expression glimmering beneath her…lids” that characterizes her nature (90). Hawthorne’s suggestiveness of Chillingworth’s devilish nature is even stronger. Chillingworth first arrives as a stranger that came to the town from the forest, which has dangerous, haunted, and savage associations. Furthermore, when he first sees Hester “[a] writing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them” (58). From this description, it would seem that Chillingworth is actually the Devil personified, or at least a person possessed by the Devil. That both characters have such dark associations reveals a correlation with their keen sense of intuition. It may be a connection with a darker force, the Devil perhaps, that gives them the ability to see truths that others are blinded from. Chillingworth contains a certain quality that allows him to both predict the future (or control it?) and to uncover the deep secrets of other characters. When he interrogates Hester in the prison her refusal to give up her partner is basically inconsequential as he admits, “I come to the inquest with other senses than they possess” (72). Chillingworth, according to Hawthorne’s assessment, contains a powerful combination of traits including a “native sagacity,” “intuition,” and “the power…to bring his mind into such affinity with his patient’s, that this last shall unawares have spoken what he imagines himself only to have thought…” (123). This latter trait is significant because it shows how Chillingworth can extract truth from someone and confuse their own senses so much that he or she remains unconscious of the act.
Hawthorne also measures the traditional sense of sight against the non-traditional sense of intuition directly: “When an uninstructed multitude attempts to see with its eyes, it is exceedingly apt to be deceived. When, however, it forms its judgment, as it usually does, on the intuitions of its great and warm heart, the conclusions thus attained are often so profound and so unerring as to possess the character of truth supernaturally revealed” (125). Here, he plainly says that the sense of sight can be deceiving, while also claiming that judgment rendered by intuition is almost always just. He even goes as far to say that the intuition can contain the greater Truth.
Tags: Evil, eyes, intuition, mirrors, Nathaniel Hawthorne, reflection, sight, The Devil, The Scarlet Letter, Truth
February 24th, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Hi Sophia,
This is a great start to further exploration of how truth is depicted in the novel. If it interests you further, you might use this as the focus of your first essay. Given the way you describe the various depictions of what can be seen and what is intuited–and the fact that with Chillingworth there is a darkness involved with intuition and the uninstructed multitude can’t rely on its vision–think about a thesis statement that embraces both of these considerations. What is the status of truth as portrayed in the novel overall? Remember that this should also take into account what Foucault says about the rise of scientia sexualis and its claims to truth at this time.