We all encounter irony at times in our lives; because of this frequent presence, it subsequently appears in our literature. Irony allows authors to give situations and statements more emotional depth and capture audiences with more psychologically complex ideas. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses irony in order to enrich his book, The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, Hawthorne uses ironic situations in order to show that no one truly has control over his or her world, and that another force may be at work in our lives. Throughout the novel, he creates many cases in which ironic situations not only grab the reader, but teach the characters and reader more about how life works. One of the methods Hawthorne uses to prove the lack of control in our world …show more content…
This results in situations that appear one way to the characters being viewed differently by the reader, who has a different understanding of the events. For instance, the townspeople gossip about Hester’s scandal before her judgement: “‘People say,’ said another, ‘that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation.’” (45) Soon, it is revealed that Dimmesdale fathered Pearl, and his so-called “grievous” reaction to Hester’s judgement becomes far more ironic than initially suspected. We as readers view this scene and ones like it from the view of the gods. We have an understanding of events unparalleled by those in the story, giving us not only knowledge superior to the characters but a consciousness of the force driving the whole scenario: fate. Another situation demonstrating this occurs when the room that Dimmesdale lives in is described: “[The tapestry displayed] the Scriptural story of David and Bathsheba, and Nathan the Prophet, in colors still unfaded, but which made the fair woman of the scene almost as grimly picturesque as the woe-denouncing seer” (112). Here, the bible story of David and Bathsheba is ironically utilized. David sees Bathsheba, the wife of one of his friends, bathing. Lust brings him to sleep with her, and he later faces judgement by Nathan the Prophet. This allusion makes Dimmesdale living there all the more ironic; not only internally suffering from his sins, external reminders of them torment him in everyday life. While this situation was not dictated by any character in the book, the reader appreciates the irony. Like Hester’s judgement, this occurrence may not seem ironic to the characters, but causes us as readers to understand the effect that fate has