16
THE SCARLET LETTER
Introduction & Historical background
Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864)
born in in Salem, Massachusetts U.S to Nathaniel Hathorne Sr. who was a sea captain.
attended Bowdoin College.
A successful writer; his short stories which were collected in Twice-Told Tales (1837).
Wrote Scarlet letter as a short story firstly, later on publisher’s advise converted itinto a Novel
The Scarlet letter(1850)
romantic work of fiction in a historical setting.
Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts during the years 1642 to 1649.
tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity.
Hawthorne explores themes of sin, guilt & legalism.
Historical Background & Setting
The core of the story line revolves around a movement known as the Puritan.
Puritan movement began when King Henry VIII declared England's independence from the Church of Rome and he appointed himself head of the new Church of England because he wanted to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn for a male heir for Tudor Dynasty of English monarchy . He formed Church of England or Anglo church.
Historical background & setting
Firstly there was little difference between the Anglo Church and the Roman Catholic but later with the spread of Protestant reformers the church began to change.
People thought the church of England retained too many of the superstitious practices of the Roman Catholic Church. They wanted simpler truths and less structured forms of worship like the earlier Christians, because they wanted to purify the Church of England,
they got the name of Puritans.
Historical background & setting
John Geree describes the puritans as "one, that honored God above all, and under God gave every one his due"!.
Puritans Believes that :
1. Humans exists for the Glory of God.
2. The Bible is the sole expression of God’s will.
3. The elect or saints can not take salvation for granted.
4. Each individual is depraved because of original sin.
5. The good is accomplished through only through continual hard work & self-discipline: the puritan work ethic.
Historical background & setting
The first puritans who came to Massachusetts (1620) were pilgrims, decided that church of England is too corrupt to be saved; so, they wanted to be separate from the church and start all over again.
Puritan made a lasting impact on American attitude:
1. hard work
2. Frugality
3. Self-improvement
4. Self reliancestill regarded as American virtues.
Puritan Writers
Functions
1. To transform a mysterious God.
2. To make him more relevant to universe.
3. To glorify God
Style
1. Protestants- against ornateness; reverence for the Bible.
2. Purposivness (functions).
3. Reflects the character & scope of the reading public, which was literate &well grounded in religion
Historical context of the novel
Hawthorne chose Boston 1640s as the setting for the text.
Two inspirations for novel:1. Salem witch trials
&2. Hester Craford
Hester Craford: who was sentenced for fornicating with John Wedge. Her punishment, a public whipping, was postponed until six weeks, after she gave birth to illegitimate child.
Historical context of the novel
Salem witch trialsThe Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women. Later it was proved and admitted that those people were not involved in witchcraft
Hawthorne’s guilt
Hawthorne’s ancestor John Hathorne magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Salem, Massachusetts. one of the leading judges in the Salem witch trials.
This was a guilt for Hawthorne;
he changed his name from Hathorne to Hawthorne, before Bowdoin College.
Guilt was one of major themes for
Hawthorne’s literary work.
Dimmesdale- only Puritan Character
One of the four major characters in this novel, which investigates the nature of evil and sin and is a criticism of Puritan rigidity and intolerance, Dimmesdale is the
only Puritan.
In Puritan terms, Dimmesdale's predicament is that he is unsure of his soul's status: He is exemplary in performing his duties as a Puritan minister, an
indicator that he is one of the elect; however, he knows he has sinned and considers himself a
hypocrite, a sign he is not chosen.
He confessed his sins publically indicates the purity of his sins.
The Scarlet letter criticized puritans on it’s extreme legalism and
how Hester chooses not to conform to their rules and beliefs.
Villagers rejected her, she spent her life mostly in solitude, and wouldn't go to church.
As a result, she retreats into her own mind and her own thinking.
Criticism on church
She tells Dimmesdale that their sin has been paid for by their daily
penance and that their sin won't keep them from getting to heaven,
however, the Puritans believed that such a sin surely condemns.
Criticism on church
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