by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Catharsis Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter time between the fall of 1849 when his mother died and February 3, 1850 Repeatedly read the conclusion to his wife Story deals with the consequences of breaking a moral code; Hester Prynne is found guilty of adultery in a Puritan town in Boston in the mid-1600’s Hawthorne’s intention is to explore how guilt and sin operate in the human mind Literary scholars identify Hester Prynne as the first American heroine

Author of the Subconscious Hawthorne characterizes her as a whole person—woman, mother, sinner, and member of the community—rather than as a stereotype, as so many writers at that time cast their female characters. Hawthorne loved to explore the dark parts of the human psyche, the subconscious Book was considered very risqué in the mid-1800s.

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 1–8 How and should criminals be punished? Laws in colonial Massachusetts covered everything from swearing to excessive decoration on women’s caps to murder. Whipping, branding, and other forms of public humiliation were relatively common practices in the colonies. Hester Prynne’s punishment was mild--- by Puritan standards, that is.

Words to Know edifice n. building ensue v. to take place afterward feign v. to pretend gesticulation n. expressive gesture ignominy n. deep humiliation; disgrace inauspicious adj. unfavorable panoply n. full suit of armor; impressive array tribunal n. court or meeting at which a trial is carried out

Study Questions Chapters 1-8 How are the Puritans of Boston first portrayed? What is significant about the rosebush outside the prison door? Describe Hester’s demeanor as she emerges from her prison cell. What is the significance to Hester’s viewing the crowd from atop the scaffold?

Study Questions Chapters 1-8 Describe Roger Chillingworth in the scene in which he visits Hester in jail. Why does Chillingworth ask Hester to keep his identity a secret? Why does Hawthorne introduce all the main characters so early? Why does Hester refuse to reveal her partner’s sin?

Study Guide Questions 1-8 Why does Hester remain in Boston? How does Hester support herself and her daughter? How is Hester treated by the townspeople? Why does Hester name her daughter Pearl? How is Pearl first described? How is Pearl treated by the children of Boston?

Study Guide Questions 1-8 How does Pearl amuse herself? What does Pearl first notice as a baby? Why does Hester visit Governor Billingham’s mansion? What reason does Hester give for her need to keep Pearl? Who supports Hester in her pleas to keep Pearl and by what argument?

Study Guide Questions 1-8 How does Pearl behave toward Dimmesdale in the Governor’s garden? Why does Dimmesdale speak so eloquently on Hester’s behalf? What function does Mistress Hibbins serve in the story?

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 9–15 How does guilt effect a person’s life? Governor Winthrop’s greatest opposition was a woman whose liberal ideas were popular for a time among Boston residents. Anne Hutchinson was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1591. In 1634 she moved with her husband and family to Boston, Massachusetts.

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 9–15 Hutchinson began holding meetings in her house, teaching her own concepts of God and religion. She opposed the Puritan concept of morality, which she considered too “legal” in nature. She also opposed the authority of the Boston clergy.

Words to Know abstruse adj. difficult to understand appellation n. identifying name or title deleterious adj. having an unexpected harmful effect importunate adj. troublesomely urgent latent adj. hidden propensity n. tendency propinquity n. nearness stigmatized adj. identified with disgrace torpid adj. sluggish; without motion

Study Questions Chapters 9-15 How does Roger Chillingworth come to be Dimmesdale’s personal physician? How has Roger Chillingworth changed since Hester first knew him? What does Chillingworth suggest is the cause of Dimmesdale’s suffering? How does Pearl’s behavior in the cemetery express a link between Dimmesdale and Hester?

Study Questions Chapters 9-15 How does Chillingworth finally discover the cause of Dimmesdale’s suffering? What reason is given for Dimmesdale’s ability to touch the soul of others? What effect does public veneration have upon the Reverend Dimmesdale? How does Dimmesdale seek penitence? Describe Dimmesdale’s first vigil on the scaffold.

Study Questions Chapters 9-15 What meanings are given to the apparition in the sky? What effect does the midnight vigil have on Hester? What has Hester’s A come to mean to many of the townspeople? Describe the changes in Hester’s appearance and temperament wrought by the scarlet token. In what way has the A freed Hester?

Study Questions Chapters 9-15 Why does Dimmesdale go to the scaffold? Why does Chillingworth torture the minister? How does Hester come to view womanhood? Why does Chillingworth refuse to leave Dimmesdale alone? What does Hester discover after her interview with Chillingworth? How does Hester respond when Pearl makes an A for herself of eel-grass?

Study Questions Chapters 9-15 When asked what the A truly means, what does Hester say? What does Hawthorne mean when he says that “the scarlet letter had not done its office”? Why does Hawthorne NOT make Chillingworth totally devilish?

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 16–24 Why does society demand that we conform to certain conventions? The government of Massachusetts was a theocracy. The General Court had decided, early on, that only church members could take part in the government of the colony. The ministers were not actually elected officials, but held great influence and power of interpretation

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 16–24 Freemen eventually changed the political structure by not allowing life terms but annually elected ones Thus, by the mid-1600s, the annual election day, as observed in The Scarlet Letter, had become an established event.

Words to Know colloquy n. formal conversation or discussion contiguous n. next to; touching indefatigable adj. untiring inducements n. motives; incentives loquacity n. the habit of talking continually or excessively obeisance n. gesture of respect probity n. honesty; uprightness recompense n. payment for a service vicissitude n. quality of being changeable

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 16–24 How does Pearl explain the sun’s refusal to shine on Hester? What answer does Hester give Pearl when she asks if Hester has met the Black Man? How does Dimmesdale react when Hester reveals Chillingworth’s true identity? What does Hester suggest they do? What does Hester do to signal the beginning of a new life?

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 16–24 How does Pearl act when she sees her mother without the A? How is Dimmesdale affected by his interview with Hester? How is Dimmesdale’s sin different from Chillingworth’s? Why does Dimmesdale conceal his sine for seven years?

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 16–24 How does Dimmesdale treat Chillingworth when the two meet? What does Chillingworth do when he sees Dimmesdale’s transformation? How does Dimmesdale finally escape Chillingworth? What becomes of Chillingworth after Dimmesdale’s death?

The Scarlet Letter Chapters 16–24 How do the townspeople react to Dimmesdale’s confession? What becomes of Hester and Pearl? Why does Dimmesdale act so strangely upon his return from the forest? Why doesn’t Hawthorne clearly explain what is on Dimmesdale’s chest?

The Scarlet Letter painting by T. H. Matteson