In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ a character named Hester Prynne committed adultery with a man who at first was unidentified but later confirmed to be her reverend‚ the worshipped Arthur Dimmesdale. Since Hester became pregnant after the affair and her husband had not yet arrived in the colony‚ it was clear that she had committed adultery. The government of the colony demanded to know who her lover was‚ but Hester repeatedly refused to incriminate him. Because Hester never identified
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Chillingworth visits Hester during her brief incarceration‚ where he berates her for having crushed his dreams of finding acceptance and love ("My heart was a great mansion with room for many souls‚ but cold and empty and without a parlor fire; I longed to light one!"). While he makes it obvious he will not take revenge upon her or the baby‚ he demands to know the name of Hester’s lover. She refuses to tell him‚ but Chillingworth promises that he will find the man and destroy his soul. Chillingworth
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There are many dichotomies that are found throughout the novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Many of the characters in the story present strong dichotomies like Pearl‚ Roger‚ and Hester who show two totally different perspectives of themselves. A dichotomy is the division of something or someone into two parts; it can be good and be bad at the same time. For example spiders‚ no one likes spiders around their house‚ but they can be a use for trapping and killing unwanted flies around
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Abstract The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne’s representative work‚ is a classical novel in American literature in the 19th century. The novel displays Puritanism’s great impact on people’s life and thought. This thesis will give a picture of puritans’ life and ideology through the analysis of the Puritan town Boston and some related characters‚ and introduce how the communities in the town are deeply influenced by Puritanism. Meanwhile‚ by analyzing the main character Hester‚ the thesis will
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Scarlett Letter Criticism Nathanial Hawthorne envisioned The Scarlet Letter as a short story published in a collection‚ but it outgrew that purpose. Most critics accept Hawthorne’s definition of it as a “romance” rather than a novel. The novel begins with an introductory autobiographical essay‚ “The Custom House” where Hawthorne describes working as a custom officer in Salem‚ Massachusetts. He describes coming across documents that provide him with the basis for The Scarlett Letter. The introductory
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Guilt in The Scarlet Letter Undoubtedly‚ Hester‚ Dimmesdale‚ and Chillingworth had all committed sin in one form or another‚ but Chillingworth’s sin lies on a much larger scale because while Hester and Dimmesdale repent for their sin Chillingworth fails to even recognize his own. Throughout The Scarlet Letter‚ the author illustrates Chillingworth’s transformation towards a devilish personality. This transformation is fueled by what becomes Chillingworth’s obsession for revenge through the psychological
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An overview of six psychological perspectives Psychodynamic perspective Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) developed a theory of the human mind that emphasised the interaction of biological drives with the social environment. Freud’s theory emphasises the power of early experience to influence the adult personality. Freud’s theories are called Psychodynamic theories. Psychodynamic refers to the broad theoretical model for explaining mental functioning. ‘Psycho’ means mind or spirit and ‘dynamic’ means
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Hester’s Strengths as a Feminist Protagonist in The Scarlet Letter Feminism is the philosophy advocating equal political‚ economic‚ and social rights for women. The idea of feminism was not at all prevalent during the 1850s when Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter was published. In spite of this‚ Hawthorne wrote one of the most influential feminist novels of his time: The Scarlet Letter. This novel was hailed as an important feminist novel because of the main character: Hester Prynne. Hester
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Symbols of Guilt Within The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter‚ a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1800’s‚ transports readers to a Puritan town in the 1600’s. Hawthorne‚ nephew of the Puritan Judge John Hathorne‚ was very fixated on puritanism and theocracy. Throughout his novel Hawthorne repeatedly emphasizes the importance of the Christian religion in the theocratic town. Along with stressing the topic of religion Hawthorne also accentuates the theme of guilt within his novel and uses
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Hollywood scene and probably a rather erotic book. Add Puritan ideals and writing styles‚ making it long‚ drawn out‚ sleep inducing‚ tedious‚ dim-witted‚ and the end result is The Scarlet Letter. Despite all these unfavorable factors it is considered a classic and was a statement of the era (Letter 1).<br><br>The Scarlet Letter is pervaded with profound symbolism and revolves around the idea that hidden guilt causes more suffering than open guilt. This theme along with its symbolism is demonstrated through
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