The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter

• novel (notice title is italicized)
• written by Nathaniel Hawthorne (b. 1804)
• written about 1850
• set in Boston, Mass. about 1690

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Boston (setting of The Scarlet Letter)
Plymouth (where Mayflower landed in 1620/setting
for Bradfords memoir Of Plymouth Plantation)
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Setting The Scarlet Letter

• The setting of Hawthornes novel is critical to
  the plot of the novel.
• 1690s Boston was a Puritan village
• Like other Puritan settlements in New England,
  the local and colonial governments were
  theocracies.

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theocracy

• word comes from Greek
• theo God
• cratos rule
• a theocracy is a government where the civil laws
  are based (in whole or in part) on religious
  laws civil leaders in theocracies are probably
  also important religious leaders

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theocracy, cont.

• In Afghanistan before 2001, the Taliban
  controlled religious and civil laws. Besides
  having to wear burqas in public, women in
  Afghanistan were not allowed to attend school or
  drive cars.
• In Saudi Arabia, women cannot drive or vote.
  Because Islam forbids it, no place in Saudi
  Arabia sells alcohol or pork.

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Theocracy as Extremism

• Ironically, it is largely because of the
  Puritans who themselves established a
  theocratic government in the New World that we
  in America tend to view most theocratic
  governments as extremist.

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Puritanism

• Began in England in the mid-1500s
• A sect of Calvinists
• Calvinism named after Swiss theologian John
  Calvin
• Calvinism
• predetermination
• no religious authority BUT Scripture

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Puritans

• Puritans intended as a derogatory term
• Puritans usually referred to themselves as the
  Godly
• Puritans fell quickly out of favor in England,
  where the king was the head of the Church of
  England.
• They recognized neither the kings secular or
  religious authority, and so quickly became
  enemies of civil and religious leaders.

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The Puritan Role in Development of American
Character

• In 1600, the Puritans left England for Holland,
  which even in the 17th century was a very liberal
  society.
• It was too liberal for the Puritans, though, who
  disliked the governments permissiveness and
  tolerance of behaviors/attitudes they found
  unacceptable.

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The Puritan Role in Development of American
Character, cont.

• In 1620, the Puritans left Holland for the New
  World.
• Established Plymouth Plantation in the savage
  wilderness of New England.
• Retained those aspects of European society they
  liked created new laws, policies, etc. to
  replace the elements of society they did not
  like.

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The Puritan Role in Development of American
Character, cont.

• Because Scripture was central to religion and
  government, scholarship was a highly valued right
  (reserved, of course, to men only).
• The role of religious leaders was to present
  Scripture and guide other church members in its
  understanding and application.
• Puritan religious leaders were NEVER seen as
  intermediaries or intercessors.

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The Puritan Role in Development of American
Character, cont.

• Puritan leaders were highly trained scholars,
  whose education tended to translate into
  positions that were often authoritarian.
  http//xroads.virginia.edu/CAP/PURITAN/purhist.h
  tml
• There was a built-in hierarchism in this sense,
  but one which mostly reflected the age.
  http//xroads.virginia.edu/CAP/PURITAN/purhist.h
  tml
• Very Important Anybody (theoretically) could
  rise to the same level of authority.

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So

• All of which were discouraged in the Old World
  become the basis of American Rugged
  Individualism
• This is probably why most Americans disagree so
  strongly with theocracies

• The Puritan emphasis on
• self-reliance
• independence
• individual achievement
• individual responsibility
• personal accountability
• power through ability (education)

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Puritan Crime and Punishment

• Because Puritan Boston c. 1690 was still a
  theocratic society, crime against church (or God)
  was the equivalent of a crime against another
  person or against the State.
• Yes it was illegal to miss church on Sabbath
  days. It was also illegal to sleep during sermons
  that could run 3 or more hours long during each
  session (morning and afternoon) on a Sabbath.

http//www.materialreligion.org/objects/dec96obj.h
tml
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Puritan Crime and Punishment, cont.

• Virtually any offense could land you in the
  pillory, or stocks. The Puritans imported this
  punishment to New England from England.
• Entire purpose was public display and public
  humiliation.
• Stocks were built on a scaffold in the center of
  the village, where townspeople could mock the
  offender, and throw rotten vegetables or stones.
  Aside from the offenders hands being
  immobilized, his ears would frequently be nailed
  to the board behind his head.

