The Scarlet LetterProject

Matthew MaglioccaPeriod 708/30/13

Based on the book

“The Scarlet Letter”

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne

NathanielHawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne had a very successful life. He was born on July 4th, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clark Manning. His family was very strict about the Puritan Religion. He added a “W” to his surname to try to disassociate himself from his ancestors after learning that his ancestors oversaw the Salem witch trials. His father died when he was only four years old of yellow fever. After his father’s death, Nathaniel, his mother, and his two sisters moved in with relatives of his mother, living there for 10 years. In 1816, Hawthorne’s Uncle Richard and Uncle Robert built his family a house in Raymond, Maine to live in. In 1819, he was sent back to Samuel Archer’s High School which was located in Salem. In 1821, with the financial support of his Uncle Robert, Hawthorne was sent to Bowdoin College mainly because of its relatively inexpensive tuition rate. After graduating from college with a master’s degree in English composition, Hawthorne then moved back in with his mother and began writing. He strengthened his writing skills by writing many short stories & poems. In 1828, Hawthorne anonymously published his first novel titled Fanshawe. In 1836, Hawthorne was given the opportunity to edit The American Magazine of Useful & Entertaining Knowledge. Nathaniel had several different jobs throughout his career. These jobs included working at The Boston Custom House, being a surveyor for the district of Salem, & being a correspondent secretary in Salem. While he worked, he still kept writing novels, short stories, & even poems. Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody on July 9, 1842, at a ceremony in the Peabody parlor on West Street in Boston. Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne had three children together with the names of Una, Julian, & Rose. In 1848, he had a difficult time coping about his mother’s sad death. Also during this time, Nathaniel admitted that he was having a difficult time writing. Hawthorne returned to writing and published The Scarlet Letter in March of 1850. D. H. Lawrence, a 20th century writer said, “There could be no more perfect work of the American imagination than The Scarlet Letter.” Other then The Scarlet Letter, he also wrote many other fantastic novels such as The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, and The Marble Faun. He also wrote many classic short stories throughout his life. His most famous three were Twice-Told Tales, Grandfather’s Chair, & Tanglewood Tales. Almost all of his stories & novels were based upon the Puritan religion. Poet John Greenleaf Whittier said, “He admired the weird and subtle beauty in Hawthorne's tales.” Unfortunately, Nathaniel Hawthorne died on May 19th, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Many years after his death, he was inducted into the “Hall of Fame for Great Americans” in 1900.

Source of INFO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne

Hester Prynne is a woman who had been shunned upon in her community for committing adultery. Due to her committing adultery, she could have been sentenced to death. Instead of getting executed, she instead had to wear an “A” on all of her clothing symbolizing that she was an adulteress. She also had to stand on a scaffold for the whole town to make fun of her. The reason why she wasn’t sentenced to death was mainly because she was pregnant with her daughter Pearl. Several people wanted to know who the father was of her daughter, but she did not reveal who he was. Her husband she cheated on was Roger Chillingworth. They lived to together as husband and wife back in Europe. Roger and Hester both were going to emigrate from Europe to Massachusetts. Hester was sent first, and Roger had to stay back until he finished some business arrangements in Europe. Her husband never showed up, which led her to have an affair. The man she had an affair with was Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, whom impregnated Hester. If Hester would have told the town who the father of Pearl was, she would ruined Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale’s reputation completely. Hester not revealing the identity of Pearl’s father showed that she had great loyalty. Hester knew she had sinned hugely against her husband, but she never had any real feelings for her husband. On page 69, she said, “Thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any.” Hester lived many years on the outskirts of town with Pearl. She had no support or help raising Pearl ever. She was a very strong and independent woman though. When ever people gave her rude stares, or said horrible things, she did not let anything get to her. Seven years after the birth of Pearl, Hester & Reverend Dimmesdale plotted in the forest to steal away on a ship to Europe. They mainly wanted to leave town so that they could live with Pearl as a family. On page 182, Hester said to Reverend Dimmesdale, “Let us not look back. The past is gone!” After she said that, she ripped the letter “A” off her bosom. She also took the formal cap off that confined her hair, and let her beautiful hair show. Shortly after she did that, she had to put the “A” back on, and hid her hair under the cap again because Pearl did not recognize her. Reverend Dimmesdale did indeed reveal the truth about Hester and him to the public at the election ceremony. He told the truth about them two on the scaffold, where Hester was laughed at seven years ago. Immediately after he did that, he died. Many people did not believe what he said though. After that, Hester and Pearl left Massachusetts, and disappeared. Hester then returned back to Massachusetts many years later alone, and continued her charity work. Many people came to her for assistance, and looked at her with respect. She later died, and was buried next to Reverend Dimmesdale.

