Scarlet Letter (Noun)
Meaning
The letter A in red; Puritans required adulterers to wear it.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The Puritan community forced the adulteress to wear a scarlet letter as a symbol of shame and public humiliation.
- She was seen in town with the scarlet letter embroidered on her cloak, signifying her crime to everyone around her.
- The main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Scarlet Letter,' Hester Prynne, was made to wear a scarlet letter as punishment for her sin.
- The idea of the scarlet letter has become synonymous with the theme of guilt and redemption in American literature.
- In the Puritan village, an adulterer's fate was sealed the moment they were forced to don the scarlet letter.