The Scarlet Letter

—— A romance of psychological paradox

Objectives About the romance Textual study

Nathanial Hawthorne as a paradox The ambiguity of the novel 1. autobiography or not? 2. of Calvinism or transcendentalism? 2.1 the symbolic letter A 2.2 the implication of protagonists’ names

Questions for discussion 1. How much real autobiography is in the romance? 2. 3.

About the romance attained an immediate and lasting success in the literary chorus

of the New England school. The Scarlet Letter and Nathaniel Hawthorne were firmly ensconced in the canon of great American literature.

represents the height of Hawthorne's literary genius. It remains relevant for its philosophical and psychological depth, and continues to be read as a classic tale on a universal theme.

the first America’s true psychological novel, conveying some ideas of transcendentalism, contrasting puritan morality with passion and individualism

addresses spiritual and moral issues from a uniquely American standpoint

About the romance Hillis saw The Scarlet Letter not only as a psychological novel, but as a moral

and religious commentary, titling his essay on The Scarlet Letter, “Conscience and the Retributive Workings of Justice. A Study of the Necessity and Nobility of Repentance, and the Confession of Sin.” ( http:// www. uwm. edu/Library/ special/exhibits/clastext/clspg145.htm )

George Macy wrote that as a "a somber romance of the conscience, The Scarlet Letter represents the first great psychological novel in American literature." To create an appropriate presentation for the work was a difficult proposition in 1941. (http:// www. uwm. edu/Library/special/exhibits/ clastext/clspg148.htm)

Duyckinck, a prominent nineteenth century American editor and the co-author of the Cyclopedia of American Literature, highly praised the novel, and labels the novel “a psychological romance” and concludes that there is “no truer products of the American soil” than Nathaniel Hawthorne.

About the romance It is about adultery, but not about sex. It is about punishment, but not about crime.

About the romance Hester Prynne

Pearl

Arthur Roger

Dimmesdale Chillingworth

in Puritan Boston of the 164os

Nathanial Hawthorne as a paradoxNathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Family background descendant of the earliest settlers once a prominent family

Education background Raised by a widowed mother, Attending Bowdoin College in Maine

His struggle in the Custom House position

“American Shakespeare” (by Herman Melville) a stylistic freshness and an interest in American subject matter

Nathanial Hawthorne as a paradoxPhilosophy Influenced by Calvinism, which believed in “original sin”, but recognized its

furor, peremptoriness and hypocrisy

Accepting Emerson’s mysterious philosophy, but put the goodness and evilness of Calvinism as a standard of knowing the world.

“I wish God had given me the faculty of writing a sunshiny book.” The Scarlet Letter “is a positively hell-fired story, into which I found it impossible to throw any cheering light.”

One of the recurring themes is a sense of struggle and conflict with the workings of his own imagination. His stories and novels seem to be continually attempting to wrestle out of his control.

Discontent with the fallen social, moral and hypocritical aristocracy, but reluctant to make a radical change to the unreasonable social system

Autobiography or not? Hawthorne ArthurCareer victim of public policy a succession of triumphs(difference) (help to make public policy win popular veneration)

Secrets a public image of a sanctified preacher (parallel) innocence and sanctity /an adulterous minister /a political hack and hatchet man

Artistic writing as act of pure selfless art true priest/conscience stricken priest/Priesthood /writing for the literary marketplace miserable priest/holy personages…

as an enterprise and career celibacy (nobleness and purity) /adultery (corruption or debasement)

Duplicity wrote the novel but not real confession longs to speak out from the

not intended to be deciphered pulpit but confesses vaguely

Dimmesdale: a fallen Puritan priest, but a rising romantic celebrity.

He owes his success to his mere eloquence, to his charisma. He can turn sermons into bravura performances. His power is rooted in inspiration, not in reasoning. His colleagues may have greater “understanding” and “sturdier texture of mind,” but Dimmesdale speaks in “tongues of flame”, with the gift of “addressing the whole human brotherhood in the heart’s native language.” even his saintliness becomes a public performance. Dimmesdale’s sermons are about himself. He has become his own message. (Nissenbaum, 1984: xxxiv)

Autobiography or not? Arthur Dimmesdale’s agony mirrors Hawthorne’s own.

Arthur Dimmesdale’s career is a fantasy of Hawthorne’s fondest hope for professional success and public acclaim.

Both Hawthorne and Arthur Dimmesdale struggled to reach or maintain spiritual and aesthetic integrity in a commercial world. The idea of artistic priesthood is applied to Arthur.

Autobiography or not?Hester Prynne: opposite to Arthur (Hawthorne)1. Knows and acknowledges her guilty, but never hides her

character and identity under a new exterior2. Bears her humiliation with supreme dignity, hides her

agony 3. Quietly submits to the punishment and performs acts of

charity to those in trouble She never battled with the public, but submitted uncomplainingly

to its worst usage; she made no claim upon it in requital for what she had suffered; she did not weigh upon its sympathies.

