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.