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    The Scarlet Letter
    The Scarlet Letter
    The Scarlet Letter
    Ebook299 pages6 hours

    The Scarlet Letter

    By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    3.5/5

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    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece: A searing portrait of sin and redemption in Puritan New England

    When Hester Prynne, a young Puritan woman in seventeenth-century Boston, becomes pregnant out of wedlock, the unforgiving society in which she lives judges her harshly. Sentenced to wear a scarlet A emblazoned on her dress, Hester raises her daughter, Pearl, on the outskirts of town—an exile meant to cause her shame for the remainder of her life.

    In refusing to name Pearl’s father, Hester seeks to protect the minister Arthur Dimmesdale from sharing her fate. As the years pass, Dimmesdale grows weaker, eroded by his guilt, while Hester finds renewal in a defiant reclamation of her strength and identity. Their diverging paths lead to a searing final scene that stands among the most powerful in American literature.

    This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateSep 23, 2014
    ISBN9781497672130
    Author

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Nathaniel Hawthorne was born is Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. His father died when he was four years old. His first novel, Fanshawe, was published anonymously at his own expense in 1828. He later disowned the novel and burned the remaining copies. For the next twenty years he made his living as a writer of tales and children's stories. He assured his reputation with the publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850 and The House of the Seven Gables the following year. In 1853 he was appointed consul in Liverpool, England, where he lived for four years. He died in 1864.

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    Reviews for The Scarlet Letter

