"The town was asleep, there was no peril of discovery." (113)
In the first half of the novle, Hester was secluded, and alone even in the presce of others. Now, Dimmesdale is secluded. He is a leader of the community. But in all of his interactions with his parishoners, he was not truly with them. He was alone in his mind. On the night he was on the scaffold, he was alone in every sence. Even when he screamed in pain, few people strerred. The only one that saved him from this lonley night was Hester. When she came up the lane Dimmesdale changed from depressed and homisidal to relived at the site of them. Talking to Hester and Pearl, he became present, and he could bear the harsh worls in which he built arround himself. Both Hester and Dimmsdale were alone without eachother. They cured each other of lonleyness.
I think the theme of alienation was one of the most important themes throughout the entire novel. The seclusion of the woods in which Hester lived helped her to think more and become an independent person separate from society. The town served as a symbol for the Puritan society in which they all live. The alienation served as a sense of freedom for Hester and eventually the other women in the novel as well.
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