= The_Scarlet_Letter =

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= The_Scarlet_Letter =
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Introduction
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'The Scarlet Letter: A Romance' is a historical novel by American
author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan
Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel
tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man
to whom she is not married and then struggles to lead a new life of
repentance and dignity. As punishment, she must wear a scarlet letter
'A' (for "adultery"). Containing a number of religious and historic
allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

'The Scarlet Letter' was one of the first mass-produced books in the
United States. It was popular when first published and is considered a
classic work of American literature. Commonly listed among the Great
American Novels, it has inspired numerous film, television, and stage
adaptations. Critics have described 'The Scarlet Letter' as a
masterwork, and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of
the American imagination".

Plot
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In Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, a crowd gathers to witness the
punishment of Hester Prynne, a young woman who has given birth to a
baby of unknown paternity. Her sentence requires her to stand on the
scaffold of a former gallows for three hours, exposed to public
humiliation, and to wear a scarlet "A" (representing adultery) for the
rest of her life. As Hester approaches the scaffold, many women in the
crowd are angered by her beauty and quiet dignity. When commanded to
confess and name the father of her child, Hester refuses.

As Hester looks out over the crowd, she notices a small, misshapen man
and recognizes him as her long-lost husband, who had been presumed
lost at sea. The husband and wife had intended to move to the New
World. He had sent Hester ahead, intending to join her after finishing
some business. When Hester's husband sees Hester being shamed on the
scaffold for committing adultery, he asks a man in the crowd about her
and is told the story of his wife's pregnancy. He angrily exclaims
that the child's father should also be punished for his immoral act
and vows to find the man. He chooses a new name, Roger Chillingworth,
to aid him in his plan.

The Reverend John Wilson and the minister of Hester's church, Arthur
Dimmesdale, question her, but she refuses to name her lover. After she
returns to her prison cell, the jailer brings in Chillingworth, now a
physician, to calm Hester and her child with his roots and herbs. He
and Hester have an open conversation regarding their marriage and the
fact that they were both in the wrong. Chillingworth demands to know
who fathered Hester's child, but Hester refuses to divulge that
information. He accepts Hester's refusal, stating that he will find
out the man's identity anyway. Chillingworth threatens to destroy the
father of Hester's child if Hester ever reveals that Chillingworth is
her husband. Hester agrees to Chillingworth's terms, although she
suspects she will regret it.

Following her release from prison, Hester settles in a cottage at the
edge of town and earns a meager living with her needlework, which is
of extraordinary quality. She lives a quiet, somber life with her
daughter, Pearl, and performs acts of charity for the poor. She is
troubled by her daughter's unusual fascination with the scarlet "A".
The shunning of Hester also extends to Pearl, who has no playmates or
friends. As she grows older, Pearl becomes capricious and unruly. Her
conduct sparks controversy, and the church members suggest Pearl be
taken away from Hester. Hester, hearing that she may lose Pearl, goes
to speak to Governor Bellingham and ministers Wilson and Dimmesdale.
Hester appeals to Dimmesdale in desperation, and the minister
persuades the governor to let Pearl remain in Hester's care.

Because Dimmesdale's health has begun to fail, the townspeople are
happy to have Chillingworth, the newly arrived physician, take up
lodgings with their beloved minister. In close contact with
Dimmesdale, Chillingworth suspects that the minister's illness is the
result of unconfessed guilt. He applies psychological pressure to the
minister because he suspects Dimmesdale is Pearl's father. One
evening, pulling the sleeping Dimmesdale's vestment aside,
Chillingworth sees a symbol that represents his shame on the
minister's pale chest.

Tormented by his guilty conscience, Dimmesdale goes to the square
where Hester was punished years earlier. Climbing the scaffold in the
dead of night, he admits his guilt but cannot find the courage to do
so publicly in the light of day. Hester, shocked by Dimmesdale's
deterioration, decides to obtain a release from her vow of silence to
her husband.

Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest and tells him of her husband and
his desire for revenge. She convinces Dimmesdale to leave Boston in
secret on a ship to Europe where they can start life anew. Inspired by
this plan, the minister seems to gain energy.

On Election Day, Dimmesdale gives one of his most inspired sermons. As
the procession leaves the church, however, Dimmesdale climbs upon the
scaffold, confesses his sin, and dies in Hester's arms. Later, most
witnesses swear that they saw a stigma in the form of a scarlet "A"
upon his chest, although some deny this statement. Chillingworth loses
his vengeance and dies within a year, leaving Pearl a substantial
inheritance both in New England as well as in Europe; Hester and Pearl
leave for Europe shortly thereafter.

