Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter

Puritanism/Scarlet Letter Timeline In History: -Pilgrims/Puritans come to America -Harvard founded-religious higher education -Christmas Celebration outlawed by Puritans -Salem Witch Trials: dissent, love triangles, landlust=breakdown of Puritan theocracy ; w/Judge John Hathorne In the novel: -Ch. 1-4 public scaffold scene Pearl=baby in mother’s arms -Scene at Governor Bellingham’s Pearl=3 years old -Novel’s climax at scaffold Pearl=7 years old -Last Chapter of novel (sort of) 1620-1628 1638 1642 1645 1649 1655 1692 1850 Hawthorne publishes Scarlet Letter (200 years later, during Romantic Era, so written in romantic style, but with Puritan influences and themes)

Hawthorne Bio Info 1804-Childhood = College 1821-1825 = Isolation 1825-1837 = 1837 = 1839 = 1842 = 1846-1849 = 1850 = 1851 = 1852 = 1853-1860 = 1860 = 1863 = 1864 = Salem: born, father dies, family poor, single mom, adds w Bowdoin, Maine w/F. Pierce, goofed off, mediocre student “dismal chamber” to learn how to write well Twice Told Tales, about secrets of violence in heart Engaged; utopian farm-Brook Farm w/Transcendentalists Marries Sophia, moves to Concord where famous writers job at Custom House; mom dies, loses job Scarlet Letter $ and success “hellfire story” House of Seven Gables and Snow Image Blithedale Romance U.S. Counsel at Liverpool, Marble Faun—travel log Pierce defeated; Lincoln=Civil War, H. out of place journals Our Old Home dies (of solitude, according to Emerson)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT To what “period” of American Literature does Hawthorne belong?? Lets take a look at the history of American Literature…..

HISTORICAL CONTEXT English Heritage (Elizabethan Age) 1570-1650: Early Colonial period- Puritan writings, no distinctive American literature 1750-1800: Later Colonial period- Age of Reason/Enlightenment (Neoclassicism, Rationalism)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT 1800-1850: American Renaissance/ Romanticism- slave narratives, inner feelings, the burden of a Puritan past, the rejection of Neoclassicism Transcendentalism was a part of this…

American Romanticism Authors: Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe (more Gothic/Dark Romantic), Hawthorne Contemporary with Transcendentalists— Emerson and Thoreau Valued feelings and intuition over reason Reaction against classicism (rationalism) Valued individual freedom and worth of individual Explore subconscious; pre-Freudian psychology, faith in inner experience More individualistic, less societal; about finding yourself Seems ancient, traditional, gothic, pastoral Role of Frontier, critical of society—escape to nature to gain moral and spiritual development Gothic elements (darkness, considers conflicts between good and evil, sin, insanity, psychological effects, etc.) Power of imagination Beauty in exotic, supernatural, myth/legend/folklore

HISTORICAL CONTEXT TRANSCENDENTALISM Boston-centered movement, led by Emerson, was an important force in New England circles Human existence transcends the sensory realm Belief in individual choice and consequence Focus on the positive

HISTORICAL CONTEXT SUBDIVISION OF ROMANTICISM: GOTHIC LITERATURE, the “dark romantics”(1800-1850) -use of supernatural -motif of double (both good and evil in characters; sin and evil does exist) -depression, dark forests -Poe, Hawthorne, Melville -emphasis on symbolism (which we will discuss later)

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE “The Scarlet Letter is powerfully written but my writings do not, nor ever will, appeal to the broadest class of sympathies, and therefore will not obtain a very wide popularity.” -Hawthorne, after finishing the novel

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE As a literary artist… First American “pro writer”: college educated, familiar with the great European writers 4,000 copies of The Scarlet Letter sold in the first 10 days

LITERARY ELEMENTS Characters Mood Setting Plot Symbolism Themes

LITERARY ELEMENTS: MOOD The SOMBER, DARK mood is well-defined from the beginning: “sad-colored garments” of spectators, the prison door which is “heavily timbered and studded with iron spikes”

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING 17th century Puritanical New England (Mass.) What was America like then?

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING Life in the Mid 1600s Boston was founded just 2 decades earlier 1st governor was John Winthrop, who governed based on religious and civic ideals People were hardworking and devoted 1630s- Puritans established a number of settlements in Massachusetts PURITANISM involved belief that the church of England was too much influenced by the Catholic church Strict code, on which people were expected to act and judged upon Rejected belief that divine authority is channeled through any one single person (i.e. the pope) THEOCRACY- state governed by the church

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.

