THE SCARLET LETTER

THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE

• Nathaniel Hawthorne• the Pilgrims• the Puritans• Predestination• Literary Factors

– psychological

– thematic

– symbolic

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE:personal history

• Born July 4, 1804• only son of Captain

Nathaniel Hathorne• Educated at home• Exposed to

Shakespeare, Spenser, Bunyan at an early age

• Not an outstanding student

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE: personal history

• Descended from a Puritan judge who presided over the witch trials

• In order to distance himself from his ancestors he added the W to his name

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE:personal history

• Married Sophia Peabody1842

• MOBY DICK was dedicated to him by Herman Melville

• Died 1864• Pallbearers were

Longfellow, Emerson, Holmes and Lowell

MOBY DICKby Herman Melville

THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES

THE PILGRIMS

• Arrived on the Mayflower in 1620

• a Protestant group• They were separatists

from the Anglican Church

• working class• not well educated

THE PILGRIMS

THE PILGRIMS

THE PURITANS

• Massachusetts Bay Colony 1629

• They wanted to “purify” the Anglican Church

• also a Protestant group but more extreme in their beliefs and less tolerant

THE PURITANS

• Wealthy thinkers, writers and readers

• highly educated and socially superior

• influential in American politics, literature

• popular reading centered on the workings of God

PREDESTINATION

• Key religious concept to the Puritan faith

• Calvinism: – John Calvin, originator

PREDESTINATION

• God has decided, from birth, whether you are going to heaven or hell.

• Nothing can change this.

• It is God’s grace that saves you not your effort.

PREDESTINATION

• All men and women are born in sin and deserve damnation.

• Man is basically EVIL– original sinfulness

– original depravity

PREDESTINATION

• Theocratic society• Religious leaders are

political leaders• Absolute belief in the

Bible, literal (not figurative) interpretation

PREDESTINATION

• Preoccupation with GRACE

• Grace comes only from God

LITERARY FACTORS

• PSYCHOLOGICAL– Sigmund Freud’s

theories regarding consciousness

– Conscious vs. unconscious mind

Freud – The Conscious Mind

• Includes everything we are aware of.

• We can think and talk about this rationally.

• Includes memory– Not always part of consciousness but can be

easily retrieved at will.– Ordinary memory = preconscious

Freud – The Unconscious Mind

• Reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness

• Most are unpleasant or unacceptable– Pain, anxiety, conflict

• Continues to influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions even though we are unaware

LITERARY FACTORS

• PSYCHOLOGICAL– repression

• a defense mechanism

• forgetting protects the individual from consciously dealing with painful circumstances

• the memory has the potential to resurface at any time

REPRESSION!

PSYCHIATRIC ANALYSIS:literary and emotional

LITERARY FACTORS

• PSYCHOLOGICAL– EGO

• distinguishes between the internal mind and external reality

• functions in preconscious, conscious, and unconscious mind

LITERARY FACTORS

• PSYCHOLOGICAL– ID

• mental representation of biological drives and instincts

• characterized as the “dark” part of the human mind or consciousness

• in THE SCARLET LETTER the Id is symbolized by the forest

the ID

LITERARY FACTORS

• PSYCHOLOGICAL– SUPER EGO

• governs moral behavior

• it is the mental representation of society’s moral code

• seeks to limit behavior based on the DRIVES of the Id

• characterized by “light”

LITERARY FACTORS

• PSYCHOLOGICAL– DENIAL

• refusing to accept the realities of a situation

• works alongside repression

• a defense mechanism

LITERARY FACTORS

• THEMATIC– CRITICISM OF

PURITANISM• preoccupation with sin and

guilt• forgiveness is needed, if

the confession is sincere the individual must be taken back into society

• excessive punishment– leads to a stain on the

soul and excessive suffering

LITERARY FACTORS

• THEMATIC– “pride goeth before the

fall”

– namely the pride of intellect and achievement

– CHILLINGWORTH

– DIMMESDALE

– BELLINGHAM

LITERARY FACTORS

• THEMATIC– THE EVIL OF

ISOLATION• the consequences for

Hester’s sin were excessive

• humans are social beings

• to be isolated is against the love of God

LITERARY FACTORS

• THEMATIC– GUILT

• if hidden, leads to destruction

– remorse, bad conscience, hypocrisy

• it must be admitted openly for it to be a useful psychological tool

– Hester’s admission leads to her freedom