Curtains
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CURTAINS AND TAPESTRY
PIERCE BLANKINSHIP AND EMILY CHANG
“The shadow of the curtain fell on Hester Prynne, and partially concealed her.” (75)
The curtain’s shadow represents her sin. The curtain itself is used as a barrier to separate light and darkness and keep outsiders from looking in. The curtain is not on Hester, so her sin is not being hidden. The shadow is on her, however, which is a darkness that others can clearly see. The symbolism of this curtain’s shadow is that the curtain fails to do its job, thus leading to others being able to see the darkness that she possesses.
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“The young minister, on ceasing to speak, had withdrawn a few steps from the group, and stood with his face partially concealed in the heavy folds of the window curtain; while the shadow of his figure, which the sunlight cast upon the floor, was tremulous with the vehemence of his appeal.” (79)
Arthur Dimmesdale ceases to reveal the sin of his heart which haunts and walks with Hester everywhere she goes. A curtain is used to block the view of a person outside trying to look inside. When Arthur’s face is being concealed, it symbolizes the sin inside which is unable to be seen by the others. The curtain is his reputation which separates his deeds as a minister and his sin of adultery.
"The walls were hung round with tapestry...representing the scriptural story of David and Bathsheba, and Nathan the Prophet..." (86)
David and Bathsheba are two characters from the Bible that committed the same sin as Hester and Arthur. The tapestry of the room replicates that from the story of David and Bathsheba. David committed his adultery and proceeded to kill Bathsheba’s husband. Although Arthur did not go to this extent, his sin led to Chillingworth dying spiritually and dedicating his life to revenge on Arthur.
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The curtains are used by Hester and Dimmesdale as a means of concealing their sins from the world. The curtain, for Hester, shows how she "rebels inwardly but maintains a show of outward conformity" (Ginsberg). For Dimmesdale, the curtains hides his true sin and true self. The curtains are used by Dimmesdale to maintain his reputation and the hide the fact that he is both a "'sinner' and a 'saint'" (qtd. by Ginsberg in CE 1:144).
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The story of David and Bathsheba coincide with Hester and Dimmesdale because both committed adultery. While Chillingworth is like Uriah as he is killed (spiritually, not literally), he also plays the role of Nathan. In the book, Chillingworth "reappears as the doomsayers...to implement the punishment that nature herself has ordained" (Gable). Chillingworth's role, therefore, is to also "destroy falseness" (Gable).
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Everybody in the story judged Hester, but they had sins of their own that they covered up. Their curtains hid what's inside of their hearts from those around them. Everybody in the story had a curtain that separated the dark from the light, and kept their sin in the dark.
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