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The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathanial Hawthorne. Lived 1804-1864 Descendent of Puritans Published 1850 Psychological Novel Religious Commentary Study in the “Necessity of Sin”. The Setting. Boston , 1640s “City on a Hill” Puritans could glorify God

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The Scarlet Letter

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  1. The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

  2. Nathanial Hawthorne • Lived 1804-1864 • Descendent of Puritans • Published 1850 • Psychological Novel • Religious Commentary • Study in the “Necessity of Sin”

  3. The Setting • Boston, 1640s • “City on a Hill” • Puritans could glorify God • Hard work and sacrifice would be rewarded • Intolerant • Theocracy • Sin strictly punished • Public humiliation

  4. The Plot • Hester Prynne gives birth to an illegitimate child • Labeled as an “adultress” • Must face her unforgiving husband • She refuses to reveal the father of her baby • The remainder is a psychological thriller

  5. Characters • Narrator: never a presence in the novel. He is writing 200 years AFTER the events in the novel take place. • Arthur Dimmesdale - the young and unmarried minister. He has a secret. • Hester Prynne - the Protagonist. Wife of Roger Chillingworth. Ostracized from society for her sin.  

  6. Characters • Pearl – Living symbol of the scarlet letter.  Uninhibited personality.

  7. Characters • Roger Chillingworth • Scholarly physician • Old and deformed • Lives with Dimmesdale • Allows jealousy to rule his life, becomes evil

  8. Themes • Unconfessed Sin can destroy; confessed sin can lead to strength and bravery • Guilt can lead to mental and physical decline • Evil • Loneliness • Judgement • Discovering Identity

  9. Conflict • Individual vs. Society • How to be an individual in a rigid society • How to maintain divergent personal ideas, values • Man vs. himself

  10. Mood • Somber • Dark, depressing • Pearl is lightness

  11. The Forest • Puritans feared the forest • Devil’s domain • Lawless, dangerous • Indians • Privacy • Puritan society was full of “busy bodies”

  12. Opposites • Night vs. Day • Good vs. Evil • Punishment vs. Forgiveness • Civilization vs. Wilderness • Open sin vs. Hidden sin

  13. Allegories • The names of the characters create their identity • Dimmesdale: suggests that he is dim, dimwitted • Hester Prynne: almost “prim,” rhymes with “sin” • Chillingworth: he is a cold, chilling character • Pearl: she is her mother’s greatest treasure, but was purchased at a great price

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