Study Questions for Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter

1. Explicate characters, themes, style, use of point of view, setting,

and structure in The Scarlet Letter.
2. Consider the relationship between the introduction to the novel -
"he Custom-!ouse" and The Scarlet Letter. "here does the
narrator stand in each wor#$ %n what ways might we consider
"he Custom-!ouse" an integral part of the longer fiction$
Consider the particular use of "he Custom-!ouse" as a way of
"explaining" or delaying the fiction.
&. 'iven the autobiographical references in "he Custom-!ouse,"
consider the possibility that each of the ma(or characters in The
Scarlet Letter might also be aspects of the narrator)s own
persona. *iscuss ways in which !ester +rynne, ,rthur
*immesdale, -oger Chillingworth, and +earl complement each
other thematically.
.. race elements of +uritanism in The Scarlet Letter and discuss
the extent to which !awthorne himself embraces or criti/ues
+uritan ideology.
0. %n what ways could The Scarlet Letter be read as a commentary
on the era of ,merican history it describes$
1. *iscuss the function of the past in this novel. he narrator tells a
two-hundred-year-old story that is ta#en from a hundred-year-
old manuscript. "hy does !awthorne use a framing story for this
novel rather than simply telling the story$ "hy are the events
set in such distant history$
2. Explain what 3elville means by !awthorne)s "blac#ness" in his
essay "!awthorne and !is 3osses" and discuss it with specific
reference to specific characters in The Scarlet Letter.
4. Explore the moral ambiguity in !awthorne5s characters.
6. *escribe Chillingworth5s 7revenge.8 "hy does he choose to
torture *immesdale and !ester when he could simply reveal that
he is !ester5s husband$ "hat does this imply about (ustice$
,bout evil$
19. Consider !awthorne)s presentation of women in his fiction.
"hat is his attitude to !ester +rynne$ %s The Scarlet Letter a
protofeminist novel$ !ad !ester not been a woman, would she
have received the same punishment$ "hen !ester underta#es to
protect other women from gender-based persecution, can we
interpret her actions as pointing to a larger political statement in
the text as a whole$
11. *iscuss the relationship between the scarlet letter and
!ester5s identity. "hy does she repeatedly refuse to stop
wearing the letter$ "hat is the difference between the identity
she creates for herself and the identity society assigns to her$
12. :ocate references to childhood in The Scarlet Letter and,
focusing on +earl, discuss !awthorne)s portrait of what it might
have been li#e to be a +uritan child. "hat is the role that +earl
plays in revealing the reaction of the characters to their sins$
1&. *iscuss the function of physical setting in The Scarlet
Letter. "hat is the relationship between the boo#5s events and
the locations in which these events ta#e place$ *o things happen
in the forest that could not happen in the town$ "hat about time
of day$ *oes night bring with it a set of rules that differs from
those of the daytime$
1.. his novel ma#es extensive use of symbols. *iscuss the
difference between the +uritans5 use of symbols ;the meteor, for
example< and the way that the narrator ma#es use of symbols.
*o both have religious implications$ *o symbols foreshadow
events or simply comment on them after the fact$ !ow do they
help the characters understand their lives, and how do they help
the reader understand !awthorne5s boo#$
10. *iscuss !awthorne)s definition of the romance and its
expression in his wor#.