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About the Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

About the Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne. 1804-1864 Born in Salem, Massachusetts Great-great-grandson of a judge in the Salem witchcraft trials (1692) 20 “witches” executed Often dealt with themes of sin and guilt Believed Puritanism undermined morality rather than strengthening it.

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About the Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

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  1. About the Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne • 1804-1864 • Born in Salem, Massachusetts • Great-great-grandson of a judge in the Salem witchcraft trials (1692) • 20 “witches” executed • Often dealt with themes of sin and guilt • Believed Puritanism undermined morality rather than strengthening it

  2. About the Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne • Wrote during the late Romantic Period (mid-1800s) • Style: complex syntax, elevated diction • Valued imagination over reason • Nature as source of inspiration and comfort (city = corrupt) • Reliance on intuition • Utopian projects (Brook Farm experiment) • “Dark Romantics” (Hawthorne included) focused on existence of evil and suffering in human life • Concerned with “truths of the human heart” rather than external truth

  3. Context • Published in 1850 • Set in Boston in the 1650s • Considered risqué at the time because of its subject matter: adultery • First internationally respected American novel • First truly symbolic American novel • “The Custom House” • Added introduction • Describes Hawthorne’s discovery of a ragged scarlet letter “A”

  4. Crime and Punishment in Puritan America • The Laws and Liberties of Massachusetts (1648) • A revision of a 1641 code written by a Puritan minister • Separation of church and state? Nope. • For the Puritans, all sin was a crime. • Sin = an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law • Punishable behaviors: religious heresy, fornication, adultery, gossiping, not attending church . . . and much more.

  5. Crime and Punishment in Puritan America • Punishment was usually public • Scaffold: a platform on which a criminal is executed (as by hanging or beheading) • Pillory: a device used for publicly punishing offenders consisting of a wooden frame with holes in which the head and hands can be locked Q: Are shame and embarrassment effective deterrents? • Definitions from Merriam-Webster.com

  6. Chapter 1 • Setting established (Boston 1650s) • Irony: Utopia / cemeteries & prisons • #1—First portrayal of Puritans? (1) • “sad-colored garments” “gray hats” • Tone? • #2—Symbolism of rosebush? (2) • Nature’s sympathy and comfort (for the criminal) • “moral blossom” amidst a tale of suffering (for the reader) • Connects Hester with “sainted” Ann Hutchinson

  7. Chapter 2 • “Grim rigidity” of crowd outside prison • New England women (see M.C. passage) #3: What is Hester’s demeanor as she emerges from her prison cell? (6)

  8. Chapter 2 • Irony of the A (6) • Ascends scaffold • Allusion to Virgin Mary and baby Jesus • Hester as contrast to “sacred image of sinless motherhood” • Child tainted by mother’s sin Raphael Sassoferrato Michelangelo

  9. Chapter 2 • Crowd at the scaffold • “awe” “stern” “sombre and grave” • Lack of laughter and ridicule makes Hester uncomfortable • Perspective on scaffold • Flashbacks: village in England, family, husband, herself • Description of husband? (12)

  10. Chapter 2 #4: Is there a significance to Hester’s viewing the crowd from atop the scaffold?

  11. Chapter 3 • If you found out your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife-dreamy-significant-other cheated on you, would you be more upset with that person OR the person he/she was cheating with? Why?

  12. Chapter 3: The Recognition • Hester recognizes husband (13) • Standing with Indian • “clad in a strange disarray of civilised and savage costume” • “Slight deformity” visible • Hester clutches baby (cries out) • Better than private meeting

  13. Chapter 3 • Husband recognizes Hester (14) • Read reaction (p. 14)—What “powerful emotion” do you suspect? • Interview with townsman • Difficulty at sea, captivity with Indians • Irony: “The learned man . . . should come himself, to look into this mystery” (15) • “But he will be known!—he will be known!—he will be known!” (16)

  14. Chapter 3 • Officials address Hester from meeting house balcony • Governor Bellingham (17)—elderly, embroidered cloak • Rev. John Wilson (17)—eldest clergyman, scholarly, ashamed of his kindness • Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale (19) • How is Dimmesdale first characterized?

