This document is a summary of the novel "The Scarlet Letter" written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the mid-Nineteenth century, however
it is regarded by many as a classic today. The Scarlet Letter is a tale of human tragedy, which attempts to convey a moral. It was well researched and apparently portrays the era of Puritanism accurately. In fact, the setting for the story is described in great detail in the first chapter. This book is preceded by a long essay entitled "The Custom House" which describes in excruciating detail him finding foolscap sheets and a scarlet letter "A" which gave him the idea to write the novel. There is very little linking in this long, drawn out essay that has anything to do with the rest of this book. The backbone of the Scarlet Letter is its main characters.
The Characters
The main character of this book, Hester Prynne, was supposedly the heroine of the story. It was her who at the beginning of the book was found guilty of having a child by someone who is not her husband. She is forced to go to prison, and wear a scarlet "A" on her clothing for the rest of her life, so that she may be judged wherever she goes. ItÆs
obvious that the author wanted to portray Hester as somewhat of a victim, which is partially the case.
Arthur Dimmesdale was the pastor at the church that Hester attended
as well as the father of her child. Until much later in his life, he convinced Hester to not name him as the father of her child. In typical
fashion, his justification for this is that he feels that it will look bad for his church if his personal misdeeds became public knowledge. He becomes physically ill later in the book because of his immense guilt for his supposed misdeed.
Pearl, Hester Prynne and Arthur DimmesdaleÆs daughter, appears
throughout the book. She is described as intelligent and inquisitive. She
is also mischievous which many people conveniently conclude indicates
that she is a demon offspring, and a living manifestation of sin.
Where as the most overtly sinful person in the book, Roger Chillingworth, marrying Hester Prynne when she did not love him, and expecting her to be faithful when his whereabouts were unknown. While talking to Hester in prison, he admits this.
Though the range of characters in this book is diverse, the chief
fault is that when speaking all characters sound essentially the same. I suspect it is the same manner in which Hawthorne speaks. All adult characters in this book are alike in that they are unthinking zombies. In the time of "manifest destiny" and other crimes against humanity, where
you should be put to death against any infraction of their crutch, the scriptures, unless of course the victim of this infraction was not of European descent, it is surprising that no one spoke up against atrocities
that were committed daily. The "sin" of adultery was seen as a terrible,
shameful thing by all parties involved. However, I see it as HesterÆs right and moral duty as she was forced to commit herself to someone she
did not love. However, it shows mental weakness that she continues to be civil to people who have judged her and called for her public execution. The author portrays the sins of both Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth to be greater than that of Hester Prynne, which I see as correct. Reverend Dimmesdale also suffers great guilt, yet he does not want anyone to know that he was her accomplice. Dimmesdale, to me is the most typical character in the book. His personality is unremarkable, and his demeanor reminds me of thousands of others throughout history.
The Setting
The first chapter of the story entitled "The Prison Door" is a depressing account of the prison, and sets the mood for this entire story. It describes in great detail the darkness and unsightliness of the acts which are to follow.
The actual story does not begin until chapter 2, in which the public is awaiting the public punishment of Hester Prynne. A group of self righteous women known as "The Goodwives" discuss Hester Prynne and her supposed sin in great detail. One of the Good Wives advocates a
punishment of death for Hester. After a while of chatting, she is led
from the prison door to the scaffold. The fact that she has a young infant and to obscure a finely embroidered letter "A" newly placed on
her gown. The people of Boston stare at her as she is walked
from the prison door to the scaffold.
During this walk, she succumbs to shame. She becomes very upset and comes to realization that she is looked upon by the Puritans as nothing more than a criminal in their GodÆs eyes. She then sees a man from her past in the crowd. This man is her husband from back in England. He looks in horror as he sees his wife on the scaffold and more
so when he sees the crime which she has committed. This man is Roger
Chillingworth. He tells of his mishaps by sea and land, and how he was
captured by Native Americans. The governor of the state then asks Hester PruneÆs minister Arthur Dimmesdale to demand the name of HesterÆs partner in sin. She consistently refuses, so after a long sermon
she is led back to prison.
In the next chapter, Hester is sitting in her cell in the jail when
the jailer brings a physician to the door, named "Roger Chillingworth"
which happens to be her former husband. The two talk regretfully of
their misdeeds for each other. Chillingworth, does not want revenge against Hester. He does however really want to know the name of the person with whom she committed adultery with. He then makes a request
that if she is to keep the secret identity of her lover a secret, she is also to keep his identity secret. She is not to tell anyone that he is her husband. Soon afterwards, Hester is set free from her imprisonment.
For reasons not understandable she decides to stay in Boston. She decides to move into a small cottage outside of town, near the sea. Hester supports herself and her daughter, Pearl, by becoming a seamstress. Soon thereafter her work becomes very popular among the
town women. During this time, the reader sees Pearl grow from an infant
into a young girl. Pearl is seen as very intelligent, yet she is very mischievious, and does not respect authority.
Hester and Pearl are always together, and the thing that always catches Pearls attention more than anything else is the scarlet A that remains on HesterÆs chest. Hester worries about Pearl greatly. Among many other things she denies the existence of God. Later it is heard that
there is some discussion that Pearl should be taken away from Hester, benefiting both. Hester loves her daughter and wants to keep her, so she
goes to the GovernorÆs mansion. She arrives at the mansion and is greeted by a guard. She is admitted into the hallway where she notices four men walking towards her. These men are the Governor, Reverend John Wilson, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth.
The governor does not believe that Hester is fit to raise a child in a Christian manner. He asks Pearl questions, and she answers them wrongly on porpouse. As the governor is about to take Pearl away, Hester appeals to Reverend Dimmesdale to convince the governor that since Pearl was given to Hester, she reserved the right to keep her.
While leaving the mansion, Hester is approached by a witch, and invited
to a meeting in the forest, to which she declines.