After several years, Hester returns to her cottage without Pearl and
resumes wearing the scarlet letter. When she dies, she is buried near
Dimmesdale's grave, and they share a simple slate tombstone engraved
with an epitaph described as: "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules"
(“On a black background, the letter A in red").

Themes
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Elmer Kennedy-Andrews remarks that Hawthorne in "The Customhouse" sets
the context for his story and "tells us about 'romance', which is his
preferred generic term to describe 'The Scarlet Letter', as his
subtitle for the book- 'A Romance'- would indicate." In this
introduction, Hawthorne describes a space between materialism and
"dreaminess" that he calls "a neutral territory, somewhere between the
real world and fairyland, where the Actual and the Imaginary may meet,
and each imbues itself with nature of the other". This combination of
"dreaminess" and realism gave the author space to explore major
themes.

The experience of Prynne 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, of what it means to
be immoral. For Prynne, the Scarlet Letter is a physical manifestation
of her sin and a reminder of her painful solitude. She contemplates
casting it off to obtain her freedom from an oppressive society and a
checkered past, as well as the absence of God. Because the society
excludes her, she considers the possibility that many of the
traditions upheld by the Puritan culture are untrue and not designed
to bring her happiness.

As for Dimmesdale, the "cheating minister", his sin gives him
"sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind" "that
his chest vibrate[s] in unison with theirs." His eloquent and powerful
sermons derive from this sense of empathy. The Dimmesdale narrative is
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 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.

Throughout the work, the nature images contrast with the stark
darkness of the Puritans and their systems. A rose bush's beauty forms
a striking contrast to all that surrounds it. Later, the beautifully
embroidered scarlet "A" 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
kindlier on the errant Prynne and her child than her Puritan neighbors
do.

Chillingworth's misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the anger in
his soul, just as Dimmesdale's illness reveals his inner turmoil. The
outward man reflects the condition of the heart. This observation is
thought to have been inspired by the deterioration of Edgar Allan Poe,
whom Hawthorne admired.

Another theme is the extreme legalism of the Puritans and how Prynne
chose not to conform to their rules and beliefs. Prynne was rejected
by the villagers even though she spent her life doing what she could
to help the sick and the poor. Because she was shunned, she spent her
life mostly in solitude and did not attend church. Instead, she
retreated into her own mind. Her thoughts began to stretch beyond what
would be considered by the Puritans as safe. She still saw her sin,
but she began to look at it differently than the villagers did. Prynne
began to believe that a person's earthly sins do not necessarily
condemn them. She even went so far as to tell Dimmesdale that their
sin had been paid for by their daily penance and that their sin would
not prevent them from reaching heaven.

Publication history
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'The Scarlet Letter' was first published in the spring of 1850 by
Ticknor and Fields, beginning Hawthorne's most lucrative period. 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. In fact, the book was an instant
best-seller, though, over fourteen years, it brought its author only
$1,500. 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 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".

Hawthorne wrote the manuscript at the Peter Edgerley House in Salem,
Massachusetts, still standing as a private residence at 14 Mall
Street. It was the last Salem home where the Hawthorne family lived.

'The Scarlet Letter' was also one of the first mass-produced books in
America. In 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.

It was long held that Hawthorne originally planned 'The Scarlet
Letter' to be a shorter novelette, part of a collection named 'Old
Time Legends', and that his publisher, James T. Fields, convinced him
to expand the work to a full-length novel. 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. 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.

A signed first edition, first printing of 'Scarlet Letter' from March
1850 published by Ticknor, Reed and Fields sold for $22,500. Unsigned,
the retail price was estimated in 2014 at $12,500.

Critical response
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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". English writer Mary
Anne Evans writing as "George Eliot", called 'The Scarlet Letter',
along with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 book-length poem 'The
Song of Hiawatha', the "two most indigenous and masterly productions
in American literature". Most literary critics praised the book, but
religious leaders took issue with the novel's subject matter. Orestes
Brownson complained that Hawthorne did not understand Christianity,
confession, and remorse. A review in 'The Church Review and
Ecclesiastical Register' concluded the author "perpetrates bad
morals."

On the other hand, 20th-century writer D. H. Lawrence said that there
could not be a more perfect work of the American imagination than 'The
Scarlet Letter'. 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."

