Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE July 4, 1804: Born in Salem, MA Education - Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine 1842 - Married Sophia Peabody 3 Children Job at Custom House 1839-40, 46-49 1850 – Scarlet Letter published Moved to England, France, and Rome after Salem 1864 - Died

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE “The Scarlet Letter is powerfully written but my writings do not, nor ever will, appeal to the broadest class of sympathies, and therefore will not obtain a very wide popularity.” -Hawthorne, after finishing the novel

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

HISTORICAL CONTEXT 1570-1650: Early Colonial period- Puritan writings, no distinctive American literature 1750-1800: Later Colonial period- Age of Reason/Enlightenment (Neoclassicism, Rationalism)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT 1800-1850: American Renaissance/ Romanticism- slave narratives, inner feelings, the burden of a Puritan past, the rejection of Neoclassicism Transcendentalism was a part of this…

HISTORICAL CONTEXT TRANSCENDENTALISM Boston-centered movement, led by Emerson, was an important force in New England circles Human existence transcends the sensory realm Formalism in favor of individual responsibility Belief in individual choice and consequence Focus on the positive

HISTORICAL CONTEXT -use of supernatural SUBDIVISION OF ROMANTICISM: GOTHIC LITERATURE, the “dark romantics”(1800-1850) -use of supernatural -motif of double (both good and evil in characters; sin and evil does exist) -depression, dark forests -Poe, Hawthorne, Melville -emphasis on symbolism

LITERARY ELEMENTS Characters Mood Setting Plot Symbolism Themes

LITERARY ELEMENTS:CHARACTERS Hester Prynne- protagonist, married to Chillingworth, adultery with Dimmesdale

LITERARY ELEMENTS:CHARACTERS Arthur Dimmesdale- pastor, intense suffering, tragic figure Roger Chillingworth- physician, old, evil, deformed, diabolical vengeance on Dimmesdale Pearl- beautiful daughter, sometimes imp-like, rebellious, inquisitive

LITERARY ELEMENTS:CHARACTERS Gov. Bellingham- based on actual governor of Boston John Wilson- eldest clergyman, based on actual English minister Mistress Hibbins- based on figure executed for witchcraft, appears to know a great deal about the adultery

LITERARY ELEMENTS: MOOD SOMBER and DARK well-defined from the beginning “sad-colored garments” of spectators, the prison door which is “heavily timbered and studded with iron spikes”

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING 17th century Puritanical New England (Mass.) What was America like then?

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING 1630: Massachusetts Colony founded by Puritans John Winthrop: first governor governed based on religious and civic ideals People were hardworking and devoted PURITANISM involved belief that the church of England was too much influenced by the Catholic church Strict moral code on which people were expected to act and be judged upon Rejected belief that divine authority is channeled through any one single person (i.e. the pope) THEOCRACY- state governed by the church

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING What aspects of this type of religious society can be seen in The Scarlet Letter? What evidence from the text points to that? How does Hawthorne view this type of society?

The Custom House

THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE READ….. Literary Element: Plot

Chapters 1-8 How does Hawthorne want the reader to feel about happens to Hester Prynne in the opening chapters? What evidence from the text points to that?

“One the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A.” The Punishment

Chapters 1-8 “He was small in stature, with a furrowed visage which, as yet, could hardly be termed aged. There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself…one of this man’s shoulders rose higher than the other.” Whom does Hester recognize in the crowd? How does she feel about it?

Chapters 9-15 How does Dimmesdale really feel about his role in the community? What evidence from the text supports your response? What are the differences between Hester and Dimmesdale at the end, with her outward punishment and his inward punishment?

Chapters 9-15

Chapters 9-15 Wood engraving by Barry Moser for the Pennyroyal Press from the January 1991 edition of the Essex Institute Historical Collection. Moser's image shows Arthur Dimmesdale with his eyes downcast and the scar of an "A" clearly visible on his chest.”

“..Though he were to step down from a high place, and stand beside thee on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.” To which character does this quote refer?

Chapters 9-15 How does Chillingworth’s appearance change over the course of time? What evidence from the text can you find to support your answer? “The Eyes of the Wrinkled Scholar Glowed” from 1878 edition of the novel (Chillingworth called to prison cell as a healer and aid to Hester and Pearl)

Chapters 16-24 When does the climax of the novel occur? Include: Who – characters involved Where – place/s involved When – time frame or frequency What – the things that occur Why – a reason for the previous four W’s

Chapters 16-24 The wearing of the scarlet letter was intended to isolate Hester from society. Given the way in which her life ends, did it accomplish what the magistrates intended? What evidence from the text supports your response?

For Homework Which character deserves the most sympathy from readers? Why? What evidence from the text supports your response? Include: Who – characters involved Where – place/s involved When – time frame or frequency What – the things that occur Why – a reason for the previous four W’s Be prepared to defend your response with the class.

SYMBOLISM Discuss the symbolism in the following objects in The Scarlet Letter. What implications are made through the use of these symbols?

The Prison Gate and the Rose SYMBOLISM The Prison Gate and the Rose “But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rosebush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems…This rosebush…has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness…It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.”

Hester’s and Pearl’s Clothing SYMBOLISM Hester’s and Pearl’s Clothing “Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the most sombre hue; with only that one ornament—the scarlet letter—which it was her doom to wear.” “The child’s attire, on the other hand, was distinguished by a fanciful, or, we might rather say, a fantastic ingenuity, which served, indeed, to heighten the airy charm that early began to develop itself in the little girl…”

SYMBOLISM PEARL (the name) “Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price—purchased with all she had—her mother’s only treasure!”

SYMBOLISM The A! “It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony.” “Not a stitch in that embroidered letter, but she has felt it in her heart.”

SYMBOLISM The Leech “He gathered herbs here and there”

MAJOR THEMES Below is a list of ideas that Hawthorne explores in The Scarlet Letter. Throughout the novel, he develops specific themes based on them. Society vs. individuality Morality Sin and Guilt Isolation The belief in fate vs. free will

MAJOR THEMES Your Job: Choose the idea that you think you can write about the best. State the theme that Hawthorne develops based on that idea. Find three pieces of evidence from the text of the novel (beginning-middle-end, with pages) that show the development of the theme. Explain the development of the theme through your examples. Draw a conclusion about Hawthorne’s development of this theme.

Your textual evidence must include: Who – characters involved Where – place/s involved When – time frame or frequency What – the things that occur Why – a reason for the previous four W’s

THE END