Chapter I:
The Prison Door
The Scarlet Letter Presentation
Chapter Summary
Nathaniel Hawthorne sets up the setting of this
story in the first chapter of the Scarlet Letter. He
illustrates the town of Boston, Massachusetts, outside
of a prison-house door sometime in June 1642. The
building is described as ugly, and it is a metaphor to
the fact that crime exists even amongst people
dedicated to making themselves better people, in other
words, hypocrisy. An important feature near the door
is a rose bush blooming on one side of it. They believe
it sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann
Hutchinson as she entered the prison-door. The
narrator suggests that it symbolizes the moral of the
story, that there is hope and foreshadowing that a tale
of human frailty and sorrow is about to be told.
Critique Summary
James Watts thinks that the Scarlet Letter is still
relevant in today’s world despite the fact that it was an
old Puritan story about a woman by the name of Hester
Prynne who committed adultery and was forced to
wear a scarlet letter so everyone would know that she
was guilty of that sin. He is directing a version of a play
for this book. He states that he remembers reading this
novel in high-school and likes how it portrays the story
of “the strength of women and the weakness of men”.
This article also describes how harsh society blows
things out of proportion because of a young woman
who made one mistake. Hester Prynne is described as
someone who is emotionally strong and confident,
regardless of the harsh circumstances.
Source: Watts, James D. Jr. "'Scarlet Letter' still relevant." Tulsa World (OK) 13
Jan. 2011: Newspaper Source. Web. 20 Aug. 2012.
Response to Critique
I definitely agree with what is said in that
article! People make mistakes all the time. Every
sinner has a future, every saint has a past. And
you can’t just judge people just because they sin
differently from you. The Scarlet Letter also
proves the point that back in those times, people
looked down upon women very differently than
they did men. Some of those factors still exist in
society today. Women do have to go through a
lot, and society definitely plays a big role in the
negativity in the world today.
Theme of Chapter
Hope is the main theme of this chapter and
is best symbolized by the beautiful rose bush
in the repulsive prison-door setting. The fact
that it is still blooming gives hope that
regardless of the bad, good is still around and
you just have to find the “good” in every bad
situation. This theme is setting itself up for the
events about to occur in this suspenseful
novel.
Main Character(s)
The only character in this chapter is the
narrator who is setting the tale up by talking
about the setting and giving a little bit of
background information before he dives into
Hester Prynne’s story.
Present-Day Connection
• This chapter could connect to the disaster of
Hurricane Katrina which destroyed the coast and
made it “ugly” but with hope it is now rebuilt
and back to looking beautiful. However, it would
not be possible if pieces were not left behind
from some of the buildings that were destroyed,
to give builders and residents hope that it will be
fixed.
“What if” Q & A
Q: What if Nathaniel Hawthorne just dove into the novel
and story about Hester Prynne without illustrating the
setting and displaying symbolism through the rose
bush?
A: I feel like this question will be better answered as the
novel progresses; however, I feel like in the couple of
paragraphs of this chapter, it is really hinting onto
how this book is going to turn out. If it wasn’t for the
rose bush representation, I would think that this
whole book was going to be one depressing novel, but
that gives me hope that it may have a happy ending!