In this passage, Melissa Pennell shows how Hawthorne makes use of names in
The Scarlet Letter to indicate the moral status of his characters.
"The names of the characters have symbolic qualities as well. Hester
recalls Hestia, the Greek goddess of the hearth and home, and Esther of the
Old Testament, a woman who intercedes for her people and is often considered
and image of inner strength coupled with beauty. Dimmesdale's given name Arthur
is associated with the legends of Camelot, a kingdom ultimately compromised
by adultery. His surname, Dimmesdale, suggests a valley of darkness, a clue
to his inner state. Because he has chosen the name by which he will be identified
in the community, Roger Chillingworth's is also revealing of his nature. The
reader discovers he is a cold man, who behaves like a rogue in his secretive
manipulations of Dimmesdale. Hester consciously gives Pearl a name that has
symbolic value. Even Master Brackett, the jailer, supposedly a historical
personage, has a name that reflects his occupational role as one who encloses
others" (83).
