...The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Depression in the Novel Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s great grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the three judges in the Salem Witch Trials. When Hawthorne was 4, his father died. This left Hawthorne being the only son, and man of his family. Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody in 1842. It was Sophia that encouraged Hawthorne to write. In order for Hawthorne to support Sophia and his family, he worked at the Salem Custom House in 1838. In 1848 Hawthorne was relieved of his job due to his political ties. However, this led to his greatest success of writing The Scarlet Letter. Depression-a condition of mental disturbance, typically with lack of energy and difficulty in maintaining concentration or interest in life. After Hawthorne was relieved of his job in the Salem Custom House, he fell into a depression. During his depression Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. This book has a sad and gloomy outlook on life and society. Hawthorne expresses the Puritan townsmen to be very harsh and judgmental of Hester and Pearl. They claimed they should brand the “A” on Hester’s forehead and that Pearl was no good. Hawthorne also showed how hard of a life Hester had. Even Pearl said “the sunshine does not like you,” meaning that Hester has no happiness. Hawthorne’s depression was a huge impact on Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale was the pastor of Boston Massachusetts in The Scarlet...
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...Section #1: The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, starts off by introducing how the book was written. The anonymous narrator stumbled upon some manuscripts labeled with a red “A”, all of which happened some 200 years before his time. He decided to write a fictional story about the facts he found in the manuscripts and thus, The Scarlet Letter was born. The story begins in a Boston Puritan Settlement in the 17th century. Hester Prynne and her young daughter, Pearl, are being led from the town prison, bearing the infamous “scarlet letter”. A man in the crowd said she was being tried for adultery, after her husband left and was supposed to be “lost at sea”, and gave birth to a child. She will not, however, give the identity of her lover, and the red “A”, along with her public shame, is punishment for her sin and secrecy. The man in the crowd turns out to be Hester’s long lost husband, who is now practicing medicine and is going by the name Roger Chillingworth. Several years pass and, being banished by the town, Hester and Pearl live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. The town repeatedly tries to take Pearl away from Hester, but with the help of the young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, the two manage to stay together. Chillingworth has his suspicions about Dimmesdale’s health and the fact he may be hiding a secret, so he decided to move in with him to give him constant care. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man’s chest...
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...when it comes to adapting the book into a film. A fine example of the freedom directors take is the contrast between The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the movie directed by Roland Joffé. While there are some similarities between the two, Joffé created a movie that showcases the differences. The variations between the movie and the book are evident within the first few seconds of watching. While the book begins with a description of the jailhouse, the movie begins with a girl running through the woods and eventually pans over to a Native American funeral. However, the differences are not just visual. In the...
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...Things are not always what they seem. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter uses the central idea of duality to exemplify this. A key symbol of duality Hawthorne presents in The Scarlet Letter is Hester Prynne's embodiment of her sin: the beautifully embroidered scarlet letter. Forcibly placed upon Hester's bosom, the letter punishes her for committing adultery with the town reverend, Arthur Dimmesdale. The badge also intends to outcast her and her daughter, Pearl, from the Puritan society of Boston. Although the "A" originally acted as Hester's punishment, the interpretation of the scarlet letter varies for Dimmesdale and Pearl to juxtapose Hester's unwavering perspective. Besides Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale has the biggest personal...
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...In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, he exploits the symbolism of colors to develop Pearl as a character. At Pearl’s birth and beginning years, she is described as “white and clear” (Hawthorne 136) due to how pure Pearl was. As the years went by, Hester’s passion caused a change within Pearl. The white for purity transformed into “deep stains of crimson and gold” (Hawthorne 136). The colors symbolic of love and compassion began to develop within Pearl, eventually creating Pearl’s desire to protect Hester. This desire can be seen when both Hester and Pearl travel to see the governor. During their journey little kids threatened to hurl mud at the both of them but Pearl bolted towards the kids and “put them all to flight” (Hawthorne...
