The Scarlet Letter

1. The Scarlet Letter

2. Background • The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. • The story of a woman (Hester Prynne), who conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and struggles to create a new life

3. Religion • The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630s • They were called the Puritans because they wanted to purify and cleanse both the Church and their own lives • A chosen few can be saved through the grace of God. • Hard work and worldly success are signs of God’s grace. • Education is essential in order to read the Word of God. • Conformity and obedience took precedence over individual rights

4. Women/Men/Social Order • Puritan ministers stressed the idea that the love and responsibility between a married couple were equal to a moral and religious duty. In doing so, they made the institution of marriage one of the basic means through which to control and bring order to their society.In Puritan society, adultery was considered the ultimate sin, a moral violation of God's will.

5. Women/Men/Social Order • Adultery was a capital offense, and people who committed it could be put to death. Adultery was punished publicly, with the intention of inflicting shame and humiliation, because it was a clear breaking of the moral and religious marriage contract between husband and wife. By threatening the bonds of marriage, the Puritans also viewed adultery as a threat to societal order.

6. Nathaniel Hawthorne • The Puritan setting enables him to portray the human soul under extreme pressures. • Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, while unquestionably part of the Puritan society in which they live, also reflect universal experiences. • Hawthorne speaks specifically to American issues and he entertains the limitations that might accompany such a focus.