HOW TO WRITE A PROJECT
General Info
ABOUT THE WRITER
GLOSSARY FROM ENGLISH INTO GREEK
Context
(TIME AND PLACE )
Plot Overview
Character List
Analysis of Major Characters
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Summary & Analysis
By Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter at a Glance
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The Scarlet Letter Summary
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About The Scarlet Letter
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Character List
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Glossary of Terms
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Major Themes
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, adulteress Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A to
mark her shame. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains unidentified and is wracked with guilt,
while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, seeks revenge. The Scarlet Letter's symbolism helps
create a powerful drama in Puritan Boston: a kiss, evil, sin, nature, the scarlet letter, and the
punishing scaffold. Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterpiece is a classic example of the human
conflict between emotion and intellect.
Written by: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Type of Work: novel
Genres: gothic romance; psychological romance (named by Hawthorne); Gothic literature;
allegory
First Published: In 1850 by Ticknor, Reed & Fields
Setting: Starts in June 1642, in the Puritan town of Boston — story continues over several
years.
Main Characters: Hester Prynne; Arthur Dimmesdale; Roger Chillingworth; Pearl
Major Thematic Topics: Puritan society; sin; guilt; conflict between emotions and intellect;
nature of evil
Motifs: death; desires; doubling; dreams; education; fears; passion; resentment; revenge;
violence
Major Symbols: the scarlet A; the punishing scaffold; a kiss; evil; sin; nature; Hawthorne's
characters; light and darkness; color imagery; the settings of forest versus village
Movie Versions: The Scarlet Letter (1979); The Scarlet Letter (1995); Easy A (2010)
The three most important aspects of The Scarlet Letter:
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The scarlet A worn by Hester Prynne stands for "adulterer." Because her daughter Pearl
was born more than nine months after Hester left her husband in England to come to
America, her fellow Puritans know that she was impregnated by someone to whom she
was not married: a sin.
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Much of the novel's introductory section, "The Custom House," is true, and is based on
Hawthorne's employment in the building of that same name in Salem, Massachusetts. The
part about finding a letter A made of cloth that has been wrapped in a parchment
manuscript, however, is entirely fictional.
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The Scarlet Letter is a gothic romance, not a historical novel. It takes place at a
recognizable place and time, the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the 17th century, but
many of its details are fanciful rather than accurate. For example, the governor's house,
as Hawthorne describes it, has a brilliantly decorated exterior, which would have been
unlikely in Puritan Boston.