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Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne refers to light and dark. In the novel they have many different meanings and are displayed in many different ways. Light usually symbolizes good, purity, and joy. The darkness symbolizes evil, secrecy, or guil ....

Middle of Essay
.... the darkness," (115). Martin shows how good can shine on the physician, yet his evil still remains in the darkness. Even Pearl, an innocent child who does not know Chillingworth, refers to him as a dark person. When speaking to her mother, she says, "Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you" (Hawthorne 123)! The "black" in "black man" refers to Chillingworth's evil, which is clearly acknowledged by even a small child. Guilt is also acknowledged by others through the dark imagery. It is shown through the Puritan's clothing, which is "the blackest shade of Puritanism "and through the lighting on certain characters, ma ....