1. Nathaniel Hawthorne

2. Early Years Born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804
• From a prominent Puritan family
• Ancestor William Hathorne arrived in the New World in 1630 and was remembered for family’s association with the Salem Witch Trials
• When Nathaniel was 4, his dad, a sea captain, died on a voyage
• Family became largely dependent on wealthy relatives

3. Growing Up
• Attended Bowdoin College in Maine with friends Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce
After graduation, he returned to Salem where he spent the next 12 years in seclusion
Loved to read and write; loved history
Worked in the Boston customhouse to support himself
• Joined Brook Farm, an experimental community
of philosophers and
writers

4. Later years
• 1842: married Sophia Peabody, from a distinguished family
• The heroine of Scarlet Letter reflects his strong and noble wife
Newlyweds settled in Concord, Mass. With neighbors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
1852: Franklin Pierce appointed Hawthorne as American consul in England, a position he held 4 years
He continued to write
Hawthorne and Sophia traveled from England to Italy and back to the states
Although he had always been very active, his health began to deteriorate
Because he wouldn’t submit to medical exams, he mysteriously died on May 19, 1864

5. The Scarlet Letter Setting: Boston in the 1640’s
Puritanism was based on predestination -- all things are controlled beforehand by the will of God
Strove to follow the path of righteousness
Handed out severe punishments for those who did not live by the righteous code
Puritans prized simplicity, yet they loved the finer things in life (clothing, furniture, homes)

6. Themes Sin and its effect on the individual
Hawthorne traces different kids of sin for 3 different characters: Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth
The consequence is alienation
Sin brings special knowledge or insights to the sinner

7. Characters Hester Prynne Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale
Roger Chillingworth
Governor Bellingham
Mistress Hibbins
Reverend John Wilson
Pearl