The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by
Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his
magnum opus.
[1] Set in 17th-century
Puritan Boston during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of
Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and struggles to create a new life of
repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of
legalism, sin, and guilt.
Plot summary
The story starts during the summer of 1642, near
Boston, Massachusetts, in a
Puritan village. A young woman, named Hester Prynne, has been led from the town
prison with her infant daughter in her arms, and on the breast of her gown "a rag of
scarlet cloth" that "assumed the shape of a letter." It is the uppercase letter "
A." The Scarlet Letter "A" represents the act of adultery that she has committed and it is to be a symbol of her sin—a
badge of shame—for all to see. A man, who is elderly and a stranger to the town, enters the crowd and asks another onlooker what's happening. The second man responds by explaining that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester's husband, who is much older than she, and whose real name is unknown, has sent her ahead to America whilst settling affairs in Europe. However, her husband does not arrive in Boston and the
consensus is that he has been lost at sea. It is apparent that, while waiting for her husband, Hester has had an affair, leading to the birth of her daughter. She will not reveal her lover's identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her subsequent
public shaming, is the punishment for her sin and secrecy. On this day, Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers, but she again refuses to identify her child's father.
[2]
The elderly onlooker is Hester's missing husband, who is now practicing medicine and calling himself
Roger Chillingworth. He reveals his true identity to Hester and medicates her daughter. They have a frank discussion where Chillingworth states that it was foolish and wrong for a cold, old intellectual like him to marry a young lively woman like Hester. He expressly states that he thinks that they have wronged each other and that he is even with her — her lover is a completely different matter. Hester refuses to divulge the name of her lover and Chillingworth does not press her stating that he will find out anyway. He does elicit a promise from her to keep his true identity as Hester's husband secret, though. He settles in Boston to practice medicine there. Several years pass. Hester supports herself by working as a seamstress, and her daughter, Pearl, grows into a willful, impish child, and is said to be the scarlet letter come to life as both Hester's love and her punishment. Shunned by the community, they live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. Community officials attempt to take Pearl away from Hester, but with the help of
Arthur Dimmesdale, an eloquent minister, the mother and daughter manage to stay together. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. Chillingworth attaches himself to the ailing minister and eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth also suspects that there may be a connection between the minister's torments and Hester's secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers something undescribed to the reader, supposedly an "A" burned into Dimmesdale's chest, which convinces him that his suspicions are correct.
[2]
The Scarlet Letter. Painting by
T. H. Matteson. This 1860 oil-on-canvas may have been made with Hawthorne's advice.
[2] Dimmesdale's psychological anguish deepens, and he invents new tortures for himself. In the meantime, Hester's charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. One night, when Pearl is about seven years old, she and her mother are returning home from a visit to the deathbed of
John Winthrop when they encounter Dimmesdale atop the town scaffold, trying to punish himself for his sins. Hester and Pearl join him, and the three link hands. Dimmesdale refuses Pearl's request that he acknowledge her publicly the next day, and a meteor marks a dull red "A" in the night sky as Dimmesdale sees Chillingworth in the distance. It is interpreted by the townsfolk to mean
Angel, as a prominent figure in the community had died that night, but Dimmesdale sees it as meaning
adultery. Hester can see that the minister's condition is worsening, and she resolves to intervene. She goes to Chillingworth and asks him to stop adding to Dimmesdale's self-torment. Chillingworth refuses. She suggests that she may reveal his true identity to Dimmesdale.
[2]
As Hester walks through the forest, she is unable to feel the sunshine. Pearl, on the other hand, basks in it. They coincide with Dimmesdale, also on a stroll through the woods. Hester informs him of the true identity of Chillingworth. The former lovers decide to flee to Europe, where they can live with Pearl as a family. They will take a ship sailing from Boston in four days. Both feel a sense of relief, and Hester removes her scarlet letter and lets down her hair. The sun immediately breaks through the clouds and trees to illuminate her release and joy. Pearl, playing nearby, does not recognize her mother without the letter. She is unnerved and expels a shriek until her mother points out the letter on the ground. Hester beckons Pearl to come to her, but Pearl will not go to her mother until Hester buttons the letter back onto her dress. Pearl then goes to her mother. Dimmesdale gives Pearl a kiss on the forehead, which Pearl immediately tries to wash off in the brook, because he again refuses to make known publicly their relationship. However, he clearly feels a release from the pretense of his former life, and the laws and sins he has lived with.
The day before the ship is to sail, the townspeople gather for a holiday put on in honor of an election and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever. Meanwhile, Hester has learned that Chillingworth knows of their plan and has booked passage on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing the mark supposedly seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead just after Pearl kisses him.
[2]
Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resumes her charitable work. She receives occasional letters from Pearl, who was rumored to have married a European aristocrat and established a family of her own. Pearl also inherits all of Chillingworth's money even though he knows she is not his daughter. There is a sense of liberation in her and the townspeople, especially the women, who had finally begun to forgive Hester of her tragic indiscretion. When Hester dies, she is buried in "a new grave near an old and sunken one, in that burial ground beside which
King's Chapel has since been built. It was near that old and sunken grave, yet with a space between, as if the dust of the two sleepers had no right to mingle. Yet one tombstone served for both." The tombstone was decorated with a letter "A", for Hester and Dimmesdale.
[edit] Major themes
The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of
Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledge—specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be immortal. For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as "her passport into regions where other women dared not tread", leading her to "speculate" about her society and herself more "boldly" than anyone else in New England.
[3]
As for Dimmesdale, the "cheating minister", his sin gives him "sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his chest vibrate[s] in unison with theirs." His eloquent and powerful sermons derive from this sense of empathy.
[3] The narrative of the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is quite in keeping with the oldest and most fully authorized principles in
Christian thought. His "Fall" is a descent from apparent grace to his own damnation; he appears to begin in purity but he ends in corruption. The subtlety is that the minister's belief is his own cheating, convincing himself at every stage of his spiritual
pilgrimage that he is saved.
[4]
The rosebush, its beauty a striking contrast to all that surrounds it—as later the beautifully embroidered scarlet A will be–is held out in part as an invitation to find "some sweet moral blossom" in the ensuing, tragic tale and in part as an image that "the deep heart of nature" (perhaps God) may look more kind on the errant Hester and her child than her Puritan neighbors do. Throughout the work, the nature images contrast with the stark darkness of the Puritans and their systems.
[5]
Chillingworth's misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the anger in his soul, which builds as the novel progresses, similar to the way Dimmesdale's illness reveals his inner turmoil. The outward man reflects the condition of the heart; an observation thought to be inspired by the deterioration of
Edgar Allan Poe, whom Hawthorne "much admired".
[5]
Although Pearl is a complex character, her primary function within the novel is as a symbol. Pearl herself is the embodiment of the scarlet letter, and Hester rightly clothes her in a beautiful dress of scarlet, embroidered with gold thread, just like the scarlet letter upon Hester's bosom.
[3] Parallels can be drawn between Pearl and the character Beatrice in
Rappaccini's Daughter. Beatrice is nourished upon poisonous plants, until she herself becomes poisonous. Pearl, in the mysterious prenatal world, imbibes the poison of her parents' guilt.
[edit] Past and present
The clash of past and present is explored in various ways. For example, the character of the old General, whose heroic qualities include a distinguished name, perseverance, integrity, compassion, and moral inner strength, is said to be "the soul and spirit of
New England hardihood". Sometimes he presides over the Custom House run by corrupt public servants, who skip work to sleep, allow or overlook smuggling, and are supervised by an inspector with "no power of thought, nor depth of feeling, no troublesome sensibilities", who is honest enough but without a spiritual compass.
[5]
Hawthorne himself had ambivalent feelings about the role of his ancestors in his life. In his autobiographical sketch, Hawthorne described his ancestors as "dim and dusky", "grave, bearded, sable-cloaked, and steel crowned", "bitter persecutors" whose "better deeds" would be diminished by their bad ones. There can be little doubt of Hawthorne's disdain for the stern morality and rigidity of the Puritans, and he imagined his predecessors' disdainful view of him: unsuccessful in their eyes, worthless and disgraceful. "A writer of story books!" But even as he disagrees with his ancestors' viewpoint, he also feels an instinctual connection to them and, more importantly, a "sense of place" in Salem. Their blood remains in his veins, but their intolerance and lack of humanity becomes the subject of his novel.
[5]
[edit] Wilderness and man
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, nature including the sea and wilderness of the surrounding forests offers safety, new beginnings and freedom from the repression of puritan society. As our hero and heroine are enveloped in their separate prisons of guilt, nature continues to represent itself, forcing its way into their lives with everything from the rose bush that stood by as Hester proudly confronted the public, to their wild and free child, Pearl. It would almost seem as if Hester and Arthur's secret union of love caught the attention of the wilderness, therefore destining them to be tied to nature for the rest of their days, whether they like it or not.
After her public exposure in the town square, Hester is banished to the outskirts of the community to live in a tiny cottage… "It stood on the shore, looking across a basin of the sea at the forest-covered hills, toward the west" (p 81 sparknotes.com- The Scarlet Letter; Themes, motifs and symbols. "The society its self (Puritan Boston society) is like an island surrounded by nature." This close proximity with nature led to a drastic difference in Hester's understanding of the puritan norm, although her location was also just close enough to and still within the reach of the weight of social punishment. "..The town and the surrounding forest represent opposing behavioral systems"(sparknotes.com) Leaving Hester in a deeply conflicting struggle between the freedom that nature provided her and the oppressive way in which her 'sin' was held above her. This strong contrast seemed to help her in many ways including strength of mind and individual formation of thought, namely owning her scarlet letter and integrating it into her own being. Not only did her home near the forest and sea influence her own life, but it also helped to raise and nurture Peal in a profoundly unique way. Pearl is described as a free creature closely resembling wild things "…looking like a wild tropical bird of rich plumage, ready to take flight…" (p.113) She confuses and frustrates many of the characters in the book with her unwillingness to heed to authority, seeming to represent the consistency of a wilderness's overwhelming presence. From a very young age, Pearl identifies with and interacts with nature in an uncommon way, as an outcast child she has no human friends so everything from the woods edge to the sea shore becomes her play mates "She seized a large horseshoe by the tail, and made prize of several five fingers, and laid out a jelly fish to melt in the warm sun." (p.185) This relationship could be viewed as a very healthy one given her choices in the New World, she is creative and independent and one comes to assume she will grow up without losing these attributes.
The young minister is trapped in a torturous and isolating prison of guilt and shame from which he has no relief, unlike Hester who has the advantage (or misfortune, depending on how you look at it) of having a physical distance between the community and herself and therefor a small amount of relief from societal oppression, Arthur is constantly in the public eye. Starting in Chapter 17 when Hester waits for Arthur in the woods, we are finally allowed, for the first time full insight to the vast and important nurturing effects which nature allows our victims of guilt, once they are out of the reach of public scrutiny. This is an incredibly important scene, not only dose it heal and reunite our lovers, but it is immensely profound for Arthur, this being the first time he is allowed the freedom and restorative passion offered up by nature.
Within this forest scene several things accrue. First we see Pearl at her best, completely at ease with and welcomed by her wild surroundings " The great black forest….became the playmate of the lonely infant, as well as it knew how. Somber as it was, it put on the kindest of its moods to welcome her." (p. 215) Than we are introduced to the passionate, refreshed and hopeful side of her parents. As mentioned earlier, Hester's beauty and strength that go hand in hand, had been waning over the past seven years and sense Arthur is so easily affected by Hester's strength, they are both uplifted and momentarily freed when she shares her heart's desires and hope with him. …"a glow of strange enjoyment threw its flickering brightness over the trouble of his breast…. His spirit rose, as it were, with a bound, and attained a nearer prospect of the sky, than throughout all the misery that had kept him groveling on the earth." (p. 212) and "The stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit. Oh exquisite relief! She had not know the weight until she felt the freedom!" (p. 213) Hester than goes on remove "…the formal cap that confined her hair; and down it fell upon her shoulders, dark and rich, with at once a shadow and a light in its abundance, and imparting the charm of softness to her features… a radiant and tender smile, that seemed gushing from the very heart of womanhood." (p. 213) And with the return of Hester's beauty and therefor outward strength, as if the heavens really were watching them "And as if the gloom of the earth and sky had been but effluence of these two mortal hearts, it vanished with their sorrow. All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest…" (p. 214) Only by the freedom of nature is it possible for Arthur and Hester to see a better future for themselves. The path they choose for their freedom is one by sea, another great and powerful natural source and although they never make it to their freedom together, the power and presence of nature is their driving force.
