By Nathaniel Hawthorne
Pre-Reading Activities
Anticipation Guide
Carefully read each of the following statements. Then identify each as “true” or “false.” Be ready to explain
your choices.
† People should never have to sacrifice living happy lives.
True False
† When it comes to keeping secrets, the truth will always find a way out.
True False
† Adultery is an unforgivable sin.
True False
† Some sins are worse than others.
True False
† The way a person deals with shame and guilt is a measure of their character.
True False
† Public ridicule is an effective form of punishment.
True False
† Revenge is justified if the original offense is egregious enough.
True False
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Introduction to Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–64) and The Scarlet Letter (1850)
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4th, in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. His family
descended from the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; among his forebears
was John Hathorne (Hawthorne added the "w" to his name when he began to write), one of
the judges at the 1692 Salem witch trials. Throughout his life, Hawthorne was both
fascinated and disturbed by his kinship with John Hathorne.
The majority of Hawthorne's work takes America's Puritan past as its subject, but The
Scarlet Letter uses the material to greatest effect. The Puritans were a group of religious
reformers who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630s under the leadership of John Winthrop
(whose death is recounted in the novel). The religious sect was known for its intolerance of
dissenting ideas and lifestyles. In The Scarlet Letter, set in the 1640’s, Hawthorne portrays
the Puritan society as repressive and authoritarian. The Puritan setting also enables him to
portray the human soul under extreme pressures.
Transcendentalism’s Influence
During the 1830’s, 40’s, and 50’s, the Transcendentalist movement, led by Ralph Waldo Emerson, was an important
force in New England intellectual circles. Hawthorne's fiancée, Sophia Peabody, drew him into the Transcendentalist
philosophy. His later works show some Transcendentalist influence, including a belief in individual choice and consequence,
and an emphasis on symbolism. But many critics believe that his work also focuses on the darkness and dysfunction inherent in
flawed humans, and this “Anti-Transcendentalism” was a reaction to his exposure to Emerson and Thoreau. As America's first
true psychological novel, The Scarlet Letter would convey these ideals; contrasting Puritan morality with passion and
individualism, but also with cruelty and pain.
A Taboo Subject?
The Scarlet Letter attained an immediate and lasting success because it addressed spiritual and moral issues
from a uniquely American standpoint. It was also one of the first mass-printed books in America. In 1850, adultery
was an extremely risqué subject, but because Hawthorne had the support of the New England literary establishment,
it passed easily into the realm of appropriate reading. Hawthorne referred to his novels as romances, in the broadest
literary sense of the word.
A Unique Narrator
The Scarlet Letter opens with a long preamble about how the book came to be written. The nameless narrator is the
surveyor of the customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts. In the customhouse's attic, he has discovered a number of documents,
among them a manuscript bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered patch of cloth in the shape of an “A.” The manuscript,
the work of a past surveyor, details events that occurred some two hundred years before the narrator's time. When the
narrator looses his customs post, he decides to write a fictional account of the events recorded in the manuscript. The Scarlet
Letter is the final product. The narrator is a rather high-strung man, whose Puritan ancestry makes him feel somewhat guilty
about his writing career. He writes because he is interested in American history and because he believes that America needs to
better understand its religious and moral heritage. Although the narrator pretends to disapprove of Hester's independent
philosophizing, his tone indicates that he secretly admires her independence and her ideas.
Although this narrator seems to have much in common with Nathaniel Hawthorne himself—Hawthorne also worked as a
customs officer, lost his job due to political changes, and had Puritan ancestors whose legacy he considered both a blessing and
a curse—it is important not to conflate the two storytellers. The narrator is not just a stand-in for Hawthorne; he is
carefully constructed to enhance the book aesthetically and philosophically.
Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
* Themes
Sin, Knowledge, and the Human Condition - The characters contemplate their own sinfulness on a daily basis.
The Puritan community views sin as a threat to the community that should be punished and suppressed. Characters’
responses to sin reveal their true personalities.
The Nature of Evil – There is confusion over the nature and causes of evil. Is evil found in the characters’ sins or
in the perversion of love? Hawthorne portrays the destructive power of human characteristics like revenge,
selfishness, arrogance, and possession of another versus the healing power of love, humility, and forgiveness.
Identity and Society – Hawthorne portrays the difficulties of developing a strong and independent self within a
community—the conflict between individual needs and societal norms.
* Motifs
Civilization versus the Wilderness - In The Scarlet Letter, the town and the surrounding forest represent opposing
behavioral systems. Influenced by the Transcendentalists, Hawthorne investigates the role of nature in human life—
both positive and negative aspects.
Night versus Day – Hawthorne emphasizes the dichotomy between sunlight and darkness,
Evocative Names - The names in this novel often seem to beg to be interpreted symbolically. Think about what
each name makes you think of and what it may represent.
* Symbols
The Scarlet Letter - The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes a powerful symbol
of something else. The letter's meaning shifts as time passes and the novel continues. The instability of the letter's
apparent meaning calls into question society's ability to use symbols for repression.
The Meteor - In Chapter XII, a meteor traces out an “A” in the night sky. Different members of the community
interpret the meteor differently.
Pearl - Although Pearl is a complex character, her main function within the novel is as a symbol.
The Rosebush Next to the Prison Door - The narrator chooses to begin his story with the image of the rosebush
beside the prison door. The rosebush functions as a paradoxical symbol—it simultaneously represents two opposing
abstract ideas.