All 3 Uses of
essence
in
The Scarlet Letter
- There can be no outrage, methinks, against our common nature—whatever be the delinquencies of the individual—no outrage more flagrant than to forbid the culprit to hide his face for shame; as it was the essence of this punishment to do.†
Chpt 2 *
- It was his genuine impulse to adore the truth, and to reckon all things shadow-like, and utterly devoid of weight or value, that had not its divine essence as the life within their life.†
Chpt 11
- Finally, all other difficulties being obviated, woman cannot take advantage of these preliminary reforms until she herself shall have undergone a still mightier change, in which, perhaps, the ethereal essence, wherein she has her truest life, will be found to have evaporated.†
Chpt 13
Definition:
-
(essence) the defining or most important quality of something
or:
a extract that concentrates important qualities of something such as smell or taste