1. By Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter
By Nathaniel Hawthorne

2. “I believe that The Scarlet Letter, like all great novels, enriches our sense of human experience and complicates and humanizes our approach to it.”
from Solitude, Love, and Anguish: The Tragic Design of the Scarlet Letter by Seymour L. Gross

3. Historical Context Boston Colony founded 1630 John Winthrop (leader)
Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England of all traces of Catholicism in liturgy, theology, and church organization
Recognized the Bible as the sole source of religious authority
Maintained a theocracy
Believed in predestination or Doctrine of the Elect
Inflicted public punishments to deter others from straying from righteousness (hanging, whipping, humiliation, etc,)

4. Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hawthorne once said: “I do not want to be a doctor and live by man’s diseases, nor a minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by their quarrels. So, I don’t see that there is anything left for me but to be an author.”

5. About the Author Born July 4, 1804 in Salem, Mass. Reclusive at times
Served as a magazine editor
Worked in the Salem Custom House
Lived at Brook Farm
Wrote Twice-Told Tales, The House of Seven Gables, The Scarlet Letter, etc.
Married Sophia Peabody and fathered Una (who became the model for Pearl)
Served as the United States Consul to Liverpool
Died in 1864
Buried in Concord, Massachusetts
Great-great-great-great grandfather, John Hathorne, was judge at Salem witch trials

6. The Custom House
Hawthorne claims to have gotten the idea for this novel from the papers of Jonathan Pue. Among the papers, Hawthorne allegedly found an embroidered scarlet A and information on Hester Prynne.

7. The Custom House Describes the interior/exterior of the Custom House
Describes Hawthorne’s feelings about his native town of Salem
Makes critical comments about the Whig party/ reveals Hawthorne’s involvement as a Democrat
Describes his early attempts to write Hester’s story.

8. Sources for the novel
Historical figures: gov. bellingham, john wilson, john winthrop
Annals of salem may 5, 1694 entry
Records and files of …essex county, mass.

9. The author’s inspiration
“…to enact laws against prevailing iniquities. Among such laws …were two against adultery…those guilty of the first crime were to sit an hour on the gallows, with ropes about their necks…and forever wear a capital a …”
“hester craford, for fornication with john wedg, as she confessed, was ordered to be severely whipped and that security be given to save the town from the charge of keeping the child.”

10. Plot/Setting
The novel is set in the mid 1600s in Boston, Massachusetts.
The plot encompasses a seven year period.
The plot involves the love triangle of wife-lover-husband.
The major theme of the novel is developed in the context of good vs. evil.

11. Plot of the novel Love triangle Husband, wife, lover
Novel begins long after the adulterous act
Focus is on the effects of the sin on the characters

12. Point of View
Third-Person Omniscient…Hawthorne reveals the inner and outer workings of the characters and provides social criticism, history, and psychology.

13. Irony in the novel Situational irony—
the husband who has been “wronged” does not elicit the reader’s sympathy
The physician who should “heal” only destroys
The minister who offers spiritual guidance to others cannot guide himself
Dramatic irony—
Hester and her lover’s “knowing” looks in public
Hester’s knowledge of who the strange physician really is
Pearl’s intuitive sense regarding the minister and physician

14. Characters Hester Prynne- wearer of the scarlet letter
Pearl- child of Hester; living symbol of Hester’s sin
Roger Chillingworth- learned scholar; doctor
Arthur Dimmesdale- admired young minister
Governor Bellingham- governor and magistrate of Massachusetts Bay Colony
Rev. John Wilson- senior minister of colony
Mistress Hibbins- Gov. Bellingham’s sister

15. Major Symbol
The scarlet letter itself is the central symbol. It changes meaning for the characters in the novel as Hester’s character changes. The A becomes a pathway to redemption for some characters as well. Watch the many ways Hawthorne uses the scarlet A as a symbol…

16. Symbolism The scarlet “a” The scaffold Weeds The rose bush The brook
The forest
Sunlight and shadow

17. Motifs of the scarlet letter
Sin and its effect on the individual
Isolation—physical and emotional
Sin brings insight or special knowledge
Struggle between individual and community
Yearning for freedom

18. Humiliation is a powerful weapon against crime
Today’s judges often issue “scarlet letter” penances for those convicted of crimes like drunken driving, theft, prostitution, and juvenile delinquency
Actual news stories appear almost daily:
FRUSTRATED MAGISTRATES USE OLD-FASHIONED "SHAME" SENTENCING MINOR CRIMINALS
By Kate Shatzkin BALTIMORE SUN
A drunken driver is ordered to carry in his wallet pictures of the people he killed. A wife-beater must apologize to his victim from the courthouse steps, with cameras rolling. A shoplifter is forced to pace outside the market from which she pilfered, wearing a huge sign that brands her a convicted thief. It is justice by sandwich board, tearful apology and posted placard, the modern versions of the stocks and scarlet letters of colonial times.

19. Enjoy a piece of literary history!
Read thoughtfully and focused. You can keep the questions for each chapter in mind as you read in order to comprehend better.
Avoid “crutches” like Spark Notes, etc. You need practice with difficult passages to practice for the EOY and AP exams.