The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Chapters 1-3 Discussion Notes
Reminders:
 Hawthorne’s characters NOT stereotyped (unlike Washington Irving’s “henpecked husband” and “nagging wife”)
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Hawthorne concerned with what makes them human (particularly the effects of guilt and shame)
 Pay particular attention to the narrator’s attitude toward the Puritans, their values, their actions, etc. (Remember, novel pub. in 1850. We’re examining Puritan culture through Hawthorne’s “1850 lens.”)
Mood (dreary, somber, dark, depressing, heavy)
Utopia = Winthrop’s “city upon a hill”
Prison/ cemetery (natural depravity)
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Describe prison (Presence/ description IRONIC in a Utopian world.) o “marked with weather stains and other indications of age” o Rust on ironwork
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stands test of time o “more antique than anything in the New World” – already established o Ugly edifice
Color symbolism
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Black (prison) = “black flower of civilized society”
Rose bush
 “kept alive by history”
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Anne Hutchinson = banished for religious beliefs (thought salvation achieved by grace not good works)
 Foreshadowing = see end of chapter 1 (“tale of human frailty and sorrow”)
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Symbolic associations
Characterization of Puritans
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Stern, somber (see descriptions of dress; note “stern severity of Puritan character”)
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Descriptions of their punishments/ who they punished (Quakers, Antinomians, unruly children, Indians, Mistress Hibbins)
 “religion and law almost identical” (Again, think Winthrop’s vision. Note than the scaffold is “beneath the eaves of Boston’s earliest church.)
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Valued public discipline (public holiday for punishment)
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How does Hawthorne feel about this and how do you know?
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Meager, cold, etc.
1 st Scaffold Scene (first of three; scenes offer structure to novel)
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Note details to compare/ contrast with other two scaffold scenes
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Summer time, 12:30 (half past meridian)
Processional to marketplace
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Scaffold under eaves of church
 Who’s present? (“who’s who” = Gov. and his counselors, judge, general, ministers, townspeople – all looking DOWN on Hester from balcony) o Gov. Bellingham (elaborately dressed, old, powerful, actual gov.)

o John Wilson (eldest clergyman of Boston) – See p. 59 o Dimmesdale (young, frightened, lost, uneasy) o Dimmesdale v. Wilson?
 Hester a member of Dimmesdale’s church, he’s responsible for her soul

D. argues that shame is in commission of sin, not in the showing of it forth (Read aloud from p. 59 to end of chapter. What is D.’s plea to
Hester? How does he react to her refusal to name the father? Is his reaction what you would expect?  Characterize Dimmesdale .)
Depiction of women

Particularly interested in punishment
 How have women changed, according to narrator? (less “robust” and “outspoken”  derogatory toward Puritan women)
 Chief complaint of older women = “brazen hussy” getting off too easy (wanted hot iron on forehead at the very least – some want death)
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Young woman claims Hester will nonetheless feel the shame
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Compare/ contrast with depiction of Hester
Light / dark imagery
 Town beadle emerges “like a black shadow emerging into sunshine”
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Baby winces in bright light (hasn’t seen light of day in prison for 3 months)
Hester Prynne
 Throws off beadle’s touch “with natural dignity and force of character” to step “of her own free will”
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First impulse is to clasp child
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Why? (not out of motherly affection, but to hide A) She decides, however, that “one token of shame will not hide the other”
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Motherly? (not really) – clutches child til it screams
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Haughty smile as she steps forward
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Description of A (Note these throughout the novel. Note association with supernatural.)
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Tall, thin, elegant
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Dark, glossy hair
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Lady-like, dignified, radiant (angelic) – differs from other women thus far described
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Compared to Divine Maternity (See p. 49 )
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How ironic? (quiz question)
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How does Hester deal with scaffold time?
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falls into daydream of sorts o Falls into memory of other scenes from her life o Village in England (humble childhood)
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parents
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“pale, thin, scholarly visage” (Read aloud his description, p. 51)
How does narrator feel about Hester?
Scarlet letter/ reactions
 “brazen hussy” (women) – think she’s proud of what she’s done and is making fun of punishment
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Note different descriptions.
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Equated with baby (both symbols of her sin)
Recognition (man on Indian’s side at edge of crowd) o Describe physical appearance.

o Note descriptions of him thus far. (Pay particular attention to eyes.) o What does finger on lips suggest? (secret) = foreshadowing o How does Hester feel about this man? How do you know? o Identifies himself as a wandering stranger, asks for explanation of Hester’s crime o Hester moved here awaiting husband who never came, had child out of wedlock, won’t tell who father is o Why didn’t Hester get death penalty?  Hester a “living sermon against sin” o How does he react to Hester’s situation? (See “He will be known! 3x on p. 56)