The Scarlet Letter

"She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom."

The Scarlet Letter is a 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is a historical fiction novel that was one of America's first mass-produced novels and even earned the status as America's first psychological story. It was successful upon being published and considered to be a masterpiece in American literature.

Set in Puritan New England in the mid 16th-century, the story focuses on a young woman accused of adultery and struggles to fit in society while dealing with guilt, sin and repentance.

Plot Summary
In 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts, a nameless man and the novel's main narrator, works as a surveyor at the local customhouse. In the attic he discovers a bunch of documents, with a manuscript imprinted with a large, red "A" on the front cover, that depicts the life of a woman named Hester Prynne that occurs long before the man's current time. After he loses his job at the customhouse, the narrator writes and retells the story from the manuscript.

200 years earlier, in Boston in the late 1630s during the Puritan settlement, Hester Prynne is led from her prison cell with an infant in her arms. She stands on the town scaffold when she is publicly humiliated and punished by the townsfolk for committing adultery, that resulted in the birth of her child. She was condemned to wear a bright, letter "A" patch on her breast as a sign of her crime. During her time on the scaffold, she was repeatedly asked the name of her baby's father, but she refuses. She spots an older man she recognizes in the crowd, and it was her estranged husband, who she thought was lost at sea but had arrived in Boston and changed his name to Roger Chillingworth.

In her prison cell, Hester meets Chillingworth who poses as a doctor and tells her that she must not reveal to anyone of his identity and will find out who the father is. Hester moves into a small cottage outside of Boston and lives there with her child, a daughter named Pearl. She works as a seamstress and supports her community. Pearl has become fascinated with her mother's "A" symbol, and is an unruly, wild child. The officials have planned to take Pearl away from Hester, but a minister named Arthur Dimmesdale manages to keep mother and daughter together.

Meanwhile, Chillingworth becomes the town's physician and one of his patients was Dimmesdale, who is experiencing heart problems. Chillingworth took the minister in to look after him, but when he notices a red mark on the man's chest, he is convinced that Dimmesdale could be Hester’s lover and the father of Pearl.

Dimmesdale is so tormented by his guilt that he stands on top of the town scaffold where Hester had stood a few years earlier. Hester and Pearl spot him there, and as they join him, a meteor appears in the sky that lights up a red "A" shape. Dimmesdale's health worsens, and Hester decides to help him after she discovers Chillingworth is torturing him as revenge.

One day, Hester encounters Dimmesdale in the forest, and tells him of her husband's identity and revenge. She convinces him that they should flee the country and move to Europe with Pearl. Dimmesdale was happy with this idea and gains more energy.

The couple plan to leave the day after Dimmesdale delivers a sermon in the public square. But Dimmesdale realizes that he is dying and Hester finds out that Chillingworth is among the passengers on the ship departing Boston. After the sermon, Dimmesdale climbs on the town scaffold and Hester and Pearl join him. He confesses his sin to the public about his affair with Hester by revealing a letter "A" carved into his chest. He dies in Hester’s arms.

Chillingworth dies from his frustration and Pearl receives a fortune. Both Hester and Pearl leave the country and travel overseas together. Years later, Hester returns to Boston and continues to wear the scarlet letter. After she dies, she is interred next to Dimmesdale, sharing a tombstone with the letter "A" on it.

Characters
Hester Prynne- The main character of The Scarlet Letter. She is a Puritan woman who was punished to wear a "A" patch as a sign of her adultery crime. She was married to an older scholar and was sent to America without him. She had an affair with a minister and bore a child out of wedlock. She is a strong and passionate woman who strives to be part of her society despite being treated as an outcast.

Pearl- The illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. She is a mischievous and naughty young girl who has no Christian faith and causes torment to those around her, especially to her mother. She also rants about the Black Man being her true father and can talk to animals. She symbolizes Hester's passion and sinfulness, but she is still her mother's pride and joy.

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale- The local minister and Hester's lover. He is beloved and respected by his community, and he eventually fell in love with Hester and fathered her daughter. But because of his adultery crime, he becomes extremely tormented by his guilt both physically and mentally, even developing a fatal heart condition. As he is slowly dying, he has a hard time trying to reveal his sin to the public.

Roger Chillingworth- Hester's husband. Roger is a man much older than his young wife and a brilliant English scholar. He sends her ahead to America but when he tries to arrive there himself, he was captured by the Native Americans. He later changes his name to "Chillingworth" and becomes the local doctor. Upon finding out about Hester's affair, he is determined to take revenge on Dimmesdale for falling in love with his wife.

Governor Bellingham- Based on the historical figure of the same name, Bellingham is the governor of Massachusetts, a rich aristocratic who enjoys his wealth and lifestyle. But he makes strict Puritan rules and punishes those who break them, such as his plan to take away Pearl from Hester.

Mistress Hibbins- Bellingham's sister with who he lives with. She's believed to be a witch and would often sneak into the woods to talk and play with the Black Man. She is also based on a historical figure named Ann Hibbins, who was also the Govenor's sister in real life.

