The Scarlet Letter

1
The Scarlet Letter

• By Nathaniel Hawthorne
• An Introduction

2
The Scarlet Letter Overview

• Why is this book so challenging?
• Understanding Hesters punishment for something
  that is common now
• Grasping the concepts of sin and morality

3
Nathaniel Hawthorne

• Born July 4, 1804 in Salem, Mass.
• Reclusive at times
• Served as a magazine editor
• Worked in the Salem Custom House
• Lived at Brook Farm
• Wrote Twice-Told Tales, The House of Seven
  Gables, The Scarlet Letter, etc.

4
More on Hawthorne

• Married Sophia Peabody and fathered Una (who
  became the model for Pearl)
• Served as the United States Consul to Liverpool
• Died in 1864
• Buried in Concord, Massachusetts
• His great-great-great-great grandfather, John
  Hathorne, was judge at Salem witch trials

5
Why do we read The Scarlet Letter?

• It is a classic piece of American literature, the
  first truly American novel
• You hear about it today in movies or on TV
• The themes are timeless - people are still
  concerned with justice, forgiveness, revenge,
  hypocrisy, and love
• The novel shows life in a Puritan society
• Sensational Elements the mysterious stranger,
  the wild, illegitimate child, the mother who
  refuses to name the father, a betrayed husband, a
  well-respected man who hides a dark secret, hints
  of witchcraft, mental and physical torture, and
  redemption

6
Setting

• The novel is set in the mid 1600s in Boston,
  Massachusetts.
• The plot takes place over a seven year period.
• The plot involves the love triangle of
  wife-lover-husband.
• The major theme of the novel is developed in the
  context of good vs. evil.
• The main characters live in Puritan New England.

7
Who Were the Puritans?

• Puritans were the English Protestants (non
  Catholics) who in the 16th and 17th centuries
  believed in strict religious discipline along
  with simplification of the ceremonies and creeds
  of the Church of England. They believed in
  freedom of religion and getting away from the
  money and corruption of the English church. They
  escaped to Holland and then to New England. They
  were the bulk of the early population of New
  England.

8
What Did Puritans Believe?

• Cleanse themselves through grace (no envy, lust,
  etc., just love for God)
• Plainness Good (worship in plain, wooden
  buildings - not stained glass cathedrals)
• Divine Mission (new world was appointed by God,
  city on a hill) to be an example of good

9
Nathaniel Hawthornes Writing Style

• Diction - word choice is different from today
• Difficulties
• Vocabulary
• Length/Complexity of sentence
• Arrangement of words
• Length of paragraphs

10
Main Characters

• Hester Prynne- wearer of the scarlet letter
• Pearl- child of Hester living symbol of Hesters
  sin
• Roger Chillingworth- learned scholar doctor
• Arthur Dimmesdale- admired young minister
• Governor Bellingham- governor and magistrate of
  Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Rev. John Wilson- senior minister of colony
• Mistress Hibbins- Gov. Bellinghams sister

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Major Themes

• Sin makes the sinner be lonely and alone
• Sin teaches the sinner with pain
• Puritan society is mainly hypocritical they say
  one thing but do another
• Guilt can destroy
• Sin hurts innocents

12
Point of View

• Third-Person OmniscientHawthorne reveals the
  inner and outer workings of the characters and
  provides social criticism, history, and
  psychology.

13
Major Symbol

• The scarlet letter itself is the central symbol.
  It changes meaning for the characters in the
  novel as Hesters character changes. The A
  becomes a pathway to redemption for some
  characters as well. Watch the many ways
  Hawthorne uses the scarlet A as a symbol

14
Quick Facts

• Author Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Written late 1840s in Salem and Concord,
  Massachusetts
• Setting mid 1600s in Boston, Massachusetts
• Type of work novel
• Tone thoughtful, bitter, straightforward, ironic
• Protagonist Hester Prynne
• Antagonist the community