  15. Chapter 3 • Exhortation to reveal father • Dimmesdale’s speech (19-20) • Arguments used? • Wilson’s offer to remove letter (21) • Hester’s response and what it reveals about her character (22)

  16. Chapter 3 • Gothic influence (see handout) • Examples • “A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them . . .” (14) • “seemed to derive its scarlet hue from the flames of the infernal pit” (21) • “the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passageway of the interior” (22)

  17. Chapter 4 • #5—Describe Roger Chillingworth in the scene in which he visits Hester in jail. http://www.economist.com/node/18226821?story_id=18226821

  18. Chapter 4 • Hester in a “state of nervous excitement,” child “writh[ing] in convulsions of pain” (23) • Visit from “physician Roger Chillingworth” • Medicinal herbs and roots (Indian influence) • Mentions past studies in alchemy (24) • Search to turn metals into gold • Search for “elixir of life” • Allusions to Greek mythology—Lethe (river of forgetfulness), Nepenthe (drug of forgetfulness) • Secular (worldly) knowledge base!! • Offers “draught” (drink)—sedative

  19. Chapter 4 • Doesn’t seek vengeance on Hester • “We have wronged each other” (27) • Vows to find father (28-29) • Repeated alchemy reference (playing God) • “I shall read it on his heart.” • #6—Why does Chillingworth ask Hester to keep his identity a secret? (29) • Association with “Black Man” / threat of a “ruined soul" (29)

  20. Chapter 5 • #7—Why does Hester remain in Boston? • Bound by her sin and “ignominy” (shame) (32) • Emotionally and spiritually connected to her lover (33) • Need to purge her sin through her shame (33) • Location of new home? • #8—How does Hester support herself and her daughter?

  21. Chapter 5 • Hester’s needle-work • Irony of her talent? • Hypocrisy—extravagance forbidden by law (35) • Worn by governor, military men, minister, babies • Only item she never embroidered? • Gifts and service to charity (36) • #9—How is Hester treated by the townspeople? • Sympathetic throb of the A (39)

  22. Chapter 6: “Pearl” • Origin of her name (41) • Allusion to biblical parable • Treasure purchased at a great price (41)—What “price”? • Personality • “infinite variety” “mutability” (changeability) “flightiness” “caprice” (impulsiveness) (42-44) • “The child could not be made amenable [agreeable] to rules” (42) • Product of her mother’s passion (43)*

  23. Chapter 6: “Pearl” • Is she human? (44) • “airy sprite” “little elf” “imp of evil” (44-45) • Town’s conclusion— “demon offspring” (50) • Shunned by Puritan children • Creates playmates from nature • “She never created a friend.” (47)

  24. Chapters 6-7 • Pearl’s association with the A • First object she notices on her mother (48) • Throws flower at A (49) • Embodiment of the A (52-53) Q: What do Pearl and the scarlet letter have in common?

  25. Chapter 7: “The Governor’s Hall” • Twofold purpose of the visit (51) • Deliver gloves • Protect right to keep Pearl • Symbolism of the sunshine? (54)* • Symbolism of the reflection in armor? (56-57)*

  26. Opening Activity: Chapters 8-9 • Referencing the page numbers provided, list words and phrases that indicate how each character has changed since the novel’s opening: • Dimmesdale (64, 71) • Chillingworth (63, 78-79)

  27. Chapter 8: “The Elf-Child and the Minister” • Characters gathered? • Pearl as exotic bird (60) • Hester’s arguments to keep Pearl • Can teach Pearl what she learned from the letter (61)* • Given by God as a blessing and punishment (“retribution”) (63) • Nothing else to live for (64) • Failed catechism / Hester panics

  28. Chapter 8: “The Elf-Child and the Minister” • Dimmesdale’s supporting arguments (64-65) • Mother’s instinct and sacred mother/daughter bond • Given by God as a blessing and punishment • Preserves Hester from further sin • Pearl’s tender gesture and reciprocation (66)* • Invitation to forest from Mistress Hibbins (67) • Ann Hibbins executed for witchcraft in 1656 “You speak, my friend, with a strange earnestness,” said old Roger Chillingworth, smiling at him.

  29. Chapter 9: “The Leech” • Leech: archaic term for “physician” . . . also a blood-sucking parasite! • Chillingworth as “doctor” • Reliance on native medicines and primitive equipment • Provides “providential” help to Dimmesdale (irony of town’s perception) (72) • Suspects mental/emotional root (75)*

  30. True or False? • Mental, emotional, and/or spiritual problems can cause physical sickness.

  31. Symptoms of major depressive disorder from Web MD: http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/major-depression

  32. Chapter 9: “The Leech” • One Happy Family: Chillingworth & Dimmesdale as roommates • Live with widow • Next to cemetery • Dimmesdale’s apartment: tapestry of David and Bathsheba • Chillingworth: study and laboratory

  33. Chapters 8-9: Transformations • Dimmesdale (64, 71) • Careworn, emaciated, pained eyes, nervous gesture (hand over heart) • Chillingworth (63, 78-79) • Uglier, darker complexion, more misshapen • Evil in his face, laboratory fed by flames of hell, association with Satan

  34. Chapter 10: “The Leech and His Patient” • Chillingworth probes Dimmesdale • Similes: like a miner, sexton (gravedigger), and thief (81-82)—effect? • Symbolism of dark weed growing from grave? (83) • Dimmesdale’s excuses for silence • Chillingworth’s accusations? (84-85)*

  35. Chapter 10: “The Leech and His Patient” • Pearl connects Dimmesdale with A (burrs) • Pearl labels Chillingworth “Black Man”—child’s instinct (86) • Chillingworth urges Dimmesdale to confess spiritual problem (88) • The Discovery (89-90)

  36. Chapter 11: “The Interior of a Heart” • Chillingworth as tormentor (91-92)* • Irony of Dimmesdale’s popularity (93-94)* • Private punishment (96)* • Scourge • Fasting • Nighttime vigils • Cliffhanger ending—where is he going? (97) Q: Do you sympathize with Dimmesdale?

