The Scarlett Letter

The book The Scarlett Letter is about the life of Hester Prynne, a woman who is
punished publicly for committing adultery in Colonial Massachusetts.hile on trial,
she refuses to re!eal her "accomplice# in the crime as well as the father of her child,
Pearl. Hester is sentenced to fore!er wear a scarlet $ on her chest as a constant
reminder of her sin. Hester%s husband had been away for a long time and he had
returned to town, changed his name to &oger Chillingworth and disguised himself as
a physician.
The book takes place o!er the course of se!en years and describes the hardships and
scrutiny that Hester goes through ha!ing to wear the scarlet $ and ha!ing a child
born of sin. &oger Chillingworth tries to disco!er who is Hester%s secret lo!er, and
after years of disguising himself, he finds that her lo!er is &e!erend 'immesdale.
hile trying to "heal# the re!erend%s sickness, Chillingworth pries into the heart of
'immesdale and re!eals his secret. $t this time the people ha!e come to accept
Hester. She ser!es as a seamstress and nurse. $fter the course of many e!ents,
Hester and 'immesdale decide to go away and li!e alone with Pearl. 'immesdale
cannot bear the guilt, and makes the decision to stand upon the scaffold, and brings
Hester and Pearl with him. He confesses his sin and dies soon after.
(n )athaniel Hawthorne*s , life is centered around a rigid, Puritanistic+structured
society in which one is unable to show his or her thoughts and secrets.
,nfortunately, Puritan society did not permit this e-pression, so characters search for
other means of re!ealing themsel!es.
The most important motif in the book is the motif of women .The motif of women
gi!es the reader a positi!e feeling toward women, as displayed by Hawthorne,
making the reader feel sorry for Hester. This gi!es the reader a sense of sympathy
for Hester, showing how she has been wronged in being forced to gi!e out her
secrets to all. ( think the purpose of this motif is to display to the reader an unusual
Puritan women, strong+willed and able to accept her feelings and sins. Hewthorne
has a different !iew when it comes to women. He imagines Hester Prynn as
comple-.omen are not understood by men in some aspects. The motif of women
has a great affect on the no!el*s mood.
Puritans tried to create a perfect world, a new .erusalem or, as we all well know "a
city upon a hill#. So, (n the puritan society , a society thought to be perfect the men
needed to control e!erything. There had to be no mistakes, no sins.