SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

About the Man 1804-1864 Salem, Massachusetts Puritan

Solid accomplishment Great guilt

Ancestor: William Hathorne

Married Sophia Peabody Strength and nobility Reflected in Hester

Prynne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

About the Author Great American Author

First psychological novel

Redemption, sin Romanticism

Intellectual curiosity Optimism Dark Romanticism

Works Novels Short Stories

The Scarlet Letter

Written in 1855Setting

Boston Mid-1600s Seven-year period

Framework Rigid social mores

Traditional customs Moral attitudes

Religious beliefs

The Scarlet Letter

Plot Love triangle: wife-lover-husband

Struggle: good versus evil Characters’ souls at stake

Suspense Will identities of lover and husband be revealed? How will identities be revealed?

Psychological movement: husband’s quest for revenge

The Scarlet Letter

Structure Innovative form Instead of ongoing chronicle of events

Series of separate, fully-realized chapters Interspersed with expository chapters

Novel begins in media res Action already occurred Characters facing consequences

The Scarlet Letter

Point of View (POV) Omniscient Author reveals inner and outer characters Asides

Social criticism History Psychology

All characters in constant state of change

Theocracy Act of adultery not important Consequences of adultery more important

Hester Prynne

Novel’s heroineAdultererName: prim and

properFirst strong female

character in American literature

Major Characters

Pearl

Hester’s daughter Illegitimate child Product of adultery

Precious to her mother

Intelligent, imaginative

Major Characters

Arthur DimmesdaleReverendGuilt-riddenTortured

Major Characters

Roger Chillingworth

ScholarVengefulHides true identity

Major Characters

Themes

Effects of Sin and Possibility of Redemption Psychological and social consequences of sin Characters’ processes of redemption Does every attain redemption?

Applies to: Hester Dimmesdale Chillingworth

Secondary Effect: Insight into the Hearts of Others

Themes

Hypocrisy Conflict between outer appearance and inner reality Depicted in Hester’s relationship with community Illustrated in portrayals of Dimmesdale and

Chillingworth

Other Noticeable Themes Guilt Revenge Human frailty and Sin

Conflicts

Man versus Society

Man versus Man

Man versus Self

Symbols

The Scarlet Letter Central symbol of novel Meaning changes as characters change

The Scaffold Public exposure of private since Redemption through confession

Elements of Nature Good and evil Forest is changeable symbol for both

Irony

Dramatic Irony Controls novel Readers know something about a character the other

characters do not If characters knew what readers know, plot would be ruined

Situational Irony Central to novel’s action Contrast between intention of an action and its result Expectations aroused by situation are reversed

Verbal Irony Throughout novel

What happens when a private sin becomes a public crime?