13 Doors, No. 1: The Scarlet Letter

13 is a number of change and transformation. A key. One that can reveal messages to you if you look in the right places. In honor of this guiding key, we will post a series of messages on the 13th of each month related to this number.

FREED FROM SHAME

For this inaugural post on Friday the 13th, we call upon Chapter 13 in the novel The Scarlet Letter. In this chapter, Hester Prynne has survived the ordeal of shame placed on her and transformed others’ view of the eponymous letter she wears. It becomes a symbol of steadfastness, change, and hope.

The message this key unlocks for us:

The vermillion winds of change. The towering A becomes a symbol of hope—bringing forth a pearl.

We free ourselves from shame and cleanse ourselves by the power that lies within. We seek liberated love, the narrow path to freedom.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. 1850. Chapter 13: "Another View of Hester." In The Scarlet Letter. Retrieved from: https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/127/the-scarlet-letter/2278/chapter-13-another-view-of-hester/.