“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? It is our Hester – the town’s own Hester – who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted.”

Hester

4. Employs needlework for subsistence never puts her art to work for a career, in the marketplace, and never yields to ambition, fame or approval

Hester sought not to acquire anything beyond a subsistence, of the plainest and most ascetic description for herself, and a simple abundance for her child (Hawthorne, 1984: 89).

5. Performs all her good worked naturally and without self-consciousness. Her products are elegant and even beautiful, but flashy. Her work is handiwork. Even more important, Hester never uses –or misuses – her art to gain wealth or fame.

Autobiography or not?

she deserves the final recognition for she “never cared to use them”, which both Arthur and Hawthorne failed to achieve for their ambitions.

her life is devoid of ambition, and thus her art is pure.

Therefore, Hester Prynne is an ideal artist and personal fantasies of

Hawthorne.

of Calvinism or transcendentalism? Believes in “original sin” and “salvation”

Sings highly of true love

My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire. I longed to kindle one! It seemed not so wild a dream.

At some brighter period, when the world should have grown ripe for it, in Heaven’s own time, a new truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness.

The symbolic letter A

Definition of symbolism: first identified as a literary movement by Jean Moréas (1856-1

910) in the Symbolist manifesto in the visual arts further defined by Albert Aurier as the “painti

ng of ideas” Its complex aesthetic was a mix of Platonic-inspired philosophy, mystical and occult doctrines, psychology, linguistics, science, political theory and such aesthetic issues as the relationship between abstraction and representation.

against the materialism of 19th-century science and its implications (positivist philosophy, social Darwinism, artistic Realism),

emphasis on individual freedom and the great interest in the occult

stressed feeling and evocation over definition and fact and emphasized the power of suggestion.

The symbolic letter AThe physical letter A:this "affair of fine red cloth, much worn and faded," notes the old

fashioned stitching and the remains of gold embroidery, and tells us that "by an accurate measurement, each limb proved to be precisely three inches and a quarter in length."

Like any effective symbol, the scarlet letter achieves its symbolic status not in spite of but by reason of its literal texture. Before anything else, Hawthorne seems to say, this is a scarlet letter; because of that, it is capable of further meaning. The letter will have to carry the burden of the tale. And Hawthorne has taken a first step to insure its capacity to do so by making it seem more real than any other part of his story.

The symbolic letter AThe scarlet fire passion and life They averred, that the symbol was not mere scarlet cloth, tinged i

n an earthly dye-pot, but was re-hot with infernal fire, and could be seen glowing all right, whenever Hester Prynne walked abroad in the night-time. (Hawthorne, 1984: 95)

Warmth: the acts of charity she performs to those in trouble

Sin: in the Bile, the Jezeble wears scarlet

Torture: fire in the hell

Sacrifice: to devote all their life and passion to religion

The symbolic letter AThe letter A Pearl: Adam: the exile from paradise

Adultery: degradation

Arthur: armor, affection

Amazon: bear the shame and hide the agony

Able: acts of apostles

Angle: charity for others

Artist: needlework

Avenge: Chillingworth’s revenge

the implication of protagonists’ namesHester PrynneHester: Hestier in Greek mythology, Zeus’s sister, a woman of beauty hestier (hasty)Prynne: prurient prune: purify her sin pry: probe into the interior of one’s heart Arthur Dimmesdale Arthur: Adam, adulteryDimmesdale: dim + dale: dim interior (to hide one’s sin)

Roger ChillingworthRoger: rogue (revenge)Chillingworth: chilly (cruel, inhumane) + worth (induce Arthur to speak out his own sin) Pearl: good, pure and precious

conclusion

The novel has multiple themes The theme of love, lust The theme of sin The theme of revenge The theme of inner heart conflict The theme of rebellion and loyalty

assignment The movie watching and novel reading The red bird in the movie (how many times does the red

bird appear? Why?) The difference of the end of the story in the movie and the

novel, why? the narrative point of view, who told the story? What is the

use of this narrative? The conflicts in the movie. The color and music effect of the movie has anything to do

with the the theme of love or anything else? What does the film director use the forest and cottage as

the background of the movie? The function of it?

The tragedy of Hubert,what and why? The novel Lolita by American writerNabokov What do you think the reasons for banning the novel as well as the mo

vie? What is the function of the blue light phortorgray in the movie? How does the film director describe Humbert’s spirit adrift in a new lan

d? Why does the movie have so many decribition of the motels and hotels? What does Lolita stand for ? What does H.H stand for?

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my lions. My sin, my soul.why does H.H say so?