Author's Background: Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in
Salem, Massachusetts on July 4th, 1804. Hawthorne lived
poor due to his father's death when he was four, but he was
helped by relatives and enrolled in college where he
displayed an interest in writing. In college, he met a friend
who would prove to be an invaluable help Franklin Pierce,
future President of the United States. In 1825 he graduated
and lived with his uncle in Salem for 12 years, devoting his
time to reading, writing, and scrapping for publication. He
spewed out several stories, but few sold for over $35 each.
In 1837 Hawthorne took a job in the Custom-House in
Boston. He grew bored with this work and the people
around him, however, up to the point where he wrote The
Custom House as an introduction to The Scarlet Letter. In
this introduction he showed the dull life of working in a
custom house. From the Custom-House, he left for Brooke
Farm. During his time at Brooke Farm, he met such thinkers
as Emmerson and Thoreau. He also met and courted Sophia
Peabody, and left Brooke Farm with her in 1842 to stay at
"Old Manse", the Emmerson homestead. When Emmerson
returned to Old Manse, Hawthorne left and went to Salem
to live with Sophia. From this point, Hawthorne won a job
at the Salem Custom-House due to a political appointment
from his college friend Franklin Pierce. However, when the
political winds changed to Zachary Taylor, he lost his job
and devoted himself to writing at his wife's insistence. The
result was The Scarlet Letter, which was the beginning of a
successful series of books including The House of Seven
Gables in 1851, The Blithedale Romance in 1852, and
Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls in 1853. With this
success and the aid of President Franklin Pierce, he was
appointed as US consul to Liverpool, England. This was a
reward for writing Pierce's biography. Hawthorne's final
years are sketchy. On a voyage back to Plymouth, New
Hampshire, he became deathly ill and died on May 19,
1864. He was buried on Concord, Massachusetts. Literary
Period and Setting Literary Period: Romanticism and
Transcendentalism Setting: Boston, Massachusetts. USA
1842-1849 Characters Hester Prynne A) Hester was a
beautiful young woman who lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
She is proud and strong, but commits the sin of adultery with
Reverend Dimmesdale while her husband is supposedly in
England finishing up some work. Pearl is the product of this
sin and Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her
bosom for the rest of her life to show her sin. Isolated from
the community, Hester is forced to rise a step higher than
average for respect in the Puritan community. B) Hester is
motivated by her loves for Pearl and Dimmesdale and by her
belief in the Puritan values. C) In the end, Hester's letter
begins to mean "able" to the townspeople in place of
"adulteress". After her husband's death, she takes Pearl
away from Boston, but returns to live out her life with the
letter according to Puritan code. Reverend Dimmesdale A)
The young minister of Boston. He commits adultery with the
young Hester Prynne. He is forced to go through life with the
secret knowledge of the crime he has committed and
convinces himself that this is the only way. He tells himself
that people look up to him for moral and spiritual support
and he must be perfect in their eyes. However, at home, he
fasts and scourges himself to make penitence for his sin. B)
His guilt, as well as his belief in Puritan values and his inner
turmoil are his motivating factors. C) Dimmesdale finally
reveals himself on the scaffold to Boston as the sinner who
had committed adultery with Hester Prynne. He then
promptly dies, freed from his inner burden. Pearl A) Pearl
was the child brought about by Hester and Dimmesdale's
sin. She was brought up by her mother, but never fully
adapted to Puritan ways. Because of her energy and her
origins, Pearl was not accepted by other children. Pearl was
a rebellious child throughout her life, serving constantly as a
reminder to her mother of the sin she and Dimmesdale
shared. B) Pearl was motivated by her energy, free spirit,
and love of nature. C) Pearl ends up inheriting a large
amount of land from the will of Roger Chillingworth and is
one of the richest heiresses in America. Her mother takes
her to England and Pearl is never seen again in the colonies.
Roger Chillingworth A) Chillingworth was Hester's husband
who was away in England. Due to shipwreck and Indian
confinement, he enters the colony long after his wife left him,
and discovers she has a baby. Chillingworth attaches himself
as a friend to Reverend Dimmesdale, using the false guise of
friendship to ruin the Reverend's life. He is eventually entirely
engulfed by his quest for revenge and has no other meaning
in life. B) Chillingworth is motivated by his deep hatred of
Dimmesdale and his entire life is devoted to revenge against
the man who committed adultery with his wife. C) After
Dimmesdale reveals his secret and dies on the scaffold,
Chillingworth loses all meaning in life. Within a year of
Dimmesdale's death, he died, leaving Pearl his estate.
Governor Bellingham A) Bellingham was the allegorical
character who represented the governmental facet of
Boston. He sheltered his sister, Mistress Hibbins, from
accusations of witchcraft with his office. He was one of the
main voices in attempting to remove Pearl from her mother's
care, but was talked out of the idea by Dimmesdale. B)
Bellingham was motivated by his desire to help the Puritan
community. C) The last that was seen of Bellingham, he gave
Pearl the land from Chillingworth in accordance with the will.
Mistress Hibbins A) Mistress Hibbins represented the
supernatural element of the novel. She is Bellingham's sister
and uses his office to hide from accusations of witchcraft.
