PURITANS SOCIAL JUDGEMENT AS PICTURED THROUGH
CHARACTERS IN THE SCARLET LETTER BY NATHANIEL
HAWTHORNE
A THESIS
BY
THERESIA RUTH SIMANJUNTAK
REG. NO.: 070705055
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS
UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of Analysis 1.2Problems of Analysis 1.3Objectives of Analysis 1.4Significances of Analysis 1.5Scope of Analysis
1.6Method of Analysis
1.7Review of Related Literatures
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW
2.1 Literature
2.2 Literature and Sociology 2.3 Puritanism
2.3.1 Historical background of Puritans 2.3.2 Concepts of Puritanism
2.3.3 Convictions of Puritanism 2.3.4 Characteristics of Puritan
CHAPTER II I METHODOLOGY
3.3 Analysing Data
CHAPTER IV PURITANS SOCIAL JUDGEMENT AS PICTURED THROUGH CHARACTERS IN THE SCARLET LETTER BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
4.1 Puritans social judgement
4.2 Puritans reaction toward Hester and Pearl 4.2.1 Hester
4.2.2 Pearl
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Conclusions 5.2 Suggestions
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABSTRAK
Skripsi ini berjudul Puritans Social Judgement as Pictured Through Characters in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Skripsi ini menganalisa tentang penilaian ataupun penghakiman kaum Puritan yang semena-mena terhadap karakter utama, Hester Prynne, yang melakukan perselingkuhan hingga melahirkan seorang anak bernama Pearl. Kaum Puritan menganggap diri mereka adalah kaum pilihan Tuhan, sehingga mereka berhak menhukum seseorang yang bersalah. Skripsi ini menganalisa hubungan antara karya sastra dan masyarakat dalam penilaian Nathaniel Hawthorne sebagai penulis melalui hubungan kehidupan antara Hester Prynne, Pearl dan kaum Puritan.
ABSTRAK
Skripsi ini berjudul Puritans Social Judgement as Pictured Through Characters in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Skripsi ini menganalisa tentang penilaian ataupun penghakiman kaum Puritan yang semena-mena terhadap karakter utama, Hester Prynne, yang melakukan perselingkuhan hingga melahirkan seorang anak bernama Pearl. Kaum Puritan menganggap diri mereka adalah kaum pilihan Tuhan, sehingga mereka berhak menhukum seseorang yang bersalah. Skripsi ini menganalisa hubungan antara karya sastra dan masyarakat dalam penilaian Nathaniel Hawthorne sebagai penulis melalui hubungan kehidupan antara Hester Prynne, Pearl dan kaum Puritan.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of Analysis
Literature is reffered to as the entirety of written expression, with the restriction that not every written document can be categorized as literature in the more exact sense of word (Klarer, 2004:1). It means that not all of printed works can be classified as literature, for example informative writing such as geography, history or medical written. It is because of the different kind language used. Besides, it is wider than just printed works. Literature also refers to compositions that tell stories, dramatize situation, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas (Roberts, 1995:1). Wellek and Warren (1963:94) state, “literature is said to be creative, an art”. So, it is clear that literature is a creation of an author made into the beauty of art writing.
Literature is said to be a medium of expressing ideas. It reflects the reality through the medium of language. Wellek and Warren also state, “literature is a social institution, using as its medium language, a social creation”. Since literature is also a social creation, literature is also the expression of society that contains social reality, and is expressed through the language.
The word prose derives from the Latin ‘prosa’, which is literally translated to ‘straightforward’. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs (1995:2) classify prose into two, fiction prose, which is made based on the author’s creation and imagination, and non-fiction prose, which describes facts, opinions. Prose can be classified into some other forms, for example novel, short story, romance, and biography. The first three forms are something thar often called as fiction, meanwhile the latest is non-fiction.
Novel as a literary work provides the readers reflection reality of human life through beauty of art writing. As Taylor (1981:46) states, “a novel is a normally a quite length of complexity which attempt to reflect and express something of the quality of value of human experience”. Since novel is written by the author to express something of the quality of value of human experience, a novel represents human. Human itself is part of the society.