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...in front of others. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the many sinful would even inflict self-damage on themselves . The Scarlet Letter affirms the importance of work ethic and virtuosity of life. Hawthorne exercises the device of rhetorical irony and symbolism throughout the book which is supported by other devices such as pathos and abstract ideas to reveal the effects of sin on the Puritans. The Puritan way of life is distinctive from what we see today. Hawthorne establishes symbolic elements in the introduction of the wild rose bush. Hawthorne describes the bush as a possible ¨sweet moral blossom.” Hawthorne then starts with 1st...
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...In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter, some of the major characters are isolated from the other Puritans and from Puritan society. One of the main characters, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest for committing the sin of adultery. The Puritans during this time period were known as unforgiving and would often judge others for their sins instead of themselves. In the book Hawthorne reveals that Pearl’s true father is the minister Dimmesdale, while everyone else in town thinks it is Hester’s husband who is not in the town. The people in the town shame Hester for her sin and humiliate her in the streets - making her tell what the scarlet letter A represents on her chest. Hester is isolated because of her sin, Dimmesdale is isolated by hiding his sin, and Pearl as well has been isolated because of her parents’ sin. In the book Hester Prynne has been isolated from the other Puritans around her. She has been forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest for her sin and the people in town shame her. Hester is often stopped in the streets, as shown by a quote in the book. The quote states, “Clergymen paused in the street to address words of exhortation that brought a crowd,” (38.) This however is not the only way Hester is isolated in the book - she chooses to isolate herself even further. She felt as if she...
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...The Scarlet Letter “He had been driven hither by the impulse of that Remorse which dogged him everywhere, and whose own sister and closely linked companion was that Cowardice which invariably drew him back, with her tremulous gripe, just when the other impulse had hurried him to the verge of a disclosure” (Hawthorne 134). Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale constantly battles between these two emotions throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In the story, Dimmesdale struggles to manage the sin of adultery in his life, as the evil Roger Chillingworth, husband of Hester Prynne, impresses upon him. Hester must also deal with this sin, through the exhibition of a scarlet “A” on her bosom, as she struggles to raise Pearl, the child that she conceived through her sin with Dimmesdale. Both Dimmesdale and Hester struggle to be rid of the darkness that plagues their worlds, and their inmost beings. Hawthorne skillfully develops the theme of light versus dark in The Scarlet Letter. In each of the scaffold scenes, Hawthorne uses either light or darkness, not only to expose truth, but also to conceal it. In the first scaffold scene, which takes place in the daytime, “[Hester] took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the...
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...Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Colors can represent many things; for example it can represent the emotions someone is feeling or to describe something or to simply determine whether a food is going to be eaten. Another example would be a funeral; everyone knows that it’s appropriate to wear black because it’s a time to mourn and sorrow for a lost loved one, but if someone were to wear black to a wedding it would portray to be inappropriate because weddings are created to be a time full of joy and new beginnings. Colors are used in present day to represent things, yet they were just as useful hundreds of years ago, for instance; the 1600’s. In the 1600’s, the Puritan society represented a community that was gloomy and dark while also being full of strict rules and “perfect” people who did not sin. In The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he uses the main character, Hester Prynne, as a representation of the Puritan society by using symbolism in two ways: the scarlet letter itself and the forest. To begin with, Hester Prynne was accused of adultery while her husband was gone from Massachusetts, her home town. Because of this accusation, she was forced to pin a bright red scarlet letter on her chest. This scarlet letter stood out in front of people’s eyes whenever she was around. Now as a Puritan, it was forbidden to sin. They believed that sinners were working with the devil to finish any undone business he had left. It was a rule with the Puritans to have an...
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...Individualism, although specific for each person, is extremely vague in different societies. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Puritan-era novel The Scarlet Letter intensely presents the contradicting representations of individualism and its effect on not only the individuals themselves but also on the entire society. In Puritan society, individualism is abhorred, yet many influential characters are strikingly different individuals. The Scarlet Letter presents individualism as an integral part of society due to the diversity of human personalities and passions, yet the strict society that Hawthorne depicts limits the true potential of individualism. Hester Prynne, an adulterer and supposed widow, mostly thrives on being an individual, yet is compelled...