  37. Chapter 12: “The Minister’s Vigil” • Dimmesdale’s twin “sisters”: Remorse vs. Cowardice (100) • Signs of lunacy on scaffold • “Shrieked aloud” (100) • Imagined conversation with Rev. Wilson • Vision of townspeople flocking toward scaffold • Pearl’s question and Dimmesdale’s response—What is she really asking? (104-105) “The three formed an electric chain.”

  38. Chapter 12: “The Minister’s Vigil” • Gothic elements of scaffold scene • Vision of Puritan townspeople—disheveled appearances (103) • Red “A” flashes across sky with “dull red light” (107) (Interpretations?) • Chillingworth’s evil expression lit up by meteor (107) • Q: What is the significance of Dimmesdale standing on the scaffold in this chapter?

  39. Chapter 13: “Another View of Hester” • Hester’s transformation • Changed reputation in the town (A = Able) (113) • Suppressed femininity and foreshadowing of “magic touch” to restore it (115) • Free thinking / connection with Ann Hutchinson (116) • Reflection on futility of womanhood (117) Q: Having seen what has become of Dimmesdale, what has Hester resolved to do?

  40. Chapter 13: “Another View of Hester” “The scarlet letter had not done its office.” What does this mean?

  41. Chapter 14: “Hester and the Physician” • Town considers removing letter (122) • Chillingworth as devil (122-123) • Self-recognition (124-125)* • Hester vows to reveal identity • Chillingworth refuses to let up or forgive • “He has but increased the debt!” (125) • Claims powerlessness at hands of “black flower” of fate (127)

  42. Chapter 15: “Hester and Pearl” • Hester’s hatred and Chillingworth as perpetrator of “foulest offense” (130) • Pearl’s identification with nature • Sorrow at striking sea birds “as wild as herself” (131) • Pearl’s fascination with the A (132-135) • Fashions one for herself • Curiosity: “What does the letter mean?” • Instinct: “It is for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart!” • Hester’s lie (134) Q: Why does Hester lie to Pearl about the meaning of the A?

  43. Chapter 16: “A Forest Walk” • Reasons for seeking Dimmesdale in forest? (137) • Sun embraces Pearl, hides from Hester—symbolism? (138-139) • Comparison of Pearl and brook (141) • Mysterious source and shadowed gloom • Foreshadowing of sorrow to “humanize” (139, 141) • Pearl and the Black Man (140-143) • Curiosity: Has Hester met him? • Instinct: Left mark on Dimmesdale

  44. Q: What is the effect and/or author’s purpose in having Pearl ask so many nagging questions in chapters 15-16?

  45. Chapter 17: “The Pastor and his Parishioner”OR, “The Lovers-Rendezvous-in-Forest Scene” • Opening imagery of shadow and gloom (145-146) • Dimmesdale’s reaction to Hester’s revelation? • Questioning the nature of sin (150) • “He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of the human heart.” • “What we did had a consecration of its own.” • Plan to escape Sanctity: holiness, sacredness Consecration: dedication to a holy purpose

  46. Chapter 17 Q: Does The Scarlet Letter as a whole (so far) seem to support Hester’s claim that her affair with Dimmesdale was “consecrated”? What is the narrator’s attitude toward their relationship?

  47. Chapter 18: “A Flood of Sunshine” • Comparison of Hester and Dimmesdale’s preparedness for escape (155-156) • Hester removes the letter—symbolism? (157) • Removal of cap and restored femininity (158) • Flood of sunshine—symbolism? (158) • Pearl’s identification with nature (159-160) • Wolf “offered his savage head to be patted by her hand” • Adorns herself with flowers • “Nymph” “dryad”

  48. Chapter 19: “The Child at the Brookside” • Brook as “boundary between two worlds” • Pearl’s reaction to seeing Hester without the A? • Pinning the A back on = return of shadow and gloom, lost femininity • Pearl’s questions and response to Dimmesdale? Q: Chapters 16-19 take place in the forest. What role does the forest—and Nature as a whole—play in these chapters? What does the forest symbolize and/or do for the characters?

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