The Scarlet Letter Prelude

1. The Scarlet Letter Prelude By Abhishek Rajput

2. Historical Facts: Puritan Religion • Puritanism was a 16th and 17th century movement that sought to purify the Church of England, whom they felt was too similar to the Catholic Church the English broke away from. • Part of the larger movement in Europe called the "Reformation." It was literally a time of reformation within Christianity and the Church. • Puritanism incorporated elements of Calvinist doctrine, originally founded by John Calvin, and ideas on the nature of the Church polity.

3. Puritan Religious Beliefs • Puritans believed in the doctrine of predestination, which stated that some souls called the "elect" had been destined for eternal bliss and others for eternal torment. • They also believed in conversion, which was an intense personal experience in which God revealed to the elect their heavenly destiny. • Puritanism incorporated elements of Calvinist doctrine, originally founded by John Calvin, and ideas on the nature of the Church polity.

4. Puritan Society • The Puritan church had a monopoly like status in the interpretation of doctrine • Men and women avoided bright colors, shiny fabrics, and over-ornamentation. • Any gathering of people without permission was banned. • Puritans did not actually dress in the black and white colors we commonly depict them as wearing. Black dye was expensive in those times and faded rather quickly. • Black and white were worn only on special occasions and worn by the elder and the high-ranking in the community. • The most typical colors worn were brown, brownish-maroon, dull-greens, and tawny colors.

5. Puritan Society (cont.) • Names of women in the Massachusetts Bay Colony reflected Puritan views on women. Some women names were "Be Fruitful," "Patience," "Silence," "Fear," "Comfort," and "Prudence.“ • Fornication was to be punished by whipping or death. • The Puritan colonies in the New England area banned the practice of Christmas and drama (plays). • A husband could not legally command his wife anything contrary to "God's" word.

6. Puritan Society (cont.) • Churches in the Puritan colonies were sometimes patrolled by a man with a long pole. One end of the pole had feathers to tickle the old men who fell asleep, in order to wake them up. The other end sported a wooden knob that alerted giggling or sleeping children.

7. Superstitions • A woman was considered inferior to man because of "original sin" • It was believed that a child not taught to read would become "barbarous." Therefore, literacy was enforced. • They were inclined to blame Satan for their religious and societal decay. • It was believed that women who were pregnant with a male child had a rosy complexion, while women bearing a female child had a pale complexion.

8. Superstitions (cont.) • Puritans believed in witches and the harm they could do. • They defined witchcraft as entering into a compact with the Devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil.

9. Works Cited "1600–1650 in Fashion." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1600-1650_in_fashion#Puritan_dress>. "Conclusions Cont." Saint Anselm College : Saint Anselm College. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.anselm.edu/academic/history/salmwtch/tsld023.htm>. "Puritan Life [ushistory.org]." U.S History. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/3d.asp>. "Puritan Values." Welcome to It Sucks To Be Joe. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.itsuckstobejoe.com/Jdn/writing/purtain.html>. "Puritan." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan#The_Puritan_spirit_in_the_United_States>. "Puritanism - Facts from the Encyclopedia - Yahoo! Education." Yahoo! Education - Dictionary, Colleges, Scholarships, Homework Help, Schools, Reference, Thesaurus & More. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Puritani>.