Sin and Shame in The Scarlet Letter: Hawthorne's Puritan Boston
In short
Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter follows Hester Prynne, a married woman in 17th-century Puritan Boston who bears a child outside her marriage and is forced to wear a scarlet "A." Britannica calls it a classic moral study. Hawthorne drew on real colonial practice: Plymouth Colony could make adulterers wear the letters "AD."
What the full article will cover
- What is The Scarlet Letter about?
- What does the scarlet A stand for?
- How does Hawthorne portray Puritan justice?
- Was the punishment based on real colonial law?
- Why is the novel still taught in American schools?
Frequently asked questions
- Who is the father of Hester's child?
- When is The Scarlet Letter set?
- Is The Scarlet Letter in the public domain?
Sources
- gutenberg.org — https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25344
- britannica.com — https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Scarlet-Letter-novel-by-Hawthorne
- histarch.illinois.edu — http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/ccflaw.html
General information, not legal or religious advice.