Samuel Coale analyzes much of the changing imagery of the scarlet letter in his article, “The Scarlet Letter as Icon”, for American Transcendental Quarterly. In the first lines of his article, Coale writes:

After all is said and done, examined, explored, analyzed, and allegorized in The Scarlet Letter; the letter itself remains undaunted and intact at the end of the romance: “On a Field, Sable, The Letter A, Gules.” It seems to outlive all the controversy and uncertainty concerning it and remains unto itself a kind of icon: intact, red, “one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow…” (Coale 1

Later in the story, the general perception of Hester changes in the eyes of the townspeople. They no longer see her as the sinner, but as a savior and holy woman. So radical is the transformation that the letter transforms with her.

There glimmered the embroidered letter, with comfort in its unearthly ray. Elsewhere the token of sin, it was the taper of the sick-chamber. It had even thrown its gleam, in the sufferer’s hard extremity, across the verge of time. It had shown him where to set his foot, while the light of earth was fast becoming dim, and ere the light of futurity could reach him. (Hawthorne 131)

It is described with positive words like “fantastic”, “fertility”, and “gorgeous”. However, as elaborate as Hester made the scarlet letter, it is still referred to as a “token of shame” in the lines before. She made it an object of beauty to behold, but her first instinct was to conceal it. When she stepped out into the crowd, “it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token…” (Hawthorne 57) She hides the letter because it is indeed a token of shame that ultimately represents sin and ignominy. As beautiful as the letter may be, it still remains a punishment and reminder of violating the sacrament of marriage. The beauty of the letter is merely a distraction and veil for what lies beneath. In fact, Hester will call on the scarlet letter later in the chapter to remind herself of the reality of her sin and shame. When she daydreams about the life she had another time, “she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes! – these were her realities, – all else had vanished!” (Hawthorne 61) As Coale states, the letter remains intact as a symbol and reminder of darkness despite the bright and fantastic flourishes that Hester sews on.

The good acts of Hester bring comfort and relief to the sick and the needy. However, is there something more than just the physical comfort that Hester brings? There is some comfort to be found in the fact even though a person is tainted with sin, there exists a saint veiled from the public eye. If there is indeed Heaven in the future of Hester, then salvation is possible for those who have hidden sin. The letter is the reminder that the darkness and sin is there and is what keeps mortals from salvation.

Coale points out the fact that the letter stands out above everything else, but it still remains a shadowy and gloomy icon. Throughout the story, there is an atmosphere of inescapability that is associated with the scarlet letter. Coale asserts that the letter remains “undaunted and intact” even in the end when the sin is buried with Hester. As such, the original intent of the letter endures its many met

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