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...throughout the novel prove that she is a strong female character in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne is also viewed as a hero by some people in parts of the novel. A point one could argue is whether The Scarlet Letter is a feminist novel or not; although the novel is supportive and negative to both men and women, it is often considered to be a feminist novel. Despite Hester’s heroic actions throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter is not a feminist novel because during Puritan times, punishment was equal between men and women. To begin, the most distinguished action carried out by Hester was her affair with the town’s priest. The fact that Hester had an affair became public knowledge when she became pregnant and gave birth to her child. This action was considered a crime: Hester’s punishment included jail time, public shaming, and, “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes...
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...The Scarlet Letter Essay In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne effectively conveys his message through his continual use of powerful symbolism throughout the novel. Hawthorne uses copious symbols throughout the book that represent a broader meaning, such as the scarlet letter and the meteor. For example, Pearl’s name is allegorical of her character and the price her mother paid. An actual pearl is not completely white. This demonstrates how Pearl is not entirely pure and has a tendency to be an “elfish” child. Pearl is also correlated to the rose bush near the prison. Hawthorne states, “The child finally announced that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses” (Hawthorne 90). She relates to this because although Pearl is beautiful, she can have her “thorns.” In the novel, Hawthorne states, “But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price,--purchased with all she had,--her mother’s only treasure” (Hawthorne 73). This...
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...Nathaniel Hawthorne's background influenced him to write the bold novel The Scarlet Letter. One important influence on the story is money. Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his first daughter added to the financial burden ("Biographical Note" VII). He received a job at the Salem Custom House only to lose it three years later and be forced to write again to support his family (IX). Consequently, The Scarlet Letter was published a year later (IX). It was only intended to be a long short story, but the extra money a novel would bring in was needed ("Introduction" XVI). Hawthorne then wrote an introduction section titled "The Custom House" to extend the length of the book and The Scarlet Letter became a full novel (XVI). In addition to financial worries, another influence on the story is Hawthorne's rejection of his ancestors. His forefathers were strict Puritans, and John Hathorne, his great-great-grandfather, was a judge presiding during the Salem witch trials ("Biographical Note" VII). Hawthorne did not condone their acts and actually spent a great deal of his life renouncing the Puritans in general (VII). Similarly, The Scarlet Letter was a literal "soapbox" for Hawthorne to convey to the world that the majority of Puritans were strict and unfeeling. For example, before Hester emerges from the prison she is being scorned by a group of women who feel that she deserves a larger punishment than she actually receives. Instead of only being...
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...Megan Naylor Dr. DiCicco English 3664 March 29, 2011 Gender Roles in The Scarlet Letter and The Awakening During the Victorian era, the life a woman was immensely difficult. They were considered the property of their husband, and treated as such. Women were forbidden from owning their own property, even if they were given the property from their father. In such a case, the land would be transferred in ownership to her husband. A woman’s place was in the home, to dutifully care for her husband and children. Her job was to cook, clean, and bear children. Interestingly, a wife was treated similarly to her children. Obedience toward the man of the home was necessary from both the children and the mother. In contradiction to all of the restriction and repression, the nineteenth century produced two of literatures strongest women. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Kate Chopin gave American society two women who actively defied their husbands and who possessed their own strong moral codes. With The Scarlet Letter published in 1850 and set in the seventeenth century, Nathaniel Hawthorne was taking a large risk in creating a novel detailing a woman’s adultery with the town’s minister and producing an illegitimate child in the process. Despite the treatment she receives, Hester does not waver in her promise to keep her lover secret, proving that she is a strong willful woman. As the century is coming to a close, Kate Chopin produced a work that sent shock waves through American society. The...
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...The Puritan community is described as a “utopia of human virtue and happiness” (42) in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. Being a Christian community, the community prides itself on its virtues and its values. The story revolves around the sin that Hester Prynne committed against her husband, Roger Chillingworth: adultery with a Puritan minister named Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne examines the role of the community in relation to the sin of these characters and the effect the community has on the two sinners. How are the characters influenced by the Puritan community? It is the Puritan community’s twisted view and influence on the characters that negatively impacts the characters and renders them unable to move past their sins. Hawthorne...
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