The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Entry by Blake Heaton (Lauryn's husband)

This novel is one that everyone should read.  It is by far one of my favorites.  It is about a woman named Hester Prynne who commits adultry, and refuses to confess her paramour.  The novel takes place in Puritan New England.  It begins with Hester being publicly humilated and berated for her offense.  She has already had the baby, and is now facing judgment.  She is asked repeatedly by local officials to name the child's father, but she refuses.  The officials decide that her punishment will be to wear a scarlet letter A on her clothing for the rest of her life.  Hester accepts the mandate, and stands with her sins exposed in on the city scaffolding for all the world to see her shame.  It is while she stands there that she notices a man aloof from the crowd that stands with an Indian.

The man is Roger Chillingworth, her husband.  The townspeople accept Chllingworth as a doctor, due to his knowledge in herbs and learned nature.  It is under this pretense that Chillingworth gains access to Hester's cell.  They talk, and he has her form a pact with him to never reveal that he is (was) her husband. Chillingworth inquires after the name of the father, but Hester refuses to tell.  He then tells her that he will not rest until he discovers, and reveals the truth.

The book then follows Hester and her daughter, Pearl, and their various difficulties.  Hester is shunned by the society, but rather than invoke self-pity, she strives to make things right by helping others.  Pearl is strong-willed and spirited.  Townspeople talk of her and begin to wonder if Pearl is in actuality a demon spawned from the sin of her mother.  Hester pleads to the authorities to allow her to keep Pearl and is granted her wish.

All the while the young minister Arthur Dimmesdale is slowly ailing.  Eventually Chillingworth (who is now accepted full-heartedly as a doctor) moves in with Dimmesdale.  He begins to suspect that Reverend Dimmesdale's malady is not of a physical nature, even though it seems to affecting him corporeally.  Then one night Dimmesdale, overcome with shame and guilt, goes to the scaffolding and stands there.  As he stands in the darkness Hester and Pearl pass.  He calls them to him, and invites them to join him on the scaffolding.  Chillingworth sees all this play out, and confirms his suspicions that Dimmesdale is Pearl's father.

Hester decides that she has commited a bigger sin, and made a pact with the devil (Chillingworth).  She concludes to tell Dimmesdale that Chillingworth was her husband.  She does so in the woods one night, and they devise a plan to help take them away from America.  Chillingworth discovers their plan and books passage on the same ship.  The following day Reverend Dimmesdale delivers a compelling address, and then climbs the scaffolding in the town.  There he calls to Hester and Pearl to join him.  Chillingworth tries to stop him, knowing that by baring his sin Dimmesdale will no longer be under his power.  Dimmesdale persists and ascends the scaffold with Hester and Pearl.  He then admits his guilt and bares his breast.  There on his chest is a scarlet A.  The novel is ambiguous about whether the A was an illusion, a scar, a self-inflicted wound, or a divine symbol of guilt.  Then Dimmesdale dies.

The novel then wraps up with Hester and Pearl leaving town.  Later Hester returns, still with the A embroidered on her dress.  It is implied that Pearl married a wealthy man, and had a child of her own.

The novel explores many themes including that of evil versus righteousness, and repentence.  Hester who was once considered evil, becomes a sort of saint, while Chillingworth embodies the devil.  Reverend Dimmesdale struggles with repentence, and questions are raised as to whether or not he had paid for his sin more due to his abstinence.  He struggles with what is right and what is wrong.  Chillingworth becomes a type of vigilante.  He begins with the desire to expose someone else's sin until it consumes his life and his persona.  He takes it upon himself to make Dimmesdale miserable.  His joy is Dimmesdale's misery.  The novel exposes the fine line between righteousness and evil, and how it may easily be crossed.

This is a wonderful book, and definately one of my favorites.  If you enjoy works such as The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and The Crucible, then you will love The Scarlet Letter.