Scarlet Letter
(Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “The Scarlet Letter” after he lost his position at the Salem customs house due to a change in the political system. He uses these events as the opening frame for the novel. Though, by this time, Hawthorne had published one novel anonymously and had various short-stories published, there were enough to create three collections, The Scarlet Letter was the author’s first success in the long-form storytelling realm. Hawthorne was given the time to write the book as he had just lost his job at a customs house. The book was hugely popular so as to sell out within two weeks of release and be pirated in England.

The book itself takes place during the middle 17th century in New England. During the time, Puritans had founded the city as they thought England much too hostile. (The English Civil war that included religious undertones was evidence of this.) They established the city of Boston, which became the center for commercial activity in the area. While the new colonists wished to escape religious persecution, they had no qualms about implementing enacting it themselves as they persecuted Quakers with public whippings and hangings.

Settings

Boston

Like in many literary works, the duality of the natural world versus the artificial world of society is seen in the settings of the novel. Boston serves as the expression of the latter, with its Puritanical law, judgmental and oppressive citizens, deaths, and bothersome children. When Hester is in town, she becomes aware of the constant attention to her scarlet letter and how she sticks out because of it. Pearl becomes even more malicious than usual, throwing things at the other children and screaming at them. After Dimmesdale makes plans to escape, his entire demeanor is darkened upon returning to the city.

Area Surrounding Boston

The areas outside of Boston serve as the works ‘green world,’ where the conventions of society can be placed aside. This is evident by the fact that Hester chooses to live her instead of in the city. While the guilt of her scarlet letter still weighs on her daily, she chooses to live her life where she can have some relief from the societal guilt she felt when she was placed upon the scaffold to be shamed by everybody.

The most apparent ‘green world’ event is when Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest, and they plan their escape. The forest allows them to speak and express freely without the pressure of having to keep secret from everyone. The freedom allowed by the environment lets Hester let down her hair and toss the scarlet letter off her, making herself seem more like the woman she was before her sentence. The constantly sick Dimmesdale feels a vivaciousness he hasn’t felt in years, leaving the forest with a spry step. It’s back in Boston where- constrained by the rules of their society- that all their plans begin to fall apart.