She is tied in closely with the forest, and seems to know
everything that goes on within this domain. B) Her worship
of the Devil and her insatiable curiosity to know the
happenings around her motivate her. C) Mistress Hibbins is
left living with her brother, supposedly worshipping the
Devil, at the end of the book. Reverend Wilson A) He
represented the spiritual facet of Boston's everyday life. He
was an elderly minister in the town of Boston. He had a few
run-ins with Pearl and Hester and ministered at the bedside
of the dying Governor Winthrop. B) He was motivated by
his belief in God and the values of Puritan society. C) Wilson
was still a minister in Boston at the end of the book. Themes
Guilt: The theme of guilt is shown in two ways in The Scarlet
Letter. Hester's guilt as shown as unhidden guilt. Everyone
knows of her sins and they scorn her for them. Hester, as a
result, lives in isolation and must work to gain respect.
Dimmesdale's guilt, however, was hidden. Although revered
by all, Dimmesdale was secretly tormented to know that he
went through life well known and liked, while Hester went
through life scorned and shunned for the same crime.
Dimmesdale's was portrayed to be the greater of the guilt, as
his torment was his alone, while Hester's was known.
Hypocrisy: The theme of hypocrisy was shown through the
character of Dimmesdale. He was a sinner worse than any
of the members of his congregation, but preached to them
on how they must not sin anyway. He was elevated in the
eyes of his listeners as Hester was scorned and detested.
Yet he managed to sit through this without any sign of
outward discontent to let the people know that he was, in
fact, a terrible sinner. Isolation: Isolation was a major theme
in the novel depicted mostly through Hester and Pearl.
Hester and Pearl were isolated from the time of the sin from
the rest of the townspeople. No one wanted anything to do
with either of them. Pearl responded to this with energy and
vigor that made many believe she was a child of the Devil.
Hester, however, responded through a steadfast grip on
Puritan values which eventually rose her to a respected
position in the eyes of the townspeople. Plot Summary
Hester Prynne, convicted of adultery, is taken from the
prison and set on the scaffold in the town square for public
humiliation. This is only the beginning of her punishment,
however, as she will be forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her
chest for the rest of her life. During her stand on the scaffold,
she catches sight of her husband, who has now taken the
identity of Roger Chillingworth. After being released from
Indian captivity, he comes to the town to find his wife with
this crime upon her head. Too ashamed to admit his relation
to Hester, he conceals his identity to the town. In the prison,
awaiting release, Hester is confronted by her husband. He
binds her to a promise in which she says she will not reveal
he is her husband. She is then released and goes to live in a
small cottage on the outskirts of town with Pearl, her
daughter. Chillingworth finds and attaches himself to the
Reverend Dimmesdale, the man who committed adultery
with Hester. He reads Dimmesdale's soul like an open book
and discovers he is the man who shared Hester's sin. He
then begins administering drugs which harm Dimmesdale and
increases the torture by his mere presence, which serves as
a subconscious reminder to Dimmesdale of his sins. After
years of this torture, Hester admits to Dimmesdale who
Chillingworth really is. Dimmesale is angry at first, but then
forgives Hester. The two agree to take a ship and sail far
away from Boston to free themselves of their sins. However,
after delivering his final sermon to Boston, Dimmesdale
climbs the scaffold and confesses his crime. He then
promptly dies. Chillingworth, having lost his purpose in life,
dies within the year and leaves Pearl his estate. Hester takes
Pearl to England, where she is assumed to have married
wealthy and lived a happy life. Hester herself comes back to
the cottage and lives out the rest of her life with the letter on
her chest. Author's Style Motif Hawthorne uses several
motifs to express a recurring idea throughout the novel. One
such motif is the forest. The forest is used to symbolize evil,
as the home of the Devil. Allegory Hawthorne uses allegory
characters to represent abstract ideas throughout the work.
One such character is Mistress Hibbins, who represented
the supernatural facet of the work, and in doing so, is tied in
closely with the forest. Verbal Irony Verbal irony is used
when a character says something that is the opposite of the
truth or the expected. An example is when Reverend
Wilson, in turning Hester's inquisition over to Dimmesdale,
tells the young minister that her soul is in his hands. The
opposite is true, however, as a word from Hester could
reveal Dimmesdale as the other sinner. Situational Irony
When a situation is the opposite of the expected. An
example of this is Dimmesdale, the community's spiritual
leader, being guilty of one of the highest sins in the land.
Quotes "Wondrous strength and generosity of a woman's
heart! She will not speak!" -Dimmesdale p. 64 "And my
child must seek a heavenly Father, she shall never know an
earthly one!" -Hester p. 64 "Had a man seen old Roger
Chillingworth, at that moment of his ecstasy, he would have
had no need to ask how Satan comports himself when a
precious human soul is lost to heaven, and won into his
kingdom." -Author p. 127 "Once in my life I met the Black
Man! This scarlet letter is his mark!" -Hester p. 170 "That
old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has
violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart."
-Dimmsdale p. 179 "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules."
-Hester's tombstone Glossary Allegory- Character whose
actions and settings represent an abstract idea throughout
the story. ex: see #7 Motif- Recurring symbol which
represents an idea throughout the story. ex: see #7
Transcendentalism- Intellectual movement which had several
characteristics. Studying nature, the Universal Soul, and the
disbelief of the existence of evil were all facets of it.
Romanticism- Movement/Style of writing which encouraged
intuition over reason. It was emotional and focused on the
individual being more important than a large group. It also
had elements of the supernatural and was highly symbolic as
it explored common subjects such as the mystery of life.