Nathaniel Hawthorne

Oxford University Press Staff

Jennifer Bassett

John Escott

Scarlet Letter

Thomas E. Connolly

Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and will not reveal her lover’s identity. The scarlet letter A (for adultery) she has to wear on her clothes, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. She struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

The Scarlet Letter

Julie <3

It seemed to argue so wide a diffusion of her shame, that all nature knew of it; it could have caused her no deeper pang, had the leaves of the trees whispered the dark story among themselves,-had the summer breeze murmured about it,-had the wintry blast shrieked it aloud!

But now, with this unattended walk from her prison-door, began the daily custom; and she must either sustain and carry it forward by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink beneath it. She could no longer borrow from the future to help her through the present grief. Tomorrow would bring its own trial with it; so would the next day, and so would the next; each its own trial, and yet the very same that was now so unutterably grievous to be borne.

But the little stream would not be comforted and still kept telling its unintelligible secret of some very mournful mystery that had happened--or making a prophetic lamentation about something that was yet to happen-within the verge of the dismal forest. So Pearl, who had enough of shadow in her own little life, chose to break off all acquaintance with this repining brook.

honestly very well written and the story was fantastic 

raelynn faye

So eloquent that it almost feels like a love story, and in some ways it is.

Rebecca

Sarah Sammis

I first read The Scarlet Letter back in high school. It and "Young Goodman Brown" are the two pieces most often used to teach Nathaniel Hawthorne but they are the most different from his other works. The different ones, or maybe better put, the ones that stand out, seem to be the ones taught. The standouts are often the experiments and therefore the more challenging to read.

By the time I read The Scarlet Letter I was already a Hawthorne fan so I went into the novel determined to like it. Were it the first of his books I had read, I might not have gone back for more. I don't want to scare you off the novel if you haven't read it. Rather, I want to encourage you to use it as a starting point for his other novels.

Much of the analysis of the novel focuses on Hester Prynne and her crime (adultery) and her life of redemption and the punishment both of jail time and of wearing the scarlet letter as a reminder of her crime. I personally find her daughter, Pearl Prynne the most compelling character of the novel. Pearl is born a marked child, a living remember of Hester's crime and the minister's sin. She spends her infancy in jail and her childhood alone except for the company of her mother. She can overhear the other villagers debating whether or not she is a demon child and whether or not she should be removed from her mother's care. She's ultimately not removed from her mother's care because none of the other families wants to risk having her in their homes.

As Hawthorne ends the novel not with a note on Hester's fate but on Pearl's instead clearly the book is more about Pearl, the innocent victim of Puritan society's meddling in private matters.

Christine

My teacher: Hawthorne must have missed class on foreshadowing day

A tale of Hester Prynne, imprisoned, publicly shamed, and forced to wear a scarlet 'A' for committing adultery and bearing an illegitimate child, Pearl. In their small, Puritan village, Hester and her daughter struggle to survive, but in this searing study of the tension between private and public existence.

Vicky  Nuñez 

It took me sometime, but I finally read it and could not be happier! I loved Hawthorne's narration of what happened to Hester. He portrays to perfection the characteristics of human behavior: Hester's guilt and shame towards society and her persistence to keep on wearing it. And of course, Dimmesdale's cowardice and weakness to reveal the truthfulness of his actions.
What's great about this book is the plainness of its narration, which mainly focus on the inner feelings of the characters. 
Overall, I enjoyed every minute of it, although I did struggle at the start when I read the introduction, but it becomes easier once you submerge yourself into the plot. Hester became one of my favorite female characters. And I don't regret reading her story.

britt

i only enjoyed the forest chapters and the chapters after that. dimmy boy? more like bitch boy.

anastasia

Reading this at 14 because it was referenced in ‘perfect A’ drastically changed my brain chemistry

esperanza 

** spoiler alert **
           Dimmesdale can suck my balls. Chillingworth can suck my balls. Glad dimmesdale died: it was deserved. Stupid how he barely redeemed himself ONLY because he was dying and Hawthorne making it seem like this monumental character arc, like no, he did not CHANGE one bit 🙄👎🏻

Amanda Jones

Read for my American Literature Class


I give this 3-3.5 stars??? Though this was a short novel it felt like it was a pain to get through. From weird language that was hard to understand and the middle becoming slow and having parts that were not important I struggled with seeing this as a great American classic. What I do appreciate about this novel is how Hawthorne dives into human psyche and the complexity of humanity. His symbolism and the meaning he gives to the ‘Scarlet Letter’, is what makes this novel great. Hester as a protagonist is feisty and not able to be confined within the greater means of the beginning of America. 
“The world’s law was no law for her mind” - Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

Daymaris Arca

I would have liked it more if I wasn’t forced to read and analyze EVERY LITTLE THING for ap Lang. But I enjoyed the plot more than I thought I would.

The Scarlett Letter

Klára Kováčiková 

Michael Springer

So this is where all of Cormac McCarthy's commas ended up! 

Alright, so this was attempt #2 at the Scarlet Letter, and it was successful. This time, I had the brilliant idea of skipping the vast introduction and getting straight to the story. This proved the key to getting through the sucker. 
 
I still had to roll my eyes in the first chapter when Hawthorne offered me (the reader) a rose, which is the particular moment in my first reading that I found so cringingly tacky that I cast away the book and dismissed Hawthorne as a hack. That was, of course, presumptious of me, and I realized this after getting into an argument with Joy where I tried to argue Hawthorne's hackness based upon the one and a half pages (and an introduction) that I'd actually read. She, on the other hand, had read this one and House of Seven Gables.
 
Needless to say, I lost the argument. 
 
And, I vowed to study and return for revenge. And now, I am ready. Unfortunately, you won't get to see that battle royale, because she hasn't logged onto Goodreads in many moons. That battle is destined to take place in meatspace. (As opposed to cyberspace.) But, if any of you are Hawthorne adorers and wish to smite me with your defense of his work, you're welcome to. Just bring it. 
 
Actually, though, once I was about 50 pages in, I got used to the flowery, tell-not-show style, and ended up enjoying the book, despite the way each of his sentences went on and on, with many a comma, when he could've just as easily broken them each up into a more compact, focused statement, but, yet, he chose not to, and instead made his sentences long as shit. 
 
The story goes something like this: a woman whose husband isn't in America becomes pregnant. Thus, since the husband isn't around, everyone knows she's an adulterer, and she is convicted of the sin, and is forced to wear a scarlet 'A' on her clothing. She wears it on her dress above her heart, not on the ass of her shorts where the girls nowadays wear their lettering. (Is anyone else confused about why gray shorts would say "Pink" across their ass? Is it irony?) She bears this Scarlet Letter without complaint and remains strong, despite the way she is treated by everyone around her. And she doesn't reveal who the baby daddy is. Therein lies the real drama.
 
The father of the baby is actually a minister, and he is gradually being destroyed by the guilt. The dynamic aspect of the story lies less in the evolution of Hester and more in the way guilt threatens to destroy the father. The ultimate message (which Hawthorne is kind enough to point out with big neon arrows and preface with "THIS IS MY MESSAGE, PAY ATTENTION," or something of the like) is to be honest and don't harbor dark secrets, because dark secrets will corrupt your soul, and perhaps make you drop over dead.
 
I'll be honest and say that I was fairly entertained for most of this book. But, do I think this is a classic? No, I do not. A historical artifact, yes, but not a relevant classic for the 21st century. You see, all of the characters have one emotion . . . no, wait. I'll go through this systematically. Hester is occasionally struck with guilt, but usually approaches her unfortunate situation with a somber determination to bear the guilt as best she can. Her daughter, Pearl, has almost no distinct personality, referred to alternately as an elfin creature or a little demon. She is often referred to by the author as a symbol of Hester's sin, and usually her character is nothing more than this. On the rare occasion the little elfin demon has any dialogue, she never sounds like a child, but always talks with the same eloquent prose that all the other characters speak in. Then we have the minister, who is a creature entirely besotted with guilt, wallowing so completely in his moment of weakness that it apparently overruns his life entirely. Then, we have his housemate, who has a wonderful Dickensian sort of name like Thomas Creepyguy or something like that. HE is ALSO a representation of guilt, and is actually Hester's husband (apparently he was too busy to show up until after she finally decided to cheat on him). His entire goal is to cause the minister to suffer endless guilt because of that one crazy spring break night when everyone had a bit too much tequila. 
 
I say all this to point out that we have an impressive lack of complexity with most of the characters here: we have two goodguys, one badguy, and a symbolic child. Now, the instance of infidelity on the table is one that is hardly offensive: her husband was a mean ugly hunchback that abandoned her. The minister was unmarried, nice and handsome. The husband continues being an evil prick throughout the story, just to make sure we get that he's an evil prick. So, we're barely wrestling with a moral dilemma when it comes to the infidelity. 

Thus, we have some flat characters with clear goodguy / badguy status. This doesn't sit well with me. Then, we have the fact that most of the novel is the narrator's voice telling us everything the narrator wants us to know about the situation and learn from the situation. Without subtleties of character to wrestle with or the opportunity to ruminate on the author's meaning, what is there to talk about? (Clearly that isn't stopping me, though.) I guess Hawthorne doesn't make me work as much as I expect to when I sit down with a book because he tells me everything about the characters and doesn't let me intuit their motivations and their weaknesses through their actions or emotions. 
 
And, once you see how everything resolves, it seems like . . . hmm, what's the word. . . bullshit. **SPOILER ALERT** What happens when the minister decides to reveal his sin? He dies. Flat out dies. Out of relief for not having to bear the sin any longer, as far as I can tell. I mean, give me a fucking break. Really? And what rubs me even more the wrong way than the melodramatic climax is the fact that a better alternative that made complete sense was offered: the two of them discuss running off to a different place where Hester can forget about her scarlet letter, and the two of them can be happy together. Alas, this isn't the ending they get, because the minister bites the final taco right when they could've been redeemed: after he'd admitted his sin to the whole village. 

I don't mind unhappy endings. But I don't like any endings that seem melodramatic either in their darkness or their happiness. I don't buy the ending, possibly because I don't know anyone who has died from relief. 
 
One thing that this novel illustrates very well is the paranoia that plagued the puritans in Olden Tymes. Witness: the little girl who may or may not be a demon! The old witch lady dwelling in the forest and holding strange pagan rituals! A scarlet 'A' that manifests in the evening sky, and is noticed by more than just Hester! And, of course, the fact that a sin can wither away a person until he's on his death bed in seven years! It all makes me quite glad to have been born at such an enlightened time, when such a range of information about science and history is readily available; a time when the vast majority no longer act primarily on ignorance, and don't base their beliefs on myth and hearsay . . . oh. Hmmm.
 
I thought about two stars, and I thought about four, and I decided three was a fair score. For what it is, this book is done well. Poetic descriptions were often spot on. The book does much without being unnecessarily long. And, the characters all worked as part of the exploration of guilt, although not necessarily as, you know, people. So, the book has a few things going for it and a few going against it. Since I don't think it's weak enough to put in my "craptastic" folder, I'm going with three stars. 

Who would I recommend it to? Umm, anyone who wants to be prepared for Hawthorne debates, should they suddenly arise at the dinner table.





Yes, we're dorks.

Boring and drawn out. Characters simple and boring (except for queen Hester). Not really worth it to read for fun, but I understand why it’s in school curriculum.

It’s a good, simple and short read to help expand students analytical skills. But again, not something I’d read for fun.

Abby

Boring and drawn out. Characters simple and boring (except for queen Hester). Not really worth it to read for fun, but I understand why it’s in school curriculum.

It’s a good, simple and short read to help expand students analytical skills. But again, not something I’d read for fun.

Honestly, I would have named the father of my child. If I am going down, I am sure as HELL taking him down with me. Was I surprised when I found out who he was? Yes and no. Also, overuse of the word breast, like if I had a shot each time I read the word, I would die of alcohol poisoning.

Jovana Gjekanovikj 

Gillian Rose

Full disclosure: I read this book in high school in one day to prepare for the summer reading test (yes, I was *THAT* nerd). I really disliked it hence the one star review.

After Easy A, I wanted to reread it and I finally did. It's better than I remember it. Extremely well-written and a pretty gripping story. I still despise Pearl though (I remembered her a lot!) and it's rather sexist. So it's getting a higher review now but it's still not my favorite.

Charlotte Dann

Video Discussion - http://youtu.be/j2hO5CtEPtU

Maria Flowers

Two stars goes to a mediocre plot that has few surprises, turns, etc. While I was on my toes for some part waiting to find out who Hester had the affair with, the rest of the plot was dry and hardly engaging. I'm not going to say reading this books was a waste of time however because I learned many new words in Hawthorne's detailed and beautifully written work including 'ignominious' and 'epoch' to name a couple. So, while I thought it was well-written in terms if syntax and diction, the plot could not have been less exciting.

Haylie

It was a great book. What bugged me was that the language in the book was difficult to follow. So I read the modern version on Sparknotes. However, it was still a good book.

Manu Linage E.

Skip the introduction. I didn't but I should have.

Courtney Gendreau

I read this book for school, I doubt I would ever have finished it otherwise

aaliyah

3.5 rounded up. wasnt super fun to read since it was for school but i ended up enjoying it more than i thought i would, not enjoying this essay i have to write though…

Penelope

so captivating, social commentary is astounding

Fraser Simons

The narrator of the audiobook didn’t help but I gave it 2 hours and it was wildly boring and pedantic. Combined with a monotone I just couldn’t handle it at all.

Barbara Williford

“Be true! Be true! If you will not show the world your worst, at least show some quality that suggests to others the worst in you!”

I can see why this book gets mixed reviews. If I had been required to read this book in high school, I can honestly say I would not have enjoyed it nor would I have understood the deeper meaning.

Having lived life, I can only be grateful that the God I serve is full of grace, love and forgiveness. We should all be thankful that we do not have to wear our sins upon our breast, be publicly judged for them and scorned but can learn from those sins as Hester did, allow them to mold and shape our lives and live in forgiveness. This is a must read! The audible was excellently narrated.

Scarlet Letter

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