The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
Hawthorne originally
intended The Scarlet
Letter to be a short
story but expanded it
at the suggestion of
his publisher.
Original Cover
The Scarlet Letter
Upon finishing The
Scarlet Letter in
1850, Nathaniel
Hawthorne read the
manuscript to his
wife, Sophia.
The Scarlet Letter
“It broke her heart,”
Hawthorne wrote,
“and sent her to bed
with a grievous
headache, which I look
upon as a triumphant
success.”
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is
filled with characters
who are meant to be
the symbols of moral
traits, rather than
realistic, living
figures. - Allegories
The Scarlet Letter
Original title page
The Scarlet Letter displays
Hawthorne lifelong
preoccupation with these
themes:
• secrecy and guilt
• the conflict between
intellectual and moral
pride
• lingering effects of
Puritanism.
Hawthorne’s Name
Hawthorne’s given
last name was
Hathorne. He added
the W because he did
not want to be
associated with his
ancestors. He felt
extremely guilty, a
lifelong
preoccupation.
Judge Hathorne
The Novel
The Scarlet Letter
The year is 1642.
The place is Boston,
a small Puritan
settlement. Before
the town jail, a group
of somber people
wait with stern
expressions.
Plot
The Puritans are in
the square awaiting
Hester Prynne, a
woman convicted
of adultery.
The image Hawthorne
gives us is that of a
young woman taken in
adultery, and standing
on a scaffold in the
midst of a hostile
crowd.
This is Puritan
Boston, where,
ironically,
private wrongdoing
is
public knowledge.
The Opening Scene
Hawthorne opens
The Scarlet Letter
just outside the
prison of what, in
the early 1640s,
was the village of
Boston.
The Opening Scene
Ask yourself what
you know about a
novel that begins
in a prison?
The Opening Scene
You probably suspect you
are reading the story
Of a crime already
committed
Of characters whose lives
are already darkened by
guilt and disgrace.
The Opening Scene
Notice the details that
create imagery:
“The sad-colored
garments” of the
spectators; the prisondoor itself, “Heavily
timbered with and
studded with iron
spikes.”
The Opening Scene
• These details create a
somber mood.
• They paint a cheerless
picture.
• They hint at a society
that places punishment
far above forgiveness.
The Opening Scene
• One note of color relieves
the gloom. A wild rose
bush blossoms by the
prison door.
• What do you think this
might symbolize?
The Rose Bush
HOPE
The rose bush suggests a
world beyond the
narrow confines of the
Puritan community
A world where beauty and
vibrant color flourish
A place where crime finds
tolerance and pity
Symbols
As you read, look for other allegories
(symbols) Hawthorne uses.
Dimmsdale
Pearl
Chillingworth
Letter A
Sunshine
Darkness
The Scaffold
The Forest