Literature and society are two fields of knowledge that cannot be separated. Literature itself appears from the society where the authors can get inspiration although it is not an accurate information. Taylor (1981:2) emphasizes this by saying that a work of literature does not necessarily give us accurate information about the way life is actually lived (although it may do so as a secondary consideration) rather it causes us to recognize truth about human existence through the direct presentation of selected experiences. It is clear enough that literature potrays the human existence in its society.
even punished by the society. This is happened in this novel, The Scarlet Letter (1850), written by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864). The characters Hester Prynne and Pearl disobey the norms, then get punishment from the Puritans society in Massachusetts.
Puritans was the name given in the sixteenth century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structures of the church, then wanted to purify it. The early Puritans who first came to America in 1620 founded a precarious colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. While half the colonists died that first year, the other half were saved by the coming spring and the timely intervention of the Indians. These first settlers were followed ten years later by a wave of Puritans that continued in the 1630s and thereafter, until, by the 1640s, New England had over twenty-five thousand English settlers. The second group in the 1630s settled in the area of present-day Boston in a community they named Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is this colony that forms the setting of The Scarlet Letter.
The Scarlet Letter is the second novel of Nathaniel Hawthorne which reveals
Hawthorne’s insight into the Puritans. Through that novel, he criticizes the way of Puritans’ life: their general spritual welfare, their uncompromising morality, their self-righteousness and their fanaticism.
loathe her, do not want to interact with her and her baby, Pearl. They choose to punish her, not to find out the man whom Hester has an affair with. Hester, who choose to keep the man, faces the punishment by herself. Hester does not care about what Puritans always do to her. Hester only want to save her child, Pearl, and that man whom Hester loves so much.
However, the most interesting part which becomes the reason why I choose this novel as the object of analysis is the value of Puritan society itself. It is true that Puritan society become intollerant and rude to Hester Prynne and Pearl. But then, they realize their mistakes after seeing the good life of Hester and Pearl. They do not give judgement or punishment anymore. This is interesting because social judgement still can be found nowadays. Many people like to judge or punish someone without knowing the person well.
1.2Problems of Analysis
During the process of analysis, it is important to make the specification of problems that are going to be analyzed. It helps the writer to avoid the ambiguity of the analysis and get clear description about the object of analysis itself. So in this analysis, writer finds and decides some problems that needed to answer further. They are:
1. How is Puritans sosial judgement reflected in the novel The Scarlet Letter?
1.3Objectives of Analysis
Objectives of analysis are the statements about activities and objects that are going to be analyzed based on the problem of analysis. The writer holds on these objectives in doing the analysis. There are two objectives found in this analysis, they are:
1. To find how Puritans sosial judgement is reflected in the novel The Scarlet Letter. 2. To find the reason why the characters of The Scarlet Letter (Hester and Pearl) are
being punished by Puritans.
1.4Significance of Analysis
The analysis of this thesis is expected to be able to give significance, both theoretical and practical, for the readers. Firstly, this thesis will give information to the readers about the relation of literature sociology, through the characters Hester Prynne and Pearl in the novel
The Scarlet Letter. Readers are also part of society. They have to learn how to make good
relationship with other people. By reading this analysis, the readers can take the positive sides and make the negative element of Puritans society as a thing to be avoided and to be improved in their society. Secondly, this thesis will enrich the knowledge of English Department Students in studying about social judgement as part of the study sociology literature. Then they become interested in studying more about literature of sociology as found in this novel. Lastly, this thesis will give the readers a better understanding about literature and society, and also their relationship as well.
1.5Scope of Analysis
analysis become wider and out of the topic. Therefore, this thesis is only focused on Puritans social judgement through the main characters. They are Hester Prynne and Pearl in novel The
Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
1.6Review of Literature
The writer uses some books as sources to find and get the data and information to analyze this thesis. They are:
1. Literature: An Introducing to Reading and Writing (Fourth Edition ) (1995) by Edgar
Robert and Henry E. Jacob. In this book, they write about what kinds of literature. It is very helpful to those who want to study about literature.
