Banned Books: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

                The scarlet letter ‘A’ must forever adorn the chest of Hester Prynne.  She has committed adultery against her husband who she has not seen in over two years, the proof of which is the young child she now holds in her arms. The father of the baby she refuses to disclose adding more ridicule to the situation. But she has chosen to bear the guilt on her own, fully aware of the damage the truth would do to the reputation of the father. Her husband has arrived to the town to find his wife the victim of scrutiny and scorn. Embarrassed and ashamed he chooses to go by a different name, Roger Chillingworth, swears Hester to secrecy and vows to find the man that put him in this position to exact his own revenge. Time in New England passes and the young child, Pearl, begins to grow and experience her life as an outcast next to her mother who wears the highly adorned scarlet letter.

                Hester, though stronger in spirit than many realized, knew of her crime and stood tall under the weight of it. She was also a single mother doing everything to supply a stable home and upbringing for her fatherless child. She lived under scrutiny in New England under the still watchful and hateful eye of her husband and still harboring a secret. The reader becomes aware fairly early on the identity of the child’s father which only adds to the scandal of the novel. As much as this story is about Hester, it is about the town and how they treat Hester and her child. It says a lot about the community and how gossip ensues and how, with the passage of time, some burdens can ease or become greater. The Scarlet Letter is an interesting view of the world that used to exists and how guilt was assigned and weighed.

                Published in 1850 the story of Hester Prynne was one meant to place fear in the hearts of young women everywhere. Who wants to be an adulteress outsider forced to wear her shame on her chest and care for the product of that shame? Hawthorne wrote a novel full of the rich details of the time but lacking in much dialogue. He chose to be more observant of the characters and of their situations than to have them engage each other often in conversation. At least, that’s what it felt like to me. I’m not a fan of the language used during this time period so it took away some of the interest I had in his writing style but the story itself I found very intriguing. I liked Hester and wanted to see her rise above the dehumanization she was suffering through. She made a mistake and took her daily penance while others who hid their sins judged. But it’s been well over a century since the novel was first published and a lot of the things have changed. Now a woman wouldn’t be tried and punished so severely for adultery in America. This novel received a huge backlash in the 1850’s. Many were upset because they felt that Hawthorne was too kind to his leading lady, Hester. It was considered sinful and lacking in morals. This isn’t to say with the passing of time that it hasn’t still been controversial. In the 1970’s it was called pornographic and obscene which I find absolutely ridiculous. There actually isn’t a sex scene in the pages of the novel. We only know that sex took place because the proof of intercourse is in the existence of the child. If you want to stand on a moral high horse and object to it then so be it but there is so much to learn throughout these pages about human nature. Hester’s journey is one that begs understanding regardless of whether or not you agree with the crime or punishment.

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/censorship/bannedbooksthatshapedamerica  Retrieved 08/14/2014