Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter is a nonfiction novel that recounts the tale of a young woman in the puritan town of Boston who is jailed forced to wear the letter A. This it to label her as an adulteress and shame her for her sin, despite her husband being presumed dead. Of course the scarlet letter was also a symbol used deter those who would dare commit the same sin as her. Puritan religion ruled over the people of colonial America and sinners were treated as criminals by their laws.
Hester Prynne, who after being shamed, is semi banished from her small puritan town and left to raise her daughter Pearl, who was elvish and strange and beautiful, alone in a small cottage on the outskirts of town. The husband she thought had …show more content…
The story explores the many dark, painful emotions and feelings that come hand in hand with the highly religious context of the story, as well as the main cause of conflict (adultery). Hester’s Lover, being a man of the church, let these feelings destroy him, making him feel unworthy to preach the word of God with his stained lips. Justice, revenge, and fate also come into play, as each character has their own agenda, whether it be of good or evil intent. for example Chillingsworth felt he need to punish Hester’s lover, this need for revenge changed him entirely as a person entirely leaving him to wither away when his revenge was over. There were, of course, softer themes like kindness, femininity, and forgiveness, most of these shown by Hester Prynne who (despite the cruelty the world had shown her) felt so much compassion and generosity to anyone in need. The Scarlet Letter is truly an american classic; of course, the old style wording and voice of Hawthorne's work could deter some readers, but I would encourage anyone who is seeking a well written story, as well as a look into the past of Colonial America and Puritan society to read this book. Even someone just seeking a compelling non-fiction story would enjoy this
Hester Prynne, who after being shamed, is semi banished from her small puritan town and left to raise her daughter Pearl, who was elvish and strange and beautiful, alone in a small cottage on the outskirts of town. The husband she thought had …show more content…
The story explores the many dark, painful emotions and feelings that come hand in hand with the highly religious context of the story, as well as the main cause of conflict (adultery). Hester’s Lover, being a man of the church, let these feelings destroy him, making him feel unworthy to preach the word of God with his stained lips. Justice, revenge, and fate also come into play, as each character has their own agenda, whether it be of good or evil intent. for example Chillingsworth felt he need to punish Hester’s lover, this need for revenge changed him entirely as a person entirely leaving him to wither away when his revenge was over. There were, of course, softer themes like kindness, femininity, and forgiveness, most of these shown by Hester Prynne who (despite the cruelty the world had shown her) felt so much compassion and generosity to anyone in need. The Scarlet Letter is truly an american classic; of course, the old style wording and voice of Hawthorne's work could deter some readers, but I would encourage anyone who is seeking a well written story, as well as a look into the past of Colonial America and Puritan society to read this book. Even someone just seeking a compelling non-fiction story would enjoy this