Lucy Culleton’s Reviews > The Scarlett Letter > Status Update

In this portion of the Scarlet Letter, a prison is being described and I think it has a deeper meaning. Nathaniel Hawthorne says that there is a "...rose-bush... that has been kept alive in history" (Hawthorne 46). The rest of the prison is dark and not taken care of. I think this single rose bush contrasting with the gloomy prison symbolizes the small amount of human kindness given to those receiving punishment.