    3.5/5

    193 ratings141 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is one of the best books I "had" to read in high school. I think it had something to do with teaching me how wrong it is to judge others.
    • 2/5
      yawwwn, shutup hester. not hester.. shutup nathaniel.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the most beautifully and intelligently written works I have ever come across. It's just brilliant.
    • 3/5
      This was required reading for English class. Now that I think about it--it does seem odd that a school would have us reading about a woman being punished for adultery--well, the adultery part in a school book seems odd--though if they were going to have us read about adultery, I don't find it so odd that they would have it be this book. I remember our teacher saying "if you're reading the Cliff Notes, you already know who the baby's father is"--and it was true! The Cliff Notes did reveal the baby's father long before the book did. (But I won't reveal who it was here to avoid any spoilers.)
    • 4/5
      One of the best classic books I've read.This book seriously got me thinking about the terms of sexism and feminism. The story was very easy to follow, and just overall a great read.
    • 1/5
      No fan of this classic. I get why it's considered a masterpiece, but it also seems to me as if the biggest fans judge from a position where the moral of a story is more important than the story itself.Over the course of this novel, we sadly get to know nothing of the inner workings and conditions of the characters, nothing but what the few, very reduced and stilted lines of dialogue reveal of which each additionally gets commented on by the narrator. This narrator is so far detached from the events and the persons who were involved that the whole thing reads like a historical report, with the additional effect that the characters have no nuances or real personalities. Everyone, men and women alike (though apart from Hester, women don't play any important part anyway) are Puritans and nothing else - only concerned with their soul's salvation, their morals and most of all the morals of others, with nothing distinguishing them from each other or giving them individuality. Hester herself is obviously different, but even with her we get to know nothing about her motivations and development, the reasons why she acts like she acts. The only character who breaks the mould is Pearl, and only because she's consistently described as different and weird.These shortcomings are actually a real pity, because I really liked the story itself, as a thought experiment and insight into a society that is . The theme of shame, stigma and the way how a society is held together by common morals give the frame for a tale that is, with the view of a modern reader, unbelievably full of bigotry, mercilessness, sexism, self-pity and factitiousness. Unfortunately, the way Hawthorne handles it, it's more like a sermon to be preached from a pulpit than a story to be told at a campfire. Cautionary and lecturing instead of entertaining, and no effort was made to combine both.On the topic of style, I guess Hawthorne really loved to hear himself talk. The introductory "Custom House" sketch took 1,5 hours in the audio version and nearly caused a dnf tag. There was no substance, nothing with any tangible insight, just rambling and digressing and going off on tangents that ultimately went nowhere, preferrably in run-on sentences that put half a dozen ideas into a single paragraph.Yes, I know, it's the style of the time and I can't expect modern efficiency in storytelling in a novel from 1850. Actually, I don't even want to. And still, it's so far over the top that it becomes tedious very fast. Pride and Prejudice is from 1813, and stylistically it's so much more varied and interesting, with real dialogue where not every line gets a comment and real characters the reader can understand and relate to.
    • 4/5
      This mid 19th century American classic novel is very much set within the ethos and mores of the Puritan community in New England in the mid 17th century. A young woman Hester Prynne with a baby (Pearl) is humiliated by the community and marked with the eponymous letter A for adultery (though the word is never used in the book). The story is about her relationship with her daughter, with an old doctor who is revealed to be her ex-husband, and with the clergyman who is Pearl's father. The story is told within a framework narrative, with an over-long introduction describing the author's personal experiences working in a custom house, where he purported to have found old documents describing Hester's story. Hawthorne is clearly sceptical of the grim joylessness of extreme Puritanism, when he describes one of their rare festive events thus: "Into this festal season of the year ............the Puritans compressed whatever mirth and public joy they deemed allowable to human infirmity; thereby so far dispelling the customary cloud, that, for the space of a single holiday, they appeared scarcely more grave than most other communities at a period of general affliction." The novel is very well written and needs to be read in relatively small doses truly to appreciate the language, though it is short at only 138 pages.
    • 3/5
      I'm not a big Classics fan but I do try to read a few each year. This time my Book Club chose A Scarlet Letter because of the Puritan connection and Thanksgiving time-frame. I had never read this book even in high school though I thought I knew the basics. There were aspects of the story to which I was unaware and it added a bit to the story IMO. However, the treatment of anyone - man, woman, or child - in manner, saddened me so I think that it did give me a greater reason to be thankful for the blessings I have.
    • 5/5
      I read this book in high school. I should probably read more of N.H.'s books. This is a captivating read and rings so true even today.
      Great book!
    • 4/5
      A classic!
    • 1/5
      I finally read this classic, and despised everyone in it. I did read it to the end, but am not impressed enough to read anything else by this author!
    • 4/5
      Despite its age, the Scarlet Letter is an excellent exploration of morality, religion and hypocrisy in a setting that's obsessed with morals. If you're not the kind of person who likes the sometimes over-written style of 19th century novels, you'll probably lose Hawthorne's message in the language but it's well worth the read and shows surprisingly modern thinking for such an old book.
    • 5/5
      I put my hands on the beating hearts of Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne, they came close to escaping their time. Characters trump plot, but here the story line is viciously inescapable.
    • 4/5
      Hester Prynne commits adultery in the Puritan town of Salem, where the community punishes her with wearing a letter "A" and with ostracism.Hawthorne's classic is, of course, one of those books that doesn't really need a summary, as most American high school students have to read it sometime in their academic careers. Its archaic language and long-winded intrusive narrator make it difficult to read for fun and pleasure. Its themes of guilt, punishment, ostracism, and false piety make it rich when a good teacher can tease out the narrative. When I reread The Scarlet Letter alongside a high school student, I found myself ready to highlight passages and delve back into the investigative, analytical mode of an English major. While not one of the classics I would return to again and again for just the sheer pleasure of the story, I can see why it's become a staple of the classroom, even as I pity the poor high school students that have to struggle through it.
    • 4/5
      I don't see why Chillingworth is presented as a "villain." He does nothing heinous that I've seen. He's merely getting revenge on his wife for being a cheating whore (I have zero sympathy for adulterers) and her lover. If she had shown any repentance or turned aside from her lover when he returned, I might be able to see him in a more negative light. However, she continued to protect his identity throughout the story and even goes back to him in the end. I enjoyed the story, but would have much preferred is Hester was not the focus and Chillingworth's quest for revenge (justice) had been.
    • 4/5
      Why should we read the Classics? One reason is for the history not only of the time and place; but for the ideas that have found expression through the writer. Roughly 4500 years ago, some scribe marked up The Epic of Gilgamesh into clay tablets. We have an intriguing glimpse into the time and place and some action points to string a story together; but we don't have a sense of what the characters were really thinking or what sensibility guided their thought processes. What was it like to live in a world where you perceived time as circular and cyclical, not linearly? How did the concepts of civilization, a major shift from the nomadic and animistic lifestyle change their worldview? How did the oral tradition and sense of history transmute their own sense of culture? Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will ever know because the story contains no explanation. It is no more than a historic artifact celebrated for being the oldest written story. The Classics, however, tell us more. The Classics provide a sense of "interior history," ideas that had currency when they were written and still inform our culture today.

      But why should you read The Scarlet Letter? The events that make up the main body of the work were not contemporary to the writer so how could he posit a credible story that reflects a mindset of a society that he could not have possibly have experienced? But the thing is, he did. No, Hawthorne did not live in the 17th century; but he did live in a small town with a strong cultural legacy to that time and; family ties bound him to the history of which he wrote. He was living with the effects a Puritanical society that embedded itself into the political consciousness of his day and, actually still lives with us even now (Don't fool yourself that because we don't put people in stocks or force them to wear a scarlet "A" upon their breasts, that we don't excoriate adulterers, especially if they happen to be public figures.) Hawthorne builds the first bridge between the events of 1650 and 1850 by creating prologue in which he discovers the documents that purportedly contain the events of the main body of the story. The second bridge is the one created by the reader's connection to the text. The second bridge is a meta-literary experience that elevates the text from being an artifact to being historically relevant, something from which, like all history, we can extricate meaning to our current lives.

