Biblical allusions in The Scarlet Letter

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, biblical allusions are crucial to the story as a whole. For example, in the chapter entitled "The Marketplace", Hawthorne explains that a Papist (Roman Catholic) would view Hester Prynne--who was standing on a scaffold in front of the Salem townsmen at that time--"picturesque in her attire and mien", "an object to remind him of Divine Maternity" and also "of that sacred image of sinless motherhood." By referring …

…class among his fellow clergymen. The disciples at the Pentecost--the commemorative festival fifty days after Easter Sunday--were said to be fluent in "tongues as of fire," a peculiar style of speech, involving blurry, incomprehensible wording which supposedly influenced their spread of the word and founding of some of the earliest Christian churches. Hawthorne connects this with Dimmesdale's style of preaching by implying it to be just the same as the disciples: in "tongues of flame."