Use of Chiaroscuro in The Scarlet LetterNathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, uses the literary device of chiaroscuro to effectively develop his characters . Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804 into a prominent family. His father died while traveling when he was four years old. Those close to him recognized his talent and helped pay for his education at Bowdoin College. Hawthorne and his classmates became the most prominent figures in America during this era. He had many strong ties to important people at Bowdoin, such as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce. In 1828 his first novel, Fanshawe, was published anonymously at his own expense. In 1842, he became friends with Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Bronson Alcott, and married Sophia Peabody, an active member of the Transcendentalist movement. In 1846 he was appointed surveyor of the port of Salem where he worked for the next three years, unable to earn a living as a writer. He wrote The Scarlet Letter in 1850, describing the Puritans as sin-obsessed hypocrites. This romance was an immediate success, although it received much criticism for its daring subject matter. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses chiaroscuro effectively to develop the personalities of Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne uses chiaroscuro to show Hester Prynne as a woman whose sin has overtaken her and made her impure. An example is: “The environment of the mother through which the rays of his moral life were transmitted to the unborn child; and as white and light as they are originally, they...... middle of paper...... In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses chiaroscuro effectively to develop Hester's personalities Prynne, Pearl and Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne uses chiaroscuro to show the depth of Hester's guilt and the strength to endure her sin and Arthur's secret. Pearl is characterized as radiant through Hawthorne's vibrant descriptions of her beauty. He uses the sun to represent Pearl's purity. Hawthorne uses shadows to show how Arthur is a thin man compared to Hester, who also bears sin. Hawthorne shows Arthur deteriorating because of his guilt, while Hester pushes herself to live and try to overcome it, still bearing his weight and pain. In conclusion, chiaroscuro is used effectively by Hawthorne to develop the personality of his characters..