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The Scarlet Letter: America's First Psychological Novel

Dive into Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterpiece, "The Scarlet Letter," featuring Hester Prynne's beauty, Roger Chillingworth's revenge, and Arthur Dimmesdale's guilt. Discover how Hester overcomes adversity and changes the symbolism of the scarlet letter, "A." Explore the themes of passion versus principle and the difference between romance and a novel in this true psychological novel set in a bleak Puritan society.

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The Scarlet Letter: America's First Psychological Novel

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  1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Photo of Old State House, 1870, from the Bostonian Society

  2. What were the two purposes of Hawthorne’s essay “The Custom-House”? • Depict his enemies as idiots • Be the prologue for The Scarlet Letter

  3. The Scarlet Letter is America’s first… • True psychological novel

  4. Describe Hester Prynne. • Beautiful • Loving • Loyal to love • True to herself

  5. Describe Roger Chillingworth. • Hester’s husband • Sends her ahead to the New World • Motivated by revenge • Using a fake name

  6. Describe Arthur Dimmesdale. • Hester’s lover • Loving • Guilt-ridden • Eventually finds courage to stand up for love

  7. Describe Pearl. • Hester & Dimmesdale’s daughter • Name shows her as symbol of overcoming adversity

  8. What is Hester’s crime? • adultery

  9. What is Hester’s punishment (three parts)? • Jail time • Stand on scaffold for a day • Wear scarlet (red) “A” on chest for ever

  10. Who advocated mercy for Hester? • Dimmesdale

  11. Why hasn’t Hester seen her husband in a long time? • Two years ago, he sent her alone to the new world

  12. Explain the symbol of the rosebush outside the prison. • The beautiful rosebush outside the ugly prison, a place of pain, symbolizes Hester who is a bit of goodness and beauty in this bleak Puritan society.

  13. How do people treat Hester after her release from prison? • They won’t talk to her • They still buy her beautiful embroidered items. Photo by Aimee Ray

  14. What does Chillingworth want? • To find out the name of Hester’s lover • To get revenge on Hester’s lover

  15. What do Hester and Dimmesdale plan to do? How does Chillingworth try to ruin their plans? • They are going to take a boat to England. • Chillingworth books passage on the same boat.

  16. What is Dimmesdale’s triumph? • He delivers the greatest sermon of his life • He reveals that he was Hester’s lover • He shows his self-injury to the crowd

  17. What happens to Chillingworth after the big revelation? • He dies within the year

  18. How does Hester redeem herself and change the symbolism of the scarlet “A” she has worn? • She nurses the sick and helps the needy • She is always accepting of everyone • The “A” comes to be a symbol of mercy

  19. Explain the difference between sins of passion and sins of principle. • A sin of passion comes from strong feelings, like love • A sin of principle is a coldly calculated violation of someone else’s soul

  20. What is a “romance” and how is it different from a novel? • A romance is a prose narrative that deals with its subjects and characters in a symbolic, imaginative and non-realistic way • A novel is realistic; a romance is not

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