All 3 Uses of
theme
in
The Scarlet Letter
- They were stern enough to look upon her death, had that been the sentence, without a murmur at its severity, but had none of the heartlessness of another social state, which would find only a theme for jest in an exhibition like the present.
Chpt 2theme = basic idea
- Now, however, her interview with the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, on the night of his vigil, had given her a new theme of reflection, and held up to her an object that appeared worthy of any exertion and sacrifice for its attainment.
Chpt 13
- Thus they went onward, not boldly, but step by step, into the themes that were brooding deepest in their hearts.
Chpt 17 *themes = basic ideas
Definition:
-
(theme as in: theme of the novel) a basic idea that underlies what is being said or done -- especially in a literary or artistic work