In the modern psychological debate of nature vs nurture many psychologists believe that people are shaped by their genetic predispositions and environment. Novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his gothic romance, The Scarlet Letter, fictionalizes the seventeenth century shameful epoch of the Puritan adulteress Hester Prynne. Hawthorne himself descended from the Massachusetts Puritan John Hathorne and his motivation to write developed as a result of his conflicting feelings of shame and pride for his family. His purpose is to contrast how people reflect their environment whereas others become something despite their environment. He adopts a didactic yet condescending tone in order to generalize the Puritan society as one of stoic and strict people
…show more content…
He set up a gloomy and stoic environment and then compares this with a rose bush that possessed a “fragile beauty” (2), and covered in “delicate gems” (2). The word fragile carries connotations of youth and grace, which directly contrasts with the dark and sturdy image of Puritan society. Gems possess one purpose, to beautify an object, a superficial goal that is viewed as a terrible sin. They believed that one should be selfless and disregard narcissistic endeavours. The purpose of this comparison is to create ambiguity which plays into the gothic romantic undertones. Gothic romance novels often include feelings of mystery or ambiguity. He constructed the idea that people directly represent their surroundings and then completely changes this message as he describes a beautiful and delicate bush blooming in an ugly and harsh environment. This contrast creates a sense of uncertainty within the reader and he uses these words to create a stark foil for the Puritan …show more content…
He conveys the Puritans as people shaped completely by their beliefs and environment. Their strict religious beliefs are seen throughout their community in both their wardrobe and the architecture of the buildings. However, he then takes this concept and contradicts it with a beautiful rose bush growing despite its environment. He constructs a sense of ambiguity by building a strong thesis and then completely contradicting it, leading the reader to the conclusion that people are ambiguous, their representations of their environments and contradictions of
He set up a gloomy and stoic environment and then compares this with a rose bush that possessed a “fragile beauty” (2), and covered in “delicate gems” (2). The word fragile carries connotations of youth and grace, which directly contrasts with the dark and sturdy image of Puritan society. Gems possess one purpose, to beautify an object, a superficial goal that is viewed as a terrible sin. They believed that one should be selfless and disregard narcissistic endeavours. The purpose of this comparison is to create ambiguity which plays into the gothic romantic undertones. Gothic romance novels often include feelings of mystery or ambiguity. He constructed the idea that people directly represent their surroundings and then completely changes this message as he describes a beautiful and delicate bush blooming in an ugly and harsh environment. This contrast creates a sense of uncertainty within the reader and he uses these words to create a stark foil for the Puritan …show more content…
He conveys the Puritans as people shaped completely by their beliefs and environment. Their strict religious beliefs are seen throughout their community in both their wardrobe and the architecture of the buildings. However, he then takes this concept and contradicts it with a beautiful rose bush growing despite its environment. He constructs a sense of ambiguity by building a strong thesis and then completely contradicting it, leading the reader to the conclusion that people are ambiguous, their representations of their environments and contradictions of