Reverend John Wilson- An elderly and kind pastor. He is Boston's clergyman and he is like a grandfather figure to everyone. He also serves as Dimmesdale's mentor and convinces him to reveal the identity of Hester's lover. He is also based on a historical figure (1588-1667) an English minister who was one of the first settlers arriving in America in 1630.

Writing History/Reception
In the late 1840s, Nathaniel Hawthorne was married to be his wife Sophia Peabody and a father of two children. After experiencing financial difficulties during his writing career, Hawthorne started working as a surveyor at the Custom House in Salem, Massachusetts. He was employed for 3 years between 1846-1849 until he loses his job due to political disagreements. Around the same time, Hawthorne’s mother died, and while he tried to cope during his most difficult times, he began to write The Scarlet Letter. He was also furious at Salem by saying, “I detest this town so much that I hate to go out in the streets, or to have people see me.” He was descended from his early Puritan William Hathorne, who settled in Boston in 1636. He was a Massachusetts Bay delegate who had Quakers whipped and dragged through the streets naked, and his son John Hathorne was infamous for being a judge during the 1692 Witch Trials and had convicted hundreds of accused witches. Hathorne was ashamed of his Puritan ancestry that he changed his name with a “w” and may be one of the reasons why he criticized Puritan society in The Scarlet Letter.

Hawthorne initially planned to write a short story included in a series of stories depicting life in New England, but after his publisher encouraged him to write it out into a full novel, Hawthorne wounded up during just that and The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850. The novel became an instant best-seller, with 2,500 copies sold in over two weeks and was an success; it was often regarded as the first American psychological novel to depict life in the early days of New England and is even considered to be the greatest American novel. Hawthorne initially didn’t expect his work would be a huge success.

The novel was mostly met with critical acclaim, with novelist Henry James detailing the publication as “a literary event of the first order.” However, at the same time, The Scarlet Letter was considered controversial, as others criticized the way religion and Puritanism are portrayed as. It was even banned in several countries due to its scandalous content. The success of The Scarlet Letter earned Hawthorne fame and made him a well-known author, but he never received a large amount of money, as the novel overseas were sold less than a penny. Overall, Hawthorne made only $1500 from publishing The Scarlet Letter, and would affect him for the last 14 years of his life.

Good vs Evil
In The Scarlet Letter, good versus evil is divided between several of the characters. Hester Prynne is considered virtuous and good; although she was condemned for a sinful crime, she managed to stay strong and defend herself with the power of God from the evil of the Black Man, also known as The Devil. On her side is Dimmesdale, who like Hester, ends up falling victim to the same crime but his dutiful actions makes him beloved by the townsfolk. The goodness Hester and Dimmesdale portray is how they behave and the generosity they offer to society, and with them keeping their faithfulness, refused to surrender themselves against evil. The opposite side is evil, and Roger Chillingworth symbolizes the sadistic side of Hester and Dimmesdale. Once a devoted husband to Hester, Chillingworth’s evil becomes twisted from his desires of revenge against the man who indirectly allowed Hester to betray her husband with an affair; to the point when he represents the Black Man and his evil nearly causes his victim Dimmesdale to succumb to it. Pearl may be considered evil as she is obsessed with the Black Man and being mischievous, but she also symbolizes a virtuous tone as she supports her mother in her most difficult moments and at other times represents both side of good and evil, since she is considered as a unholy demon to some or a magical nature creature.

Sin and Guilt
A majority of the characters struggle with sin and guilt, which makes an impact on their reputation with their religion and society. Hester was condemned to wear the scarlet letter as punishment for her sin, as adultery and conceiving a child out of wedlock is a punishable crime and her sin becomes noticeable to everyone. Despite her punishment, Hester remains strong and does not succumb to the guilt that is meant to affect her. As long as she has Pearl by her side, Hester is reminded that her child, while a sin to her, is also a blessing to improve her strength. Dimmesdale on the other hand, takes his guilt badly. His sin of having a romantic relationship with Hester that resulted in her becoming pregnant leaves him to think his sin is something that won’t be forgiven by God or his fellow Puritans. Instead of keeping it exposed like Hester, he tortures and starves himself. When he does confess his guilt, he only shows part of it and never explains everything of what had happened. Roger Chillingworth, however is the worst sinner as he tortured Dimmesdale as his revenge for figuring out the father of Pearl. He even pretended to be a respected physician, when in actuality, his sin is worse than adultery. In the Puritan period, sin was something that was viewed as punishable by death and anyone can be a born sinner. As it was shown in the novel guilt can slowly can someone’s mind and body to waste away, and the only way to relieve it is by confession and accepting the consequence; since Dimmesdale managed to confess his sin just moments before his death.

