The scarlet letter

By Nathaniel Hawthorne
About the
author
1. What was the title of Hawthorne's first
published novel?
A. The Scarlet Letter
B. The House of the Seven Gables
C. The Marble Faun
D Fanshawe
About the
author
2. Which literary movement is Nathaniel Hawthorne
associated with?
A. Enlightenment
B. Realism
C. Dark Romanticism
D. Transcendentalism
About the
author
What recurring themes are often explored in
Nathaniel Hawthorne's work?
A. Optimism and progress
B. Nature and wilderness
C. Morality and redemption
D. Romantic love and relationships
About the
author
What literary technique is Nathaniel Hawthorne
known for mastering in his works?
A. Satire
B. Allegory
C. Epic poetry
D. Biography
Setting of the
The story was set in Boston around 1642-
novel
1649 during early Puritan colonization.

At the time, Boston was part of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony, which had
been established after the first group of
English settlers arrived in Plymouth in
1620.
 Characters
Here are the important characters in the novel

The round character, a young woman who immigrates to

Hester Prynne
America from England for religious reason

Roger Chillingworth (also Roger Prynne) Hester’s husband

Reverend Arthur a young minister, who commits adultery with Hester

Dimmesdale
Pearl Hester and Dimmesdale’s daughter
Chapter 2
Section 1: Hester is led out of the prison with a child in her arms
and letter A on her dress.

Section 2: Standing on the scaffold, Hester encounters the

merciless eyes and comments from the crowd and the harsh
judgement of the Puritans.

Section 3: To deal with her painful time on the scaffold, Hester

thinks about her youth spent in England and then realizes her
harsh reality.
 Symbol
ism
Analyze the 3 significant symbols in chapter 2

Letter A The Scaffold Pearl

What does letter A mean What does letter A mean What does Pearl embody
under the view of the under the view of the to Hester and to the
Puritans, the town people, Puritans, the town people, and community?
and Hester? Hester?
Her name, her
The color, the decoration, The structure/height, the relationship with letter A,
the position, etc. history, the location, etc.
 The Scarlet Letter A
* Under the Puritan’s view:
A means Adultery, Abandonment, Avoidance, Punishment

* Under the townspeople:

Adultery as a badge of sin

* Under Hester’s view (Hawthorn’ s view)

A means Armor, Adornment, Ability.

(* Under Dimmesdale’s view:

A means Agony, Ashamed, Abuse)
 The Scarlet Letter
A
The color of Letter A: Red
-An outstanding color to make sure everybody can recognize it at first
glance -> Emphasize the meanings of letter A
-The color of blood, passion and love

Decoration: a beautiful embroidery letter

-> the beauty in Hester’s characters; her identity and her individuality

Position: upon her bosom; outside

-> Hester’s bravery to confess what she has done and accept her love.
-> The sin is outside her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzoFrXEdC74
 Symbol
ism
Analyze the 3 significant symbols in chapter 2

Letter A The Scaffold Pearl

What does letter A mean What does letter A mean What does Pearl embody
under the view of the under the view of the to Hester and to the
Puritans, the town people, Puritans, the town people, and community?
and Hester? Hester?
Her name, her
The color, the decoration, The structure/height, the relationship with letter A,
the position, etc. history, the location, etc.
The scaffold
• To the Puritans, the scaffold symbolizes strict
discipline ( a form of punishment) of Puritan
society.
• To the public, the scaffold is the symbol of sin
and shame
• To Hester, the scaffold symbolizes her forced
public shame. However, when Hester stands on
the scaffold, she also shows her bravery and self-
protection.
The scaffold
The location: At the market-place, “beneath the eaves
of Boston’s earliest church”-> the foundation of Puritan

The structure/height: high enough for the ‘public

gaze”; “instrument of discipline to confine the human
head in its tight grasp”

->In the long history, it was used for punishing the sin
for the promotion of good citizenship.
 sybolis
m
Analyze the 3 significant symbols in chapter 2

Letter A The Scaffold Pearl

What does letter A mean What does letter A mean What does Pearl embody to
under the view of the under the view of the Hester and to the community?
Puritans, the town people, Puritans, the town people, and
and Hester? Hester? Her name, her relationship
with letter A,
The color, the decoration, The structure/height, the
the position, etc. history, the location, etc.
 Pearl
• Hester sees Pearl as an embodiment of a living scarlet
letter in the flesh.
• To the public, Pearl is a visible proof for Hester’s sin of
adultery.
• (To Dimmesdale, Pearl is the symbol of his hidden sin and
his Agony)

• The name Pearl:

-‘Pearl” implies that the child is valuable for Hester.
-Hester paid a very high price for Pearl to enter the world.
 Theme
Public harsh judgement on
1 Sin and punishment 2
the guilt

3 Feminism