      The Scarlet Letter is an exposition of how religious and political thought cohered to create an inheritance of our American culture: a paradox of sex and sexuality, religious freedom that incarcerates and the punishment that frees. Hester Prynne falls in love with a man and gets pregnant by him; but does not enjoy the benefits of marriage which apparently include not being shoved into a jail cell, being publicly called out for her sin, reminding everyone else of her indiscretion by wearing a red "A" upon her chest and, being pretty much excluded from town life. Had she been married to the man, this would not have happened. So, falling in love and having sex with the man is a sin when the sanctity of marriage is not conferred by the town-church; but falling in love and having sex with a man becomes the consecration of life affirming values when you add in the public endorsement of marriage. It's a fine line between hypocrisy and relative morality. Hester Prynne is punished for her transgression; but her moment in the the town square (wherein she is brought out before all the townspeople) is meant to be an occasion for her not only to renounce her sin; but to give up the name of her lover as well so that he too may be free of guilt. Only through renunciation can the opportunity exist for forgiveness. There is an celebratory atmosphere to the denunciation of Hester Prynne. A zealful, but compassionless event in which Hester Prynne's pride is sacrificed to the self-righteous crowd. Except that Hester doesn't renounce her sin, give up her lover's name and, the public does not forgive or even really seem inclined to do so (after all the punishment begins before the possibility of her renouncement.) Ironically, Hester Prynne's punishment actually does free her: Her isolation forms her into a woman of independent thought, devoid of the hobbling dictates of the Puritan community.

      The Scarlet Letter offers a lot in terms of ideas as to who we were, who we are and through the second bridge, who we can be.

      Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, The Scarlet Letter; 01/03/2012.
    • 5/5
      I just re-read this at age 64. The previous time was for American Lit class in high school. This was a totally different experience and a good one. I know I didn't appreciate the high school experience and I doubt that I entered into the characters much then. I struggled then with having to account for my reading. I should have had the dictionary by my side now too, but needed to keep reading and did quite well with context clues, I think.
    • 4/5
      Fascination story of punishment and the different ways that people can deal with it.
    • 1/5
      Ugh, this was really tough to get through, even in audiobook form. The only reason that I finished it is because it was one of those "classics" that I thought I should read. I wish that I wasn't regularly disappointed with these classic books/books on the 1001 books to read before you die list.