Allusions
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The following historical and Biblical references appear in 'The
Scarlet Letter'.
* Anne Hutchinson, mentioned in Chapter 1, "The Prison Door", was a
religious dissenter (1591-1643). In the 1630s she was excommunicated
by the Puritans and exiled from Boston, and moved to Rhode Island.
* Ann Hibbins, who historically was executed for witchcraft in Boston
in 1656, is depicted in 'The Scarlet Letter' as a witch who tries to
tempt Prynne to the practice of witchcraft.
* Richard Bellingham (c. 1592-1672), who historically was the governor
of Massachusetts and deputy governor at the time of Hibbins's
execution, was depicted in 'The Scarlet Letter' as the brother of Ann
Hibbins.
* Martin Luther (1483-1545) was a leader of the Protestant Reformation
in Germany.
* Increase Mather (1639-1723), a powerful leader of the early
Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was a Puritan minister involved with the
government of the colony, and also the Salem Witch Trials.
* Sir Thomas Overbury and Dr. Forman were the subjects of an adultery
scandal in 1615 in England. Dr. Forman was charged with trying to
poison his adulterous wife and her lover. Overbury was a friend of the
lover and was perhaps poisoned.
* John Winthrop (1588-1649), second governor of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony.
* King's Chapel Burying Ground, mentioned in the final paragraph,
exists; the Elizabeth Pain gravestone is traditionally considered an
inspiration for the protagonists' grave.
* The story of King David and Bathsheba is depicted in the tapestry in
Mr. Dimmesdale's room (chapter 9). (See
[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20samuel%2011-12&version=ESV
II Samuel 11-12] for the Biblical story.)
* John Eliot (c. 1604-1690) was a Puritan missionary to the American
Indians whom some called "the apostle to the Indians". He is referred
to as "the Apostle Eliot" whom Dimmesdale has gone to visit at the
beginning of Chapter 16, "A Forest Walk".

Symbols
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The following are symbols that are embedded in 'The Scarlet Letter':
* The Scarlet Letter "A": In the beginning of the novel, Hester's
letter "A" is a representation of her sin and adultery. However, as
time progresses, the meaning of the letter changed. To some, it now
meant "able". The novel states, "The letter was the symbol of her
calling. Such helpfulness was found in her--so much power to do, and
power to sympathize--that many people refused to interpret the scarlet
A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able, so
strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength".
* Meteor: The meteor shaped as an A serves as another symbol in the
book. To Reverend Dimmesdale, the meteor is a sign from God. God is
revealing Dimmesdale's sin to everyone, and Dimmesdale is ridden with
guilt. However, others perceived the letter to be the symbol of an
angel.
* Dimmesdale's name: Dimmesdale's name itself also holds symbolism.
His name contains the root word "dim", which evokes faintness,
weakness, and gloom, and represents Dimmesdale's constant state since
the commission of his sin.
* Pearl: Pearl is the embodiment of her parents' sin and passion. She
is a constant reminder of the sin from which her mother cannot escape.
It is mentioned she "was the scarlet letter in another form; the
scarlet letter endowed in life".
* Rosebush: The rosebush is mentioned twice within the course of the
story. It is first viewed as nature's way of offering beauty to those
who leave and enter the prison, as well as providing a glimmer of hope
to those who inhabit it. The rosebush is perceived as a symbol of
brightness in a story filled with human sorrow.
* The Scaffold: The scaffold is mentioned three times throughout the
novel. It can be viewed as separating the book into its beginning,
middle, and end. It symbolizes shame, revelation of sin, and guilt,
for it is the location where Hester received her scarlet letter as
punishment and where Dimmesdale experienced his revelation through the
meteor.

Adaptations and influence
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'The Scarlet Letter' has inspired numerous film, television, and stage
adaptations, and plot elements have influenced several novels, musical
works, and screen productions.

Stage
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'The Scarlet Letter' appeared as a stage play as early as February 24,
1858, when an adaptation by George L. Aiken opened at Barnum's
American Museum. George C. Howard and his wife starred as Dimmesdale
and Hester.

Walter Damrosch in 1896 premiered an opera, 'The Scarlet Letter.'
Twentieth century American composer Marjorie Rusche’s opera 'The
Scarlet Letter' is based on Hawthorne’s work.