Character Profile:

Hester Prynne

Hester Prynne has had various conflicts throughout the story. One of the major problems she had was with Governor Bellingham. Hester and Pearl both went to Governor Bellingham’s mansion. Along with them being there, Mr. Wilson, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth were also all there. “Hester Prynne” said Governor Bellingham, fixing his naturally stern regard on the wearer of the scarlet letter, “there hath been much question concerning thee, of late. The point hath been weightily discussed, whether we, that are of authority and influence, do well discharge our consciences by trusting an immortal soul, such as there is in yonder child, to guidance of one who hath stumbled and fallen, amid the pitfalls of this world. Speak, thou, the child’s own mother! Were it not, thinkest thou, for thy little one’s temporal and eternal welfare that she be taken out of thy charge, and clad soberly, and disciplined strictly, and instructed in the truths of heaven and earth? What canst thou do for the child, in this kind?” (Page 101) Governor Bellingham basically just stated that since Hester committed a sin, Pearl should be taken away from her. Hester replied to the governor “I can teach my little Pearl what I have learned from this.” (Page 101) The governor then responded, “Women, it is thy badge of shame! It is because of thy stain which that letter indicates, that would transfer thy child to other hands.” (Page 101) Mr. Wilson then tried to see whether Pearl was educated well on Christian knowledge by asking her a few questions. Pearl did not do so well with the questions Mr. Wilson asked her. “This is awful!” cried the governor, slowly recovering from the astonishment into which Pearl’s response had thrown him. “Here is a child of three years old, and she cannot tell who made her! Without question, she is equally in the dark as to her soul, its present depravity, and future destiny! Methinks, gentlemen, we need inquire no further.” the governor said. (Page 102) “God gave me the child!” cried she. “He gave her in requital of all things else, which he had taken from me. She is my happiness!—she is my torture. Ye shall not take her! I will die first!” Hester protested. (Page 103) “My poor woman, the child shall be well cared for!—far better than thou canst do it!” said the not unkind old minister. (Page 103) Hester then told Reverend Dimmesdale to help her out. Reverend Dimmesdale then mentioned, “There is truth in what she says. God gave her the child, and have her, too, an instinctive knowledge of its nature and requirements,--both seemingly so peculiar,--which no other mortal being can possess. And, moreover, is there not a quality of awful sacredness in the relation between this mother and child?” (Page 104) “Well said, again! I feared the woman had no better thought than to make a mountebank of her child!” cried good Mr. Wilson. (Page 104) Because Reverend Dimmesdale gave that speech, Governor Bellingham decided to let Hester keep her child, solving this conflict. The effect this conflict had on Hester was her feelings for Reverend Dimmesdale increased. Even though Hester could not publicly express her love for him at the moment, she was still grateful for what he had done for her. The consequence of this conflict was that Roger Chillingworth now gained the impression that Reverend Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. This is one of the many conflicts that Hester Prynne faced in The Scarlet Letter.

Conflict Analysis

Sometimes in life, we feel guilty over bad decisions that we have made. “Guilt” is a key theme in The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne & Reverend Dimmesdale both depict this theme in the novel. This is one of the major themes in the story. Hester Prynne & Reverend Dimmesdale both made a bad decision, which resulted in them both feeling really guilty. Their bad decision was having an affair with each other. This affair ended up with Hester getting impregnated by Reverend Dimmesdale. On top of that, Hester Prynne committed adultery against her husband Roger Chillingworth. Hester knew she had sinned hugely against her husband, but she never had any real feelings for him. On page 69, she said, “Thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any.” Hester’s sin was written on all of her clothing. She had to wear the letter “A” to symbolize that she was an adulteress. The scarlet letter apparently sometimes burned on Hester’s bosom. This symbolized the guilt of her sin she committed. On top of that punishment, she also had to stand on a scaffold to be made fun of in front of the whole town. Reverend Dimmesdale’s guilt is symbolized by him always holding his hand over his heart. Dimmesdale did not receive any punishment like Hester did for committing adultery. That was mainly because Hester did not reveal who she had an affair with. Dimmesdale letting Hester take all the punishment also added guilt to himself. At an election day ceremony, seven years after the birth of their daughter Pearl, Reverend Dimmesdale finally revealed the truth about Hester & himself. On page 227, Reverend Dimmesdale said, “I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood; here, with this woman(Hester), whose arm, more than the little strength wherewith I have crept hitherward.” On page 228, he then said, “May God forgive thee! Thou, too hast deeply sinned!” Reverend Dimmesdale telling the truth more than likely released a lot of guilt of his shoulders. Shortly after he made the announcement about the truth, he died. The Scarlet Letter theme “Guilt” is something that everyone faces every now and again. Hester Prynne & Reverend Dimmesdale’s guilt about their affair was very large. Their bad decision was not a minor one, but a major one. The decisions we make could ultimately be good or could ultimately be bad, causing ourselves a lot of guilt.

Theme

I personally did like The Scarlet Letter. I thought that the story was very well written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I liked how he portrayed the story like today’s society. In the story, Hester Prynne committed adultery. When everyone found out about that, she then was shunned/laughed upon. Similar events happen like that in today’s world still. I learned from the story to keep my head always held up high. Hester Prynne was teased, stared at, and humiliated in her town for many years. Throughout all of those many years, she did not let any comment affect her life at all. I can personally relate to the townspeople that were rude to Hester Prynne. If someone did something like what Hester did, I would more than likely tease them about it. If someone dyed their hair blue for example, they would greatly be laughed at in today’s world. This is not a trait that I am particularly proud of. I would strongly recommend this novel to my grandma. She loves novels that are gloomy, and that have tragic events in them. She also likes to read books with life lessons in them. This is a book she would clearly read.

Personal Reflection