htness also takes on another form for Hester, she is both dark and light. The light will not accept her, but in her own way she is light, explained in this passage:"Hester tries to subdue her spirit and sensuality, hiding it all beneath a sad cap. But she cant do it. One breath of fresh air, one ray of sunlight, one moment alone with her lover in the forest, and she is herself again, reaching passionately for a life of freedom and fulfillment" ("Scarlet Letter" 3).This shows how she has turned towards darkness. She has become "able", giving her help to those in the Puritan community; yet, with one moment alone with Dimmesdale and she lost everything that she strived for. This shows another struggle between light and darkness.Another symbol that leads to the struggle between light and darkness is the way Hester and Dimmesdale hide their love for each other. Hawthorne uses Hester and Dimmesdale to symbolize the "conflict between the desire to confess and the necessity of self-concealment" (Crews). The forest scenes and the scaffold scenes are examples of the struggle for Hester and Dimmesdale. When the two meet in the forest and the scaffold, it proves that they can never show their love to each other in public. Their sin has become so great that is has created a different world for them, forcing them to meet in the darkness of the shadows. The way Hester and Dimmesdale plan their escape is another example of the struggle between light and darkness. They meet in the darkness of the forest shows that their escape is bound to fail. There is a storm over them and shadows upon them, showing that they cannot get away from their sins. This is proved when Dimmesdale turn himself in at the scaffold, because no matter how hard he tries he can not get away for his sins.Hester Prynne is another symbol within the novel, she symbolizes the heroine of the novel. Hester stands up for herself and for what she believes. She is "a woman figh...