Puritan Criticism
Romanticism was a common style of writing many authors used in the late 18th and 19th centuries, as a way to emphasize the storyline and characters. Hawthorne, however, used a different kind of Romanticism that was a nature to describe the critique of Puritanism. The Puritans in The Scarlet Letter are seen as hypocritical, unforgiving and judgemental people who harshly criticize Hester and make her an outsider; but they only become more accepting to Hester when she starts to be more respected in her community. Aside from criticism, Hawthorne used this theme as a way to depict how Puritans view the values of relationships, religion and morality; since they immigrated to from England to America to seek spiritual freedom and the beliefs they brought with them is a significance to the novel’s critique of their society. For example, they love and respect the local minister Dimmesdale, and they become worried when they notice him being sick. They also trusted Chillingworth as being an important member of their society as he is seen as a well-educated physician who could treat the minister and relied on him for it. When Dimmesdale reveals his sin, however, they are disbelieved of how exactly he had managed to leave a painful scar of his sin onto his body. Overall, Hawthorne sees Puritanism as being an unjust, corrupt community who unfairly treat sinners with shame and hardly take their crimes and sins seriously as they should be.

Feminism
in the mid 17th century, where the story takes place, there wasn’t such a thing as feminism and women having their own rights to believe in. Hester Prynne is seen as a mysterious, ordinary woman who conceived an illegitimate child and shunned in her community. She defiantly does not reveal her child’s father’s identity, and she grows more stronger from her rebellion against those who are publicly shaming her. She accepts the ridicule from the locals and acts like a mother-figure such as feeding the poor, making clothes for those in need, etc. Her romantic passion for Dimmesdale shows that she is depicting women’s sexuality can be hazardous but carries on with it anyway. She chooses Dimmesdale over her husband Chillingworth and thinks he is the right man that God has provided for her. In the Puritan era, women were seen as contrast from men and their main purpose is to raise their children and serve their duty as a wife, as well as wearing plain clothes and not going to work. However, Hester is none like the women in her time as she is confident and independent being just on her own with her daughter. She has her own job by being a seamstress and doesn’t worry about her husband after she hasn’t heard from him after moving to Boston. Her feminism shows how remarkable she is against the contrast of women during her time and how it impacts on her and to everyone else.

The scarlet letter
An embroidered letter Hester is forced to wear on her chest as a sign of adultery. It may have symbolized shame to the Puritans, but to Hester, it serves as a powerful symbol of her identity and its meaning changes as time passes. For example, the letter stood for "Able" when Hester becomes a successful seamstress, and when Dimmesdale refers twice to her as an "angel", it meant to represent Hester's kindness. By the end of the novel, the letter symbolizes Hester's achieved triumph over the forces that were meant to punish her.

Pearl
Hester's daughter and one of the major characters. While a living being, Pearl symbolizes the physical embodiment of sexual sin between her parents. She is not only a punishment for Hester's adultery, but also as a passionate blessing, as when Hester is on the verge of giving up, her daughter was there to support her and help her continue on with life. Pearl is also the most pure character in the novel, and while the townsfolk see her as a demon, the reader sees her as a nature-like sprite.

The Meteor in the Sky
A meteor in the sky traces out the letter “A” as Hester, Dimmesdale and Pearl stand on the scaffold together. The meteor symbolizes to Dimmesdale that he should wear the mark of shame for his sin as well as his fear of being punished by the Puritans. However, the townsfolk see the “A” shape as meaning “Angel” as their deceased governor has ascended to heaven and represents the afterlife.

The Black Man
The name of the Devil as used by the Puritans. He symbolizes evil and danger that anyone can fall victim. He is believed to be living in the forest outside of Boston, and when anyone lets their guard down, they could easily be tempted by him. If anyone comes out of the forest unharmed, they would be frequently asked if they have seen the Black Man. Hester wonders if the Devil placed his mark on the scarlet letter and Pearl believes he left his brand on Dimmesdale’s flesh. Aside from being the symbol of evil, the Black Man may also symbolize Chillingworth as he is known as the embodiment of evil and his cruel actions make him comparable to the Devil.

Foreshadowing

 * Dimmesdale is a weak, guilty character whose actions and motivations include defending Hester and Pearl from the Govenor. Foreshadows his health wasting away and confessing his sin before dying.
 * Dimmesdale stands on the town scaffold imagining himself wearing the scarlet letter. Foreshadows his untimely demise when he stands on that very scaffold and shows off his “A” scar to the townsfolk.
 * A rose bush is spotted in full bloom near the prison door in an otherwise sombre setting. Foreshadows how good things are to come for Hester; since the roses are beautiful, it symbolizes on how Pearl is a rose to her mother and would bring her good fortunes such as a home.
 * Chillingworth makes Hester promise to keep his identity as her husband a secret, and when she asks him if it would ruin his soul, he says “Not thy soul...No, not thine!” Foreshadows his revenge by psychologically and mentally torturing Dimmesdale, until he is racked with guilt and his soul destroyed from failing health and Chillingworth’s wrath.
 * In the forest scene where Hester removes her scarlet letter and lets her hair down, Pearl refuses to go to her mother or Dimmesdale until she puts the letter back on. Foreshadows the fact that no matter how choices Hester and Dimmesdale make, they will forever live under the shadow of their sin and misjudged by the Puritans.