The Scarlet Letter

What does Hawthorne say the rose symbolizes?

Ch.1: The Prison-Door

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How about this,

He speculates that the rosebush might have sprung up from the footsteps of Ann Hutchinson - a woman persecuted, like Hester will be. He does directly tell us, however, in the final line of the chapter that the rose symbolizes a "sweet moral blossom" to "relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow." In other words, the narrator tells us that the rose will symbolize a lesson to be learned in the midst of this tragic tale.

Source(s)

http://www.enotes.com/scarlet-letter/q-and-a/what-2-possible-symbols-does-rose-have-for-reader-62219

The rose represents the blossoming of good from darkness.

Source(s)

The Scarlet Letter