Nathaniel Hawthorne

1
Nathaniel Hawthorne

• Born in Salem, Mass., on July 4, 1804 into a
  prominent Puritan family.
• Ancestor William Hathorne was a judge in the
  Salem Witch Trials, prompting Hawthorne to change
  the spelling of his name.
• After graduation, Hawthorne spent 12 years
  writing and in seclusion.

Painting by Charles Osgood, courtesy of the
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.
2

• His first novel, Fanshawe A Tale was published
  anonymously at his own expense. It failed
  miserably and Hawthorne destroyed all the copies
  he could.
• Worked in the Boston customhouse which inspired
  the introduction to The Scarlet Letter titled
  The Custom House.
• Married and settled in Concord, Mass. next to
  neighbors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David
  Thoreau liberal thinkers who rejected the
  spirit of Puritanism. Hawthorne did not
  subscribe to their belief system, known as
  Transcendentalism.

3
The Scarlet Letter

• In the novel, Hester Prynne is punished for
  committing the sin of adultery.
• Historical records show that fornication and
  adultery were two of the most common crimes
  committed in Puritan New England.

4

• The frequency of these crimes were accepted
  because Puritans believed humans by nature were
  sinful and weak.
• Punishments for these crimes included whipping,
  fines, branding, a symbolic execution where the
  offender would stand on the gallows for an hour
  with a rope about the neck.
• In only three cases was the death penalty applied.

5
Literary Context

• Although set in the 17th century, the novel is
  part of the Romanticism movement of the 19th
  century which explored the inner wildness of the
  human soul.
• Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe led the Romantic
  movement with their exploration of the darker
  side of humanity.

6
The Custom House

• The narrator addresses his audience
• Not many ships come through Salem anymore
• Discovery of a dress with an embroidered A and
  historical documents written by Jonathan Pue more
  than 100 years ago
• Decides to write the story of Hester Prynne but
  encounters writers block
• Losing his job (like Hawthorne) frees him from
  his writers block

7
Main Characters
8
Hester Prynne

• Lives alone in Boston for several years.
• Husband is missing, thus her pregnancy exposes
  her crime.
• She gives birth to the child and refuses to name
  the father.

9
Arthur Dimmesdale

• Popular and admired young clergyman.
• Affected strongly both physically and mentally by
  Hesters sin.

10
Roger Chillingworth

• Hesters husband who arrives from captivity with
  the Indians to see his wife standing on the
  scaffold, holding an infant.
• Develops as the major antagonist as he pursues
  his revenge.

11
Pearl

• Hesters daughter, who is the embodiment of sin.

12
Sources

• Study Guide for The Scarlet Letter, Holt,
  Rinehart, and Winston
• All pictures obtained from http//www.eldritchpres
  s.org/nh/nha.html except where noted.

13
Assignments

• Read Chapters 1-14 by Jan 4th, complete novel by
  Jan 14th
• Annotated Glossary Setting and Archetype due
  Jan 4th
• Annotated Bibliography due Jan 15th
• Choose article tomorrow when you come into class.
  

14
Archetype

• A term brought into literary criticism from the
  depth psychology of Carl Jung, who holds that
  behind each individuals unconsciousthe
  blocked-off residue of his pastlies the
  collective unconscious of the human racethe
  blocked-off memory of our racial past, even of
  our prehuman experiences. This unconscious
  racial memory makes powerfully effective for us a
  group of primordial images shaped by the
  repeated experience of our ancestors and
  expressed in myths, religion, dreams, fantasies,
  and literature. The literary critic applies the
  term to an image, a descriptive detail, a plot
  pattern, or a character type that occurs
  frequently in literature, myth, religion, or
  folklore and is, therefore, believed to evoke
  profound emotions because it touches the
  unconscious memory and thus calls into play
  illogical but strong responses.