Hawthorne: 1804-1864
The Scarlet Letter: 1850
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PURITAN ERA: Mid-late 1600s
Salem Witch Trials: 1692 (Judge Hathorne)
Puritan “Religious Enlightenment”: Mid 1700s,
Jonathan Edwards
Forming of our Nation: 1776
Industrialization and Railroads: About 17601840
Transcendentalism (American Romanticism)
1830s- 1850s
True Birth or American Fiction: Hawthorne,
Melville, Poe
The Scarlet Letter 1850
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Works are often allegorical in nature
Work is considered a “Dark Romanticism
Writes about Evil, Sin, and Psychological
complexities
Writing style contains many sentences clearly
not composed with celerity
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Protagonist: Hester Prynne
Setting: Boston, late 1600s
Published: 1850
Central characters
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Themes:
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Hester Prynne
Roger Chillingworth
Pearl
Dimmesdale
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Individual vs Society
The Nature of Evil
Nature and Romanticism
Sin, Guilt, and Atonement
Living within a
Theocracy
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Puritans sought to create the ideal Christian
society
Everyday life was seen as a struggle between
God and the devil
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Predecessors-Calvanists
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Living in a Theocracy: Religion governs
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The most common New
England colonial
punishment was use of
the stocks.
Stocks were heavy
wooden frames with
holes for ankles and/or
wrists
The pillory was similar,
but allowed the
accused to stand while
his or hands were
bound.
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Most whipping
sentences called
for 20-40 lashes
One case on
record recalls a
man being
whipped 117
times
A hot iron was sometimes used to
pierce the tongues of those who spoke
against the Puritan faith.
•The threat of execution was omnipresent
in the colonies.
•Hanging was the most common method
of execution, although burning at the
stake was also used.
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Criminals were
sometimes forced to
wear a letter
symbolizing the
crime committed.
“T” stood for thief
“D” was worn by
those accused of
public drunkenness
What do you think
the letter “A” stood
for?
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1. Should adultery be a crime punishable
under law?
◦ Make a case for and against
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2. How much should our laws govern our own
morals?
3. Where do we draw the line between
morality and law? Can the two be linked? Are
morals to closely connected to religion?
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1. Discuss the perception most people have
of the Puritans vs what the author clearly
points out.
Talk about the Puritans’ views of the
Individual vs their views of the Society.