2. Theory of Literature (1982) by Rene Wellek and Austen Warren. This book, relevant
to its title, provides the theory of literature, for example the relation between literature and society. In this book, there are two kinds of approach in analysing a literary work, which are intrinsic and extrinsic approach. Intrinsic approach emphasizes its analysis on the elements of that literature itself, while extrinsic approach relates the literary work with the other objects of study, such as biography, philosophy, psychology, sociology, etc.
3. Understanding Society: An Introduction to Sociology (1987) by Clone Hedger Persell.
It explains deeply about sociology of literature; the relationship between literature and sociology. It helps the writer to know the basic information about sociology of literature.
4. The Interpretation of Belief (1987) by David Jasper. In one of the chapter, it explains
5. A thesis An Analysis of Puritanistic Values in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet
Letter by Friska Sinaga. This thesis tells about the bad value of Puritan society in the
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
2.1 Literature
Literature is explained as one of the greatest creative and universal means in communicating the emotional, spiritual or intellectual concerns of mankind. Literature is essentially an imaginative act, which is an act of the writer’s imagination in selective ordering and interpreting life experience (Taylor, 1981:1). Meanwhile, Roberts and Jacobs (1995), in their book An Introduction to Reading and Writing, state that literature refers to compositions that tell stories, dramatize situations, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas. For the description above, it can be said that literature is something which is explored by the writers as their way to explore their ideas and emotions, share them to their readers. That is why literature is also said as the potray of life, for presenting the life in it. The life potrayal, including the human life experiences is provided in writing form.
It is basically known that literary works are written not only to entertain, but also to give knowledge or lesson. In addition, writers want to say something to the readers through their works. That is why literature absolutely contains moral lesson or essential meanings for human life. It helps people to recognize their true feelings of life; about points of view, ideas, culture, which can grow both personally and intellectually to be better.
have their differentiating characteristic. Myths, parables, romances, novels, and short stories are depicted as the differentiating characteristic of prose fiction or narrative fiction.
Fiction derives from the Latin ‘fictio’ (‘a shaping, a counterfeiting’) is a name for stories not entirely factual, but at least partially shaped, made up, imagined (Kennedy, 1995:3). Fiction meant anything made up, crafted, or shaped, but today the word refers to prose stories based in the author’s imagination. The matter of fiction is narration, the relating or recounting of a sequence of events or actions. Works of fictions usually focus on one or a few major characters that get a change of attitude or character as they interact with other characters and deal with problems. While fiction, like all imaginative literature, may introduce true historical details, it is not real history. Its main purpose is to interest, stimulate, instruct, and divert, not to create a precise historical record. The aim of imaginative literature is truth to life and human nature.
2.2 Literature and Sociology
The word “sociology” is a combination word which comes from the Latin; ‘socius’ and ‘logos’. The word ‘socius’ means together, unity or friends, meanwhile ‘logos’ means science or knowledge. Ratna (2003:1) states that sociology is the study of all aspects of human and their relation in community. From the definition above, it can be said that sociology is the study of whole relationship in the society; the knowledge about human act and interaction between a human to another. Moreover, as stated in Dictionary of Social Sciences (2002:453), the term of society is used to propose a synthetic science that would unite all knowledge about human activity. Thus, it is well explained that through sociology, it is easy to figure out the way of human adaptation to the nature, the sociological mechanism of human and other things lead us to the deeper understanding about human.
The relation between literature and society is meant literature is an expression of society. Literature is a creation of human and human itself is part of society.
Literature represents life, which is, in large measure, a social reality, even though the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual has also been the objects of literary imitation. (Wellek and Warren, 1963:94)
This can be said that literature mirrors or expresses life is even more ambiguous. Literature appears from the society where the authors can get inspiration although it is not an accurate information.
is happenned in around sixteenth century, in Puritan society. This made some writers got inspiration to write about Puritan society since they saw by themselves. One of the writer is Nathaniel Hawthorne, the writer of The Scarlet Letter. Thus, it is clear enough that literature is related to society.
