Podium of Sin

The novel Scarlet letter involves a few important objects that the entire story wraps around. For example: the scarlet letter itself. Although the scarlet letter initiated the story, what ties the entire structure of the story together is the platform in downtown Boston. Hawthorne used three scenes involving the platform in the novel. They are all really important to the development of the story and each one gets more exciting than the one before. 

“The platform structured the story perfectly, splitting the story into three parts. Introduction, development, and climax/ ending.”

The first scene where the platform was introduced is when Hester was standing on it when the people of Boston shamed her. It is the punishment for the sin Hester has committed and therefore she was the center of attention for all the wrong reasons. This scene serves as the grand introduction for all the main characters in the novel, and also laid the foundation for the story to unfold. Chillingworth was first introduced as a mysterious indian that was new to the town of Boston. “He was small in stature, with a furrowed visage, which as yet could hardly be termed aged. There was a remarkable intelligence that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself” (Hawthrone 54). Mysterious and intelligent, these are the first introduction to Chillingworth as he came to the crowd shaming Hester on the platform. Dimmesdale, of course, is a main character that drove the story forward. He was introduced after the speech of John Wilson. “A young clergyman, who had come from one of the great English universities, bringing all the learning of the age into our wild forest-land. His eloquence and religious fervor had already given the earnest of high eminence in his profession” (Hawthrone 59). The Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale came into the story on a high point of a respected clergyman. However, as the readers do not know yet, he is also the father of Pearl. The young, loved, true to god clergyman is a sinner himself. This sets up a lot for later developments. Then, there is Hester. “So picturesque in her attire and mien, and with the infant at her bosom, an object to remind him of  the image of Divine Maternity, which so many illustrious painters have vied with one another to represent” (Hawthrone 50). This quote is the narrator describing Hester Prynne standing on top of the scaffold. There is a metaphor used to compare Hester to Mary, the mother of Jesus. This has to be one of the most clever metaphors. On one side, it is trying to describe the beauty of Hester; the other side, it is telling the readers that just like Jesus, Pearl is the child of sin. 

The second scene that happened on the platform is when Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl stood on top of it in the middle of the night. Dimmesdale snuck out of his house at night to go stand on the platform, hoping that he could face his guilt. He screamed in guilt and imagined that the townspeople were passing by and acknowledging the truth. Hester and Pearl came back from the deathbed of the old governor. Dimmesdale stopped them as they passed by and asked them to get up to the scaffold with him. “The minister felt for the child’s other hand, and took it. The movement that he did so, there came what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own, veins a sif the mother and the child were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system” (Hawthorne 138). When Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl all held hands, the author described it as if they had entered a new life. Two lovers and a child standing on a platform, it is almost like a wedding. The reunion of the family on the platform is extremely important to the story development. Pearl essentially would not accept Dimmesdale as long as he does not face his sin in public.As Chillingworth showed up, Dimmesdale starts to question Chillingworth’s identity, but Hester refuses to answer. This is when the story really starts building up to the climax. Dimmesdale only has a limited amount of time to live because of Chillingworth, but there are still so many problems to resolve. Will everything end up working out? If so, how? Those are the questions that the readers have burning in their brain. This is an important situation for Hester. At this moment when the family of three gathered together on the platform, all the other secrets between the main characters had been revealed. Even Though the public knew none of it, Chillingworth had already locked on his target; Pearl already knew her father; But Hester has been keeping the truth that Chillingworth is her husband. It is essential for Hester to tell Dimmesdale the truth to move forward through the story. 

The Last event involving the platform is the climax of the story. As Dimmesdale finished his glorious speech, he went up to the platform again. This time, he went up there with no fear and full determination. He called up Hester and Pearl. As they stood together on the scaffold in front of the whole town, He said: “Behold me here, the one sinner of the world! At last ! — At last! — I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have  stood; here, with this woman, whose arm, more than the little strength wherewith I have crept hitherward, sustains me, at this dreadful moment, from grovelling down upon my face” (Hawthorne 223). Dimmesdale finally revealed his sin. Through all those years, the sin, the pain and the guilt all gone at once. After facing the public as a sinner, Pearl accepted him and kissed him. The family is complete. After Dimmesdale finished what he wanted to do for seven years, his redemption was over and he died in Hester’s bosom. This scene is without a doubt the most important event in the story. It resulted in the death of Dimmesdale, which led to the death of Chillingworth; Pearl cried for the first time and broke the “spell” after Dimmesdale had kissed her; it also revealed the secret print on Dimmesdale’s chest to the crowd. Even though a few other things happened later on, this is the grand ending of the main story. 

The platform structured the story perfectly, splitting the story into three parts. Introduction, development, and climax/ ending. The three times all four of the main characters met at the platform, is actually the only three times the four of them had ever been together in one place. One place that ties everything together.