Who is the narrator and what is his role in the story that is told in the scarlet letter?
The Narrator as Moral Judge
Who narrates The Scarlet Letter?
The unnamed narrator is inspired to write The Scarlet Letter after discovering the scarlet letter and fragments of its story in an attic of the Custom House. He describes the novel as a tale of "human frailty and sorrow" and encourages the reader to heed its moral.
What does the introduction reveal about the story told in The Scarlet Letter?
Hawthorne begins The Scarlet Letter with a long introductory essay that generally functions as a preface but, more specifically, accomplishes four significant goals: outlines autobiographical information about the author, describes the conflict between the artistic impulse and the commercial environment, defines the ...
Who is the narrator in the custom house?
The nameless narrator, who shares quite a few traits with the book's author, takes a post as the “chief executive officer,” or surveyor, of the Salem Custom House. (“Customs” are the taxes paid on foreign imports into a country; a “customhouse” is the building where these taxes are paid.)
Why does Hawthorne use a frame narrative in The Scarlet Letter?
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne may be using a frame narrative to show the power of story-telling. Evidence for this being the only time we meet the narrator is in the preface.
Who is the real villain in The Scarlet Letter?
Roger Chillingworth is the antagonist of the novel. As soon as he encounters Hester and learns that she has given birth to a child fathered by another man, he becomes obsessed with thwarting her plan to keep the identity of that man a secret.
How does the narrator present Chillingworth?
Hawthorne refers in this chapter to Chillingworth's earlier reputation as once a "pure and upright man." His shadowy and fiendish descriptions and images of him, however, further develop his symbolic representation of one who now appears to be doing the work of the devil.
What is the narrative of The Scarlet Letter?
Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. As punishment, she must wear a scarlet letter 'A' (for "adultery").
Why does the narrator lose his job in the customhouse?
He is incompetent. He spends too much time writing when he should be working. The other inspectors dislike him personally. A new customhouse president, who is of a different party than the narrator, is elected.
What is the main message of The Scarlet Letter?
The theme of sin, punishment, and atonement runs throughout The Scarlet Letter. Hester suffers publicly for her sin. However, due to Hester's unwillingness to publicly blame Dimmesdale, he suffers in silence and succumbs to self-harm. He inflicts a scarlet 'A' on himself, a primary symbol in the story.
Is The Scarlet Letter Based on a true story?
Originally published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter is a novel of historical fiction set in the puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649.
What does the narrator find in the Salem Custom House?
The narrator discovers a package of documents wrapped in parchment and tied together with a faded piece of embroidered gold and scarlet cloth in the shape of a capital "A." The documents belonged to Jonathan Pue, the custom-house surveyor a hundred years earlier, who documented the story of Hester Prynne that took ...
How does the narrator describe the city of Salem Massachusetts?
In this passage, the narrator characterizes Salem in 1692 as a small outpost on the fringes of civilization where religious fanaticism and the harsh natural environment have produced a community where austerity is strictly enforced.
What lesson is Hawthorne trying to teach in The Scarlet Letter?
Lesson Summary
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter focuses on themes of good versus evil, guilt, truth, forgiveness, and identity. Many of the powerful quotes from his novel explore these themes as Hester struggles with the reality of wearing her guilt while Dimmesdale struggles with hiding his.
What lesson if any is Hawthorne trying to teach in The Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter is commentary on sin, guilt and oppression in Puritan Society. Hawthorne creates an allegory, which offers a lesson on the ramifications of personal guilt and responsibility.
What does Hawthorne say the rose symbolizes in The Scarlet Letter?
What does Hawthorne say the rose symbolizes? Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the reader what the rose bush will symbolize through the words of his narrator in The Scarlet Letter. Through the narrator, Hawthorne tells the reader that the rose bush symbolizes beauty in an otherwise dark place.
Did Hester ever love Chillingworth?
Hester and Chillingworth are both aware that Hester never loved him. When they meet again in New England, she says “thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any.” Chillingworth believes that Hester could not love him because of his deformity (one shoulder is higher than the other).
Why did Hester marry Chillingworth?
Hester then matures and realizes that she never loved Roger Chillingworth. She realizes that she only married him because she was young and submitted to his pressure and that of her family. However, while watching her daughter Pearl grow up, Hester begins to reevaluate her views on the affair.
Is Chillingworth the devil?
Roger Chillingworth symbolizes the Devil in The Scarlet Letter. He is often described as dark, misshapen and shriveled. He goes on long walks into the dark forest, which during this time in American Literature, is often associated with the Devil as well.
Why did Hester name her child Pearl?
Why does Hester choose to name her daughter Pearl? Pearl is the treasure for which Hester gave all she had. Hester wants to remind townspeople that Pearl is worth more than anything else.
How does the narrator feel about Dimmesdale?
The narrator describes Dimmesdale as weak, frail, delicate, but very holy and intelligent. Dimmesdale is highly regarded in town which is why he feels he cannot confess publicly.
Who is the father of Hester's baby?
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale Dimmesdale is the unmarried pastor of Hester's congregation; he is also the father of Hester's daughter, Pearl.
Why was The Scarlet Letter banned?
The first was a group of parents in Michigan that took issue with the ''p*rnographic and obscene'' nature of the book. The second was a parent and principal, also in Michigan, who felt that a clergyman's ''involvement in fornication'' was inappropriate for students.
Why is The Scarlet Letter so good?
Even today, Hawthorne's romance is one of the best-selling books on the market. Perhaps The Scarlet Letter is so popular, generation after generation, because its beauty lies in the layers of meaning and the uncertainties and ambiguities of the symbols and characters.
How did scarlet letter end?
A short time later, Chillingworth also dies and leaves his fortune to Pearl; Pearl and Hester go abroad, but Hester returns alone years later to live out her days quietly in the New England community. The ending turns the story into a narrative of redemption, and one in which good triumphs over evil.
