Scarlet Letter Archetypal Essay

     Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a dark tale of sin and redemption,centers around the small Puritan community of Boston during the 17th century. In the midst of this small community is Hester Prynne. She is a woman that has defied the Puritans, taken the consequences and in the end conformed with the Puritans. It did,

The Scarlet Letter is a well known novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel is composed and written in Salem and Concord, as well as Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1840's. The narrator of the novel is in an omniscent state, meaning he knows more about the characters than the characters know about themselves. Although the narrartor is omniscent, he also makes sure to include his ideas and opinions on situations, making him also greatly subjective. Being subjective, as well as omniscent, historical fiction along with a story displaying constant symbolism is evident.

The people begin to see her as “Able” and overall, in a more positive light. Hester’s salvation begins to come into play. She no longer has to live in the pain of her past.

Starting off in chapter two, Hester takes readers deep into her past, recalling things like her home

The setting of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet letter” is crucial to the understanding of the event that takes place in the story. The setting of the story is in Salem, Massachusetts during the Puritan era. During the Puritan era, adultery was taken as a very serious sin, and this is what Hester and Dimmesdale committ with each other. Because of the sin, their lives change, Hester has to walk around in public with a Scarlet Letter “A” which stands for adultery, and she is constantly being tortured and is thought of as less than a person. Dimmesdale walks around with his sin kept as secret, because he never admits his sin, his mental state is changing, and the sin degrades his well-being. Chillingworth

"SparkNotes: The Scarlet Letter: Context." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. .

     In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s American classic The Scarlet Letter the main character Hester Prynne is portrayed as the preeminent feminist heroine through the portraiture of her crime and punishment. In this novel, a Puritanical society in New England condemns Hester Prynne to wear a highly embossed depiction of the letter “A” on her breast as punishment for an act of adultery. How Hester handles the consequences of her castigation is what brings about the heroic feministic qualities of the main character. Three aspects that corroborate Hester Prynne’s qualities are: 1. Admitting her sin openly to fellow man and God, 2. Putting up with the taunting and social exile of

The scarlet letter also has a major effect on another main character. The letter portrays

Not long after her punishment starts, Hester commences to help the needy by sewing clothing and helping them out in various other ways. After a few years of torture from the letter and from Pearl, Hester begins getting overly familiar with her punishment, and it no longer has the affect it once had. Her helpfulness causes people to give the

* It shows that she had lost much of her true innocence and her childhood.

Through these ways, Hester struggles with herself because she is always being given a constant reminder of her sin. To make matters worse, she has to cope with not telling people the truth about who her partner was. She would not say it was Dimmesdale, which would probably make her life easier if she did. If she had, they could have coped with it together, and made it a lot better. In the book, it tells readers how bad it is for Dimmesdale to not spill the beans -- but it never really goes into much depth about how bad it is for Hester and with her internal struggle because of her punishment.

Set in Boston, Massachusetts, a Puritan society, the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story about a love triangle between a young woman, who is condemned for adultery and wears a letter “A” on her bosom, a well respectable clergyman and an old physician who lives with the clergyman as a friend and sucks his soul bit by bit. Initially, Dimmesdale, the clergyman, struggles to live with his sin and this agonized emotion tortures him physically as well as mentally; however, this inner struggle ultimately leads him to redeeming confession to the public.

In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter could be considered a modern novel. Reasoning is, though our society does not have the Puritan Life community rules, we still shame and punish those who go against our individual outlook, race, religion, beliefs, and looks. Therefore, we are not that different from The people we accuse or judge because of our ‘’sinful’’ acts, nor from the puritans in The Scarlet

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne discusses the issues of guilt, pain, and truth. For many people, it is hard to accept the faults of their own failures. Most do not acknowledge the reality of their lives, and wind up suffering for their mistakes. Guilt and Sin are bad and also cause pain. Hester Prynne endures in agony and pain because of the mistake she made. In the novel, Hester rarely gives up hope. Through her suffering, Hester maintains to keep her dignity.

The Scarlet Letter is a historical fiction novel originally published in 1850 by Ticknor, Reed and Fields; and written by Nathanial Hawthorne. The novel gives an inside look at the puritan religious structure and the impact of their belief. The setting of the narrative is taken in Boston, Massachusets in the middle of the seventeenth century. The narrator analyzes each character by telling their stories and introducing them to the reader. Yet, never introducing himself, but voice his own personal interpretations and notions of things including the puritan belief and society.