The Scarlet Letter

By: Hawthorne, Nathaniel

The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in the United States. It was popular when first published and is considered a classic work of American literature. The novel has inspired numerous film, television, and stage adaptations. Critics have described The Scarlet Letter as a masterwork, and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of the American imagination". The major theme of The Scarlet Letter is shaming and social stigma, as seen both in Prynne's public humiliation and in Dimmesdale's private shame and fear of exposure. Notably, their liaison is never spoken of, so the circumstances that led to Prynne's pregnancy never become part of the plot. Elmer Kennedy-Andrews remarks that Hawthorne in "The Custom-house" sets the context for his story and "tells us about 'romance', which is his preferred generic term to describe The Scarlet Letter, as his subtitle for the book - 'A Romance' - would indicate." In this introduction, Hawthorne describes a space between materialism and "dreaminess" that he calls "a neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land, where the Actual and the Imaginary may meet, and each imbues itself with nature of the other". This combination of "dreaminess" and realism gave the author space to explore major themes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 8196105517
• ISBN13: 9788196105518
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Avarang Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” - Cyndi Lauper’s hit single.

The story may have had some merit; however, the writing style was so archaic and verbose that it took fifty words to complete a sentence. After trudging through about one hundred pages, he never came to any points or conclusions other than that some people can remember what they ate 20 years ago in detail. This guy (Nathaniel Hawthorne) could have competed with Mary Shelly for the most long-winded of the year. Some of it may not be his fault due to the writing style of the time, but we surely do not have to put up with this. This is one time that just about any movie exceeds the book. If you insist on reading, then it may be smart to find a child’s version. Someone could get rich translating the book into today’s English.