[edit] Publication history
Engraved illustration from an 1878 edition.
It was long thought that Hawthorne originally planned
The Scarlet Letter to be a shorter
novelette which was part of a collection to be named
Old Time Legends and that his publisher,
James Thomas Fields, convinced him to expand the work to a full-length novel.
[6] This is not true: Fields persuaded Hawthorne to publish "The Scarlet Letter" alone (along with the earlier-completed Custom House essay) but he had nothing to do with the length of the story.
[7] Hawthorne's wife
Sophia later challenged Fields' claims a little inexactly: "he has made the absurd boast that
he was the sole cause of the Scarlet Letter being published!" She noted that her husband's friend
Edwin Percy Whipple, a critic, approached Fields to consider its publication.
[8] The manuscript was written at the Peter Edgerley House in
Salem, Massachusetts, still
[when?] standing as a private residence at 14 Mall Street. It was the last Salem home where the Hawthorne family lived.
[9]
The Scarlet Letter was published as a novel in the spring of 1850 by Ticknor & Fields, beginning Hawthorne's most lucrative period.
[10] When he delivered the final pages to Fields in February 1850, Hawthorne said that "some portions of the book are powerfully written" but doubted it would be popular.
[11] In fact, the book was an instant best-seller
[12] though, over fourteen years, it brought its author only $1,500.
[10] Its initial publication brought wide protest from natives of Salem, who did not approve of how Hawthorne had depicted them in his introduction "The Custom-House". A 2,500-copy second edition of
The Scarlet Letter included a preface by Hawthorne dated March 30, 1850, that stated he had decided to reprint his introduction "without the change of a word... The only remarkable features of the sketch are its frank and genuine good-humor... As to
enmity, or ill-feeling of any kind, personal or political, he utterly disclaims such motives".
[13]
The Scarlet Letter was also one of the first mass-produced books in America. Into the mid-nineteenth century, bookbinders of home-grown literature typically hand-made their books and sold them in small quantities. The first mechanized printing of
The Scarlet Letter, 2,500 volumes, sold out within ten days,
[10] and was widely read and discussed to an extent not much experienced in the young country up until that time. Copies of the first edition are often sought by collectors as rare books, and may fetch up to around $18,000
USD.
[edit] Critical response
On its publication, critic
Evert Augustus Duyckinck, a friend of Hawthorne's, said he preferred the author's
Washington Irving-like tales. Another friend, critic
Edwin Percy Whipple, objected to the novel's "morbid intensity" with dense psychological details, writing that the book "is therefore apt to become, like Hawthorne, too painfully anatomical in his exhibition of them".
[14] Most literary critics praised the book but religious leaders took issue with the novel's subject matter.
[15] Orestes Brownson complained that Hawthorne did not understand Christianity, confession, and remorse.
[citation needed] A review in
The Church Review and Ecclesiastical Register concluded the author "perpetrates bad morals."
[16]
On the other hand, 20th century writer
D. H. Lawrence said that there could be not be a more perfect work of the American imagination than
The Scarlet Letter.
[17] Henry James once said of the novel, "It is beautiful, admirable, extraordinary; it has in the highest degree that merit which I have spoken of as the mark of Hawthorne's best things--an indefinable purity and lightness of conception...One can often return to it; it supports familiarity and has the inexhaustible charm and mystery of great works of art."
[18]
The book's immediate and lasting success are due to the way it addresses spiritual and moral issues from a uniquely American standpoint.
[citation needed] 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. It has been said that this work represents the height of Hawthorne's literary genius; dense with terse descriptions. It remains relevant for its philosophical and psychological depth, and continues to be read as a classic tale on a universal theme.
[19]
