AThe Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne originally intended The Scarlet Letter to be a short story but expanded it at the suggestion of his publisher.

The Scarlet Letter

Original Cover

The Scarlet Letter

Upon finishing The Scarlet Letter in 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne read the manuscript to his wife, Sophia.

The Scarlet Letter

“It broke her heart,” Hawthorne wrote, “and sent her to bed with a grievous headache, which I look upon as a triumphant success.”

The Scarlet Letter is filled with characters who are meant to be the symbols of moral traits, rather than realistic, living figures. - Allegories

The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter displays Hawthorne lifelong preoccupation with these themes: •secrecy and guilt• the conflict between intellectual and moral pride•lingering effects of Puritanism.

The Scarlet Letter

Original title page

Hawthorne’s NameHawthorne’s given last name was Hathorne. He added the W because he did not want to be associated with his ancestors. He felt extremely guilty, a lifelong preoccupation.Judge Hathorne

The Novel

The Scarlet Letter

The year is 1642.

The place is Boston, a small Puritan settlement. Before the town jail, a group of somber people wait with stern expressions.

Plot

The Puritans are in the square awaiting Hester Prynne, a woman convicted of adultery.

The image Hawthorne gives us is that of a young woman taken in adultery, and standing on a scaffold in the midst of a hostile crowd.

This is Puritan Boston, where, ironically,

private wrongdoing

is

public knowledge.

Hawthorne opens The Scarlet Letter just outside the prison of what, in the early 1640s, was the village of Boston.

The Opening Scene

Ask yourself what you know about a novel that begins in a prison?

The Opening Scene

You probably suspect you are reading the story

Of a crime already committed

Of characters whose lives are already darkened by guilt and disgrace.

The Opening Scene

The Opening Scene

Notice the details that create imagery:

“The sad-colored garments” of the spectators; the prison-door itself, “Heavily timbered with and studded with iron spikes.”

The Opening Scene

• These details create a somber mood.

• They paint a cheerless picture.

• They hint at a society that places punishment far above forgiveness.

The Opening Scene

• One note of color relieves the gloom. A wild rose bush blossoms by the prison door.

• What do you think this might symbolize?

The Rose BushHOPE

The rose bush suggests a world beyond the narrow confines of the Puritan community

A world where beauty and vibrant color flourish

A place where crime finds tolerance and pity

Symbols

As you read, look for other allegories (symbols) Hawthorne uses.

Dimmsdale Sunshine

Pearl Darkness

Chillingworth The Scaffold

Letter A The Forest