Film
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The story has been adapted to film multiple times, typically using the
same title as the novel. The first film adaptation was a 1908 short
film. This lost silent film was directed by Sidney Olcott from a
screenplay by Gene Gauntier, who also starred as Hester. The oldest
surviving film adaptation is The Scarlet Letter (1911 film) directed
by Joseph W. Smiley and George Loane Tucker, with Lucille Young as
Hester and King Baggot as Dimmesdale. Subsequent film adaptations were
made in 1926 (dir. Victor Sjöström), 1934 (dir. Robert G. Vignola),
1973 (dir. Wim Wenders), and 1995 (dir. by Roland Joffé and starring
Demi Moore). A television miniseries was made in 1979. The novel also
partially inspired 'Easy A' (dir. by Will Gluck) from a screenplay by
Bert V. Royal and starring Emma Stone.

Ballet
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Dianna Cuatto created a one-act ballet adaptation of The Scarlet
Letter with music by Samuel Barber as part of her Master’s Thesis from
the University of Utah. She revived the work in 2012 with the Ballet
Theatre of Maryland, during her tenure as Artistic Director.

Literary sequels
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John Updike rewrote 'The Scarlet Letter' in his 'The Scarlet Letter'
trilogy 'S.', 'A Month of Sundays' and 'Roger's Version'.

See also
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*Badge of shame
*Boston in fiction
*Colonial history of the United States
*Illegitimacy in fiction
*Whore of Babylon
*'Angel and Apostle', a 2005 novel about the same characters

Bibliography
==============
* Boonyaprasop, Marina. 'Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism
in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown"' (Anchor
Academic Publishing, 2013).
* Brodhead, Richard H. 'Hawthorne, Melville, and the Novel'. Chicago
and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1973.
* Brown, Gillian. "'Hawthorne, Inheritance, and Women's Property",
'Studies in the Novel' 23.1 (Spring 1991): 107-18.
* Cañadas, Ivan. "A New Source for the Title and Some Themes in 'The
Scarlet Letter'. 'Nathaniel Hawthorne Review' 32.1 (Spring 2006):
43-51.
* Gartner, Matthew. "'The Scarlet Letter' and the Book of Esther:
Scriptural Letter and Narrative Life". 'Studies in American Fiction'
23.2 (Fall 1995): 131-51.
*
*
* Korobkin, Laura Haft. "The Scarlet Letter of the Law: Hawthorne and
Criminal Justice". 'Novel: A Forum on Fiction' 30.2 (Winter 1997):
193-217.
*
*
* Newberry, Frederick. "Tradition and Disinheritance in 'The Scarlet
Letter'. 'ESQ: A journal of the American Renaissance' 23 (1977), 1-26;
repr. in: 'The Scarlet Letter'. W. W. Norton, 1988: pp. 231-48.
* Reid, Alfred S. 'Sir Thomas Overbury's Vision (1616) and Other
English Sources of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'.
Gainesville, FL: Scholar's Facsimiles and Reprints, 1957.
* Reid, Bethany. "Narrative of the Captivity and Redemption of Roger
Prynne: Rereading 'The Scarlet Letter'. 'Studies in the Novel' 33.3
(Fall 2001): 247-67.
* Ryskamp, Charles. "The New England Sources of 'The Scarlet Letter'.
'American Literature' 31 (1959): 257-72; repr. in: 'The Scarlet
Letter', 3rd ed. Norton, 1988: 191-204.
* Savoy, Eric. Filial Duty': Reading the Patriarchal Body in 'The
Custom House. 'Studies in the Novel' 25.4 (Winter 1993): 397-427.
* Sohn, Jeonghee. 'Rereading Hawthorne's Romance: The Problematics of
Happy Endings'. American Studies Monograph Series, 26. Seoul: American
Studies Institute, Seoul National University, 2001; 2002.
* Stewart, Randall (ed.) 'The American Notebooks of Nathaniel
Hawthorne: Based upon the Original Manuscripts in the Piermont Morgan
Library'. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1932.
* Waggoner, Hyatt H. 'Hawthorne: A Critical Study', 3rd ed. Cambridge,
MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.

External links
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*
*
*
*
[http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Literature/Hawthorne&Women/ScarletLetter/Introduction.html
"Critical Commentary Related to Female Characters in 'The Scarlet
Letter'] --Hawthorne in Salem Website
*
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTg5HNsMegM2PBJsmdaxLdNePWjS-GE4i
Excerpts from the opera 'The Scarlet Letter'] by Fredric Kroll at
YouTube
*

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter