Symbols in The Scarlet Letter Symbolism plays an important role in many novels. Held with the distinction of implying important themes, symbols add depth to a story. Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter is set in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1640s. Embellished with hidden symbols and themes, the novel tells “a story of human frailty and pain” (Hawthorne 46). In addition to human flaws and sadness, the novel reveals inhumane punishments and torture by the government and citizens of Puritan society. All these topics are given a deeper meaning through symbols. These symbols help manifest the nuances of man versus nature. The rose bush, the prison, the scaffolding, and the stream represent complex and essential symbols in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne first introduces the reader to two symbols, the rose bush and the prison. According to Bloom, "the rose bush represents the spontaneous and unstoppable life of nature and instinct, while the prison door represents the harsh limitations that must be imposed on nature to maintain order in human societies" (13). Since the rose bush is located so close to the prison, one could interpret the coexistence as a sort of yin and yang. This also implies that where evil and corruption reside, purity and native morality will follow. Representing all things of good character, the rose bush seems to “symbolize a sweet moral flower . . . or ease the dark conclusion of a story of human frailty and pain” (Hawthorne 46). On the other hand, the prison is described as “the black flower of civil society” (46), revealed soon after the innocent rose bush. Hawthorne also describes the prison as "worn out," but the Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony only fifteen years ago, which implies a sense of irony. The fact that the prison appears so ancient derives directly from the incessant use it undergoes. These contrasting elements symbolize the struggle between nature and civilization and represent the conflict throughout the story. In other words, “These two symbols can be said to represent the two great impersonal forces that conflict in the novel” (Bloom 13). The gallows symbolizes the isolation of the condemned. Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, sinners, and Pearl, the product of their sin, find themselves at the top of the gallows often throughout the novel. Hawthorne informs the reader that the gallows "might have hinted at nothing less than the early execution of some known culprit".” (47).