Dr T Posted August 29, 2010 Report Share Posted August 29, 2010 I’ve been on a classics kick recently so I read two books and started a third. When reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne I really appreciated parts of it. I really liked it at first and then it dragged somewhat so I chose to put it down and picked up Crime and Punishment which I really really loved but I’ll save that for my next thread. I’m reading Gulliver’s Travels now and will wait to write about that one too. Like I said, I loved how Nathaniel Hathorne began the Scarlet Letter. It was set in seventeenth-century in the Puritan settlement, Boston. There is an unnamed narrator throughout the book. In the beginning of the book A young woman, Hester Prynne, walked shamefully with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her chest. She was made to wear the letter A for her crime of adultery. Hester had arrived in Boston and thought her older husband was lost at sea. She would not give up the name of the person that fathered her daughter and was publically shamed for the act. We go through the book and Pearl grows over the years. It was interesting to see the books progression over time with the initial guilt and shame at the onlookers and words of her town people as she was firm and unwavering in her humitity then to how people were descensitized by the A and only look upon her for her charity and good heart. Several years pass and Hester supported herself by working as a seamstress. She was great at her work and over time people saw that her A could have stood for “able” as opposed to adulterer. Pearl grew too. She was a willful and active child. Some officials wanted to take Pearl away from her mother and Hester’s response was powerful. She basically refused to allow them to take her daughter, the one thing that makes her proud and saw the beauty of God in her. Arthur Dimmesdale, a young minister, helped the mother and daughter stay together. Dimmesdale had his own psychological distress and we see how he wrestles with wanting to pay for his sins. He has heart problems, likely from the stress of guilt. Chillingworth eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth suspected that there may be a connection between the minister’s distress and Hester’s secret so he tested Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. Chillingworth discovered a mark on the Dimmesdale’s chest which convinces him that his suspicions are correct. Chillingsworth is Hester’s husband and he was intent on retribution for the affair. Later Dimmesdale gave a heart felt sermon before they were to leave. A plan is set for Hester, Pearl and her exlover to set sail and live together as a happy family. Dimmesdale mounted the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into his chest. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him. Chillingworth died too. They go away for many years and then Hester returned to live in her old cottage and she continued doing her charitable work (as she always had). Pearl grew up and started a family of her own and when Hester died she was burried next to Dimmesdale. The two shared a single tombstone, which bears a scarlet “A.” This book is chalk full of intense psychological factors, shame, emotional intensity, humility, good works, love, results of lust, marriage, growth of a child and secrets. I liked it in the end and am glad I read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted August 29, 2010 Report Share Posted August 29, 2010 (edited) I guess I don't need to reread it now. You pretty much told the story. lol For those that haven't read these books you are reading, you might not want to put so much detail in your synopsis. Edited August 29, 2010 by pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted August 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2010 OK, Pammy. If you were about to read read it and I ruined it for you I appologize. I get it. I put too much into my OP on it. My next one will be better. I will not give too much info. I'd love to hear what you thought of The Scarlet Letter though. I'm sorry to anybody else that found my OP too much also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted August 30, 2010 Report Share Posted August 30, 2010 OK, Pammy. If you were about to read read it and I ruined it for you I appologize. I get it. I put too much into my OP on it. My next one will be better. I will not give too much info. I'd love to hear what you thought of The Scarlet Letter though. I'm sorry to anybody else that found my OP too much also. I actually would like to read it again. I haven't read it since high school when it was a required read for English class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted August 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2010 Great Pammy. I look forward to hearing from you about this book if you decide to re-read it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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