      I know that Hawthorne was trying to talk about guilt and sin but man, could it be a little more interesting? Please?
    • 5/5
      I honestly feel cheated that I was never required to read this novel in either high school or college. While I found the first chapter about how the author came upon the story of Hester Prynne while working at the custom's house terribly dull, I absolutely loved the novel that followed. The Scarlet Letter is a beautiful pairing of contrasts. While Hester is marked as an adulterer--a sinner, she gives freely of her time and talents to her community. While she is forced to wear the drab attire of the Puritans, her A for adulterer is beautifully crafted. While she is well known for her sin, she seems to hold the sins of others in a secret place in her heart. While she married for stability, she feel victim to her passions. All of these elements work to make a beautifully complex character the reader cannot help but empathize with. One of the themes of the novel I most identified with is the hypocrisy of the townspeople. While many of them have committed a similar sin they are happy to point their fingers at Hester and judge her. The only exception to this rule is the young woman who waits with others outside the jailhouse door as Hester appears before the public. She symbolizes the minority thought in the beginning and in the end of the novel. Her willingness to look at the world from a different perspective provides a window into Hawthorne's analysis of society. There are so many layers to this novel, that I wish I had taken more notes, but I was too swept up in the narrative to catalog all the depth that The Scarlet Letter provides. Definitely worth more than one read!
    • 3/5
      I am glad I was not forced to read this book in HS! I liked the book, but I don't think I would have liked it in HS.
    • 4/5
      Frustrating story, but worth the read. Frustrating from a "why don't you just tell them!" standpoint.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book even as I agonized over the fate of our protagonist.
    • 2/5
      Summary: The harsh puritan world of the 17th century introduces us to Hester Prynne a woman who commits adultery and must wear the scarlet letter A to set her apart while her cowardly lover and her vengeful husband are the ones who truly are marked.
    • 3/5
      A book that shows the great strength of one woman against the unfair opinions of the populace and the bias of that socity of men verus women.
    • 4/5
      On Nov 20, 1946, said: "Reading in The Scarlet Letter, which is pretty good." On Nov. 21 I said: "Finished Scarlet Letter." But no other comment! I remember I was reading the book when I saw at the Public Library Eric Savereid's book Not So Wild a Dream, which had just come out. I assumed that the title came from The Scarlet Letter, since that phrase I knew was therein. When I finally read the Savereid book, on Sep 14, 1988, I learned the title did not come from The Scarlet Letter, but from Norman Corwin, who probably did not know the words had been written by Hawthorne long before and put in the mouth of the sinner concerning his feeling for the girl he seduced..
    • 1/5
      The characters in The Scarlet Letter raise as much sympathy in me as do characters in a badly- filmed and overdramatic soap opera. Dimmesdale, the "hero" of the piece, is a spineless worm that deserves to be squashed. It is impossible to imagine this cringing, crawling invertebrate ever playing the part of a passionate lover. Chillingworth, the villain of the piece, has about as much depth and creativity as his name. He could have been an interestingly twisted character, but is instead reduced to a plot device to keep the action going. He has about as much depth as a villain in a silent movie who laughs maniacally and twirls his mustache as he ties the heroine to a railroad track--not that he would need to actually tie down Hester, the heroine. If told to stand on the racetrack, she would probably do it. The "humble narrator" (yes, he calls himself this) idolizes Hester for her return to domesticity, self-flagelation, and protection of the man who should at least share her punishment. Yet she then flips implausibly back and forth from meek and apologetic to fiery and passionate. Hawthorne has no excuse for such poor writing. Other authors of the time, such as Jane Austen, write with sparkle and interest, with tangibly lifelike characters. Hawthorne’s book is at the same level of flamboyantly unreal drama as Alcott’s The Inheritance or The Long, Fatal Love Chase.
    • 1/5
      Super boring, super puritan, nothing happens, I don't care about puritan sex laws, will never read again.
    • 2/5
      “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” In many respects this book is the tale of a love triangle but one based on denial rather than passion. Hester Prynne, is sent ahead to settle within a Puritan community of New England. After two years alone she falls pregnant by another man and gives birth to a daughter. The ultra religious community are horrified and decide to punish Hester by making her wear a letter "A" (as in adulterer) on her bosom for eternity. On the day of her sentencing within sight of her peers she refuses to name the child's father leading to more damnation. Coincidentally this day also marks the final arrival of her husband, an aptly named fellow of Chillingworth, and Hester also agrees to not naming him as her cuckolded husband thus allowing him to settle down within the self same community with an unsullied name. Once there Chillingworth sets out not only to discover the child's identity but also to take his revenge against him. It soon become apparent to the reader that the third party of this triangle is Hester's vicar, a weak man who is wracked by his concealed guilt. Hester, however, by steadfastly refusing to give up her secret gradually gains the grudging respect of her peers by merely doing good. So introducing forgiveness and loyalty to the themes of love and betrayal.In many respects Hester becomes the first real female heroine of English literature and is so much more strong willed than any of the Austen or Bronte counterparts but for me her character is ultimately not fully developed instead the "A" and religious bigotry takes real centre stage. For me the more interesting characters are Chillingworth, a cuckolded man who is totally heartless, sustained by revenge and hatred alone and Hester's daughter Pearl, so named because of the hefty price her mother has to pay for her. Pearl is likewise ostracized by her fellows but becomes an enigma, sometimes loving sometimes fierce, attuned with nature about her like a bird or butterfly barely marking the ground she alights upon. I also felt that the mentions of witchcraft and in particular the Salem witches did little for the plot.This is beautifully if somewhat ponderously written book, I almost gave it up in the first 60 page introductory chapter because of its very verbose nature, which would have been a shame. That said,whilst I can see why it might have caused a stir when first released, but feel that in our hopefully more enlightened age has lost some of its relevance and potency. I believe that this book is seen as necessary reading in US colleges, in which case I feel rather sorry for them because perhaps this is a book better read when the reader has a few more miles on the clock and has developed some of life's woes.
    • 4/5
      I had been reluctant to read this classic novel for years, but I found as I got into it that I really enjoyed it. Hawthorne paints a vivid portrait of a society obsessed with sin. Hester Prynne, a young mother, is forced to wear the letter A on her breast to display to everyone the sin of adultery she committed and of which her daughter Pearl was the result. The return of her husband, just as Hester's humiliation is at its peak, sets him on a path of revenge to seek out her lover. Dark motives abound in this novel, while Hester, the most outwardly obvious sinner, appears nearly endowed with virtue in contrast.

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    The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

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