The Stocks
http//etc.usf.edu/clipart/2100/2111/pillory_1_md.
gif
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Puritan Crime and Punishment, cont.

• After serving time in a jail and then on the
  pillory, a convicted criminal would often be
  required to wear some outward sign of his or her
  offense.
• In 1637, as punishment for writing an essay that
  criticized the archbishop, William Prynne (no
  relation to the central character in The Scarlet
  Letter) after being put in the stocks had the
  letters SL (for seditious libeler) branded
  onto his cheeks.

http//history.wisc.edu/sommerville/367/367-06.htm
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• The scarlet letter of the novels title refers
  to a scarlet letter A that the novels main
  character is made to wear on her clothing as
  punishment for her crime of adultery.

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The Custom House and The Scarlet Letter

• The introductory chapter to The Scarlet Letter is
  called The Custom House.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne tells of his time as a clerk
  in the Salem, Mass. Government Custom House.
• He claims to have found a letter written by
  Hester Prynne (the novels main character) and an
  embroidered scarlet A. The letter tells of
  Hesters experiences, which Hawthorne relates in
  the novel.
• The novel is NOT based in historical fact, but
  Hawthorne uses The Custom House to give his
  story credibility.
• Hawthornes family came from Boston. He was
  descendant of a judge in the Salem witch trials
  (named Hathorne). Hawthorne changed the spelling
  of his name to distance himself from his
  relatives unsavory reputation.
  http//www.hawthorneinsalem.org/LifeTimes/Biograp
  hicalInfo/Adultlife/MMD1114.html

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The Custom House

• Describes the interior/exterior of the Custom
  House
• Describes Hawthornes feelings about his native
  town of Salem
• Makes critical comments about the Whig party/
  reveals Hawthornes involvement as a Democrat
• Describes his early attempts to write Hesters
  story.

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The story

• Deals with the strange and mysterious
• Involves symbolic imagination
• Turns to the past for subject matter

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Focus

• The story is focused on the problem of evil and
  the nature of sin.
• It analyzes the human mind and heart through the
  simple concept of GUILT
• Hawthorne analyzes the effects of sin on the four
  main characters

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Themes

• Moral Law versus Civil Law
• Sin
• Nature of Evil
• Nature versus Society

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Moral Law versus Civil Law

• The sin of adultery, in the book, is a crime
  against the civil law, but not necessarily the
  moral law.
• She loves the man she has an affair with and
  therefore, in the eyes of nature is not a
  committing a crime.
• In the eyes of the church, and the law therefore,
  she is violating a civil law though.

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Sin

• Sin results in the book in the physical
  deterioration of the sinner.
• Each character commits sin and each character
  deals with sin differently.
• The act of not learning from their sin results in
  the downfall of the individual.

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Nature of Evil

• Asks the questions?
• Who is evil?
• Who represents evil?
• What is true evil?

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Nature

• Civilization versus the Wilderness
• Where are people more civilized?

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Symbol

• The Scarlet Letter
• Symbolizes sin, shame, and identity
• The color red
• Symbolizes beauty and untamed nature
• Pearl
• She symbolizes her mothers sin
• The Meteor
• Symbolizes the Puritan's ignorance of nature

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Hester Prynne

• Books protagonist
• Wears a scarlet A to symbolize her adultery
• Is married, but has an affair with the reverend.
• Hester will not reveal the name of her lover
• Hester is the embodiment of the top levels of
  morality

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Pearl

• Hesters illegitimate daughter by Dimmsdale
• Moody, mysterious, and has an ability to perceive
  things others do not perceive
• People believe her father is the devil

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Reverend Arthur Dimmsdale

• A young reverend
• Intelligent and emotional, Dimmsdale still hides
  his affair and lets Hester take the punishment
• Suffers his sin silently

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Roger Chillingworth

• Hesters true husband
• He disguises himself as a doctor so that no one
  in the colony knows he is alive except Hester
• He spends his life trying to find out who
  Hesters lover is so that he may punish the man