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

“Puritans” “Puritans” intended as a derogatory term “Puritans” usually referred to themselves as “the Godly” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritanism) Puritans fell quickly out of favor in England, where the king was the head of the Church of England. They recognized neither the king’s secular or religious authority, and so quickly became enemies of civil and religious leaders.

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 government’s permissiveness and tolerance of behaviors/attitudes they found unacceptable.

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.

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.

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.html “There was a built-in hierarchism in this sense, but one which mostly reflected the age.” http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PURITAN/purhist.html Very Important: Anybody (theoretically) could rise to the same level of authority.

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)

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.html

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 offender’s 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

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

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING What aspects of this type of religious society can be seen in The Scarlet Letter? How do you think Hawthorne views this type of society?

How did his life affect the writing of the novel? John Hathorne presided over the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 Major William Hathorne (1608-1681) persecuted quakers 1. Influences on Hawthorne: Puritan background

MAJOR THEMES PURITAN MORALITY v. PASSION AND INDIVIDUALISM /Adultery Individual Rights/Self-trust v. accommodation to authority Conventional v. unconventional gender roles Guilt: sense of guilt forced by puritanical heritage/society Hypocrisy v. Integrity Moral Pride v. Intellect The penalties of isolation/ isolation because of self-cause and societal cause Patriarchal power Belief in fate/free will Impossibility of earthly perfection

MAJOR THEMES Perhaps his greatest interest was the human capacity on how sin operates on the inner workings of minds With the superstition common to his brotherhood, he fancied himself given over to a fiend, to be tortured with frightful dreams, and desperate thoughts, the sting of remorse, and despair of pardon; as a foretaste of what awaits him beyond the grave. But it was the constant shadow of my presence!--the closest propinquity of the man whom he had most vilely wronged!--and who had grown to exist only by this perpetual poison of the direst revenge! Yea, indeed!--he did not err!--there was a fiend at his elbow! A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!" The unfortunate physician, while uttering these words, lifted his hands with a look of horror, as if he had beheld some frightful shape, which he could not recognize, usurping the place of his own image in a glass. “smile with a sinister meaning”

How did his life affect the writing of the novel? 2) Salem- childhood, later work at the Custom House, as Surveyor of the Port “The Custom House” introduction creates a FRAME STORY This introduction gives an account of his experience as surveyor; he attacks the officials who connived in his dismissal… Like his heroine Hester, Hawthorne emerges from confrontation with a self-righteous society as an individual of integrity,passion, and moral superiority.

SYMBOLISM Symbolism is evident in the following objects in The Scarlet Letter. What implications are made through the use of these symbols?

Symbols Rose/rosebush Letter A Light/Dark Pearl The Leech Others

LITERARY ELEMENT: SYMBOLISM IN THE NOVEL

SYMBOLISM The A! “It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony.” “Not a stitch in that embroidered letter, but she has felt it in her heart.”

SYMBOLISM Hester’s and Pearl’s Clothing “Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the most sombre hue; with only that one ornament—the scarlet letter—which it was her doom to wear.” “The child’s attire, on the other hand, was distinguished by a fanciful, or, we might rather say, a fantastic ingenuity, which served, indeed, to heighten the airy charm that early began to develop itself in the little girl…”

SYMBOLISM PEARL (the name) “Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price—purchased with all she had—her mother’s only treasure!”

SYMBOLISM The Leech “He gathered herbs here and there”

“The Custom House” General Info. Custom House: Government building where customs are collected and where ships are cleared to enter or leave county (by water) Hawthorne worked there for 27 months 1847-49 as surveyor (pretty much everyone else’s boss) “The Custom House” is both factual and fictional—he did work at one and tells stories of real people, but made up some of the stories, esp. the Letter A and Hester Prynne “The Custom House” is intro. to Scarlet Letter—included for $ and more text, but also to set up explanation why he wrote it (fictional) and themes of isolation, alienation, etc.

Custom House Picture From first page of "The Custom-House" chapter in the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published in 1878 by James R. Osgood and Co. in Boston.

“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 novel’s main character) and an embroidered scarlet A. The letter tells of Hester’s 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. Hawthorne’s 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 relative’s unsavory reputation. http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Life&Times/BiographicalInfo/Adultlife/MMD1114.html

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