The Scarlet Letter
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The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is an American romance novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne; it is generally considered to be his masterpiece. Set in Puritan New England in the 17th century, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery, refuses to name the father, and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout, Hawthorne explores the issues of grace, legalism, and guilt.
The Scarlet Letter is framed in an introduction (called "The Custom House") in which the writer, a stand-in for Hawthorne, purports to have found documents and papers that substantiate the evidence concerning Prynne and her situation. The narrator also claims that when he touched the letter it gave off a "burning heat...as if the letter were not of red cloth, but red hot iron." Previously, Hawthorne worked in the Salem Custom House several times, losing his job as a result of administration changes. There remains no proof of a factual basis for the discovery in "the Custom House."
Hester Prynne, the story's protagonist, is a young married woman whose husband was presumed to have been lost at sea on the journey to the New World. She begins a secret adulterous relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale, the highly regarded town minister, and becomes pregnant with a daughter, whom she names Pearl. She is then publicly vilified and forced to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her clothing to identify her as an adulteress, but loyally refuses to reveal the identity of her lover. She accepts the punishment with grace and refuses to be defeated by the shame inflicted upon her by her society. Hester's virtue becomes increasingly evident to the reader, while the self-described "virtuous" community (especially the power structure) vilify her, and are shown in varying states of moral decay and self-regard. Hester only partially regains her community's favor through good deeds and an admirable character by the end of her life.
Dimmesdale, knowing that the punishment for his sin will be shame or execution, does not admit his relationship with Prynne. In his role as minister he dutifully pillories and interrogates Hester in the town square about her sin and the identity of the father. He maintains his righteous image, but internally he is dogged by his guilt and the shame of his weakness and hypocrisy. He receives admiration while Hester receives social contempt. Prynne's husband, Roger Chillingworth, reappears without disclosing his identity to any but Hester. Suspecting the identity of Hester's partner, he becomes Dimmesdale's caretaker and exacts his revenge by exacerbating his guilt, while keeping him alive physically. On the subject of Chillingworth's caretaking of Dimmesdale, it has been speculated by some that Hawthorne hinted that Dimmesdale had been poisoned - even stating that the townspeople suspected as much. Ultimately Dimmesdale, driven to full public disclosure by his ill health, collapses and dies delivering himself from his earthly tormentor and personal anguish.
It is noteworthy that hester means "hidden" in Hebrew -- this word is associated with feminine modesty and hiddeness, virtues that Hester is shown to possess despite her adulterous affair.
Literary, theatrical, and cinematic adaptations
- 1917: A black-and-white silent film directed by Carl Harbaugh with Colleen Moore as Hester Prynne
- 1926: A silent movie directed by Victor Sjostrom and starring Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson.
- 1934: A talkie directed by Robert G. Vignola and starring Colleen Moore
- Der Scharlachrote Buchstabe 1972 directed by Wim Wenders in German
- Meg Foster and John Heard star in a 1979 PBS version.
- The 1993 novel, The Holder of the World by Bharati Mukherjee re-wrote the story, placing it in present day Boston, Colonial America, and 17th century India during the spread of the British East India Company.
- The 1995 film, The Scarlet Letter is directed by Roland Joffé and stars Demi Moore as Hester. This version is "freely adapted" from Hawthorne according to the opening credits and takes liberties with the original story. It features anachronistic sexuality and an absurd happy ending.
- The Red Letter Plays (In The Blood produced in 1999, and Fucking A, produced in 2000} by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, re-wrote the story placing it in both contemporary New York and Houston.
- In 2001, a musical stage adaptation premiered at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The show was authored by Stacey Mancine, Daniel Koloski, and Simon Gray. It was directed by Michael Bahar, and produced by Eric Braverman and Blue Line Arts, Inc. The cast included Marisa Mickel, Mark Sanders, Graham Stevens, and Vivienne Cleary.
- In the Tool song The Grudge the line 'Unable to forgive your scarlet letterman' is a reference to the novel.
- The band Jars of Clay have a song entitled Scarlet on their album The Eleventh Hour, which refers to the novel.
- The band Casting Crowns alludes to the Scarlet Letter in Does Anybody Hear Her from the album Lifesong, "They can't see past her scarlet letter, and we've never even met her".
- Byun Hyuk's 2004 South Korean film, The Scarlet Letter references Hawthorne's work in title and content.
External links
- [The Scarlet Letter (2001 musical dramatisation)]
- [The original text of The Scarlet Letter hosted by the University of Virginia]
- [Hawthorne in Salem Website Page on Hester and Pearl in The Scarlet Letter]
- [Free eBook: The Scarlet Letter] at Project Gutenberg
- [The Scarlet Letter] at [American Literature]
- [The Acrostic Scarlet Letter] – humorous series of acrostics about the main characters.
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