Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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Hawthorne’s
The Scarlet
Letter
By Susan Van Kirk, M.A.
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Table of Contents
Life and Background of the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Early/Formative Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
New Challenges and Writings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
The Autumn of His Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Introduction to the Novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
List of Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Character Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Critical Commentaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
The Custom House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Chapter 1 The Prison-Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Chapter 2 The Market-Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Chapter 3 The Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Chapter 4 The Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Chapter 5 Hester at Her Needle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Chapter 6 Pearl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Chapter 7 The Governor’s Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Chapter 8 The Elf-Child and the Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
iv
CliffsNotes Hawthorne’sThe Scarlet Letter
Chapter 9 The Leech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Chapter 10 The Leech and His Patient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Chapter 11 The Interior of a Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Chapter 12 The Minister’s Vigil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Chapter 13 Another View of Hester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Chapter 14 Hester and the Physician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Chapter 15 Hester and Pearl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Chapter 16 A Forest Walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Chapter 17 The Pastor and His Parishioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Chapter 18 A Flood of Sunshine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Chapter 19 The Child at the Brook-Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Chapter 20 The Minister in a Maze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Chapter 21 The New England Holiday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Table of Contents v
Chapter 22 The Procession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Chapter 23 The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Chapter 24 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Character Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Hester Prynne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Arthur Dimmesdale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Roger Chillingworth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Pearl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Critical Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
The Puritan Setting of The Scarlet Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
The Scarlet Letteras a Gothic Romance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
The Structure of The Scarlet Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
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LIFE AND
BACKGROUND OF
THE AUTHOR
Early/Formative Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
New Challenges and Writings . . . . . . . . .4
The Autumn of His Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
2
CliffsNotes Hawthorne’sThe Scarlet Letter
Early/Formative Years
Born July 4, 1804, Nathaniel Hathorne was the only son of Cap-
tain Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning Hathorne.
(Hawthorneadded the “w” to his name after he graduated from col-
lege.) Following the death of Captain Hathorne in 1808, Nathaniel,
his mother, and his two sisters were forced to move in with Mrs.
Hathorne’s relatives, the Mannings. Here Nathaniel Hawthorn grew up
in the company of women without a strong male role model; this envi-
ronment may account for what biographers call his shyness and intro-
verted personality.
This period of Hawthorne’s life was mixed with the joys of reading
and the resentment of financial dependence. While he studied at an
early age with Joseph E. Worcester, a well-known lexicographer, he was
not particularly fond of school. An injury allowed him to stay home for
a year when he was nine, and his early “friends” were books by Shake-
speare, Spenser, Bunyan, and 18th century novelists.
During this time Mrs. Hathorne moved her family to land owned
by the Mannings near Raymond, Maine. Nathaniel’s fondest memo-
ries of these days were when “I ran quite wild, and would, I doubt not,
have willingly run wild till this time, fishing all day long, or shooting
with an old fowling piece.” This idyllic life in the wilderness exerted its
charm on the boy’s imagination but ended in 1819 when he returned
to Salem to prepare two years for college entrance.
Education
In 1821, Hawthorne entered Bowdoin College in Brunswick,
Maine. Among his classmates were Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who
would become a distinguished poet and Harvard professor, and Franklin
Pierce, future 14th president of the United States. Another classmate,
Horatio Bridge, was later to offer a Boston publisher a guarantee against
loss if he would publish Hawthorne’s first collection of short stories.
Hawthorne graduated middle of his class in 1825. Regarding his
aspirations, he wrote, “I do not want to be a doctor and live by men’s
diseases, nor a minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer to live by their
quarrels. So, I don’t see that there is anything left for me but to be an
author.”
Life and Background of the Author 3
Early Career
For the next 12 years, Hawthorne lived in comparative isolation in
an upstairs chamber at his mother’s house, where he worked at per-
fecting his writing craft. He also began keeping notebooks or journals,
a habit he continued throughout his life. He often jotted down ideas
and descriptions, and his words are now a rich source of information
about his themes, ideas, style experiments, and subjects.
In 1828, he published his first novel, Fanshaw: A Tale, at his own
expense. Fanshaw was a short, imitation Gothic novel and poorly writ-
ten. Dissatisfied with this novel, Hawthorne attempted to buy up all
the copies so that no one could read it. He did not publish another
novel for almost 25 years. By 1838, he had written two-thirds of the
short stories he was to write in his lifetime. None of these stories gained
him much attention, and he could not interest a publisher in printing
a collection of his tales until 1837, when his college friend Horatio
Bridge backed the publishing of Twice-Told Tales, a collection of
Hawthorne’s stories that had been published separately in magazines.
His schoolmate and friend, Longfellow, reviewed the book with glow-
ing terms. Edgar Allan Poe, known for his excoriating reviews of writ-
ers, not only wrote warmly of Hawthorne’s book but also took the
opportunity to define the short story in his now famous review. Twice-
Told Tales is considered a masterpiece of literature, and it contains
unmistakably American stories.
Financial Burdens and Marriage
In 1838, Hawthorne met Sophia Amelia Peabody,and the follow-
ing year they were engaged. It was at this time that Hawthorne invested
a thousand dollars of his meager capital in the Brook Farm Commu-
nityat West Roxbury. There he became acquainted with Ralph Waldo
Emersonand the naturalist Henry David Thoreau. These transcen-
dentalist thinkersinfluenced much of Hawthorne’s thinking about the
importance of intuition rather than intellect in uncovering the truths
of nature and human beings. Hawthorne left this experiment in Novem-
ber 1841, disillusioned with the viewpoint of the community, exhausted
from the work, and without financial hope that he could support a wife.
From this experience, however, he gained the settingfor a later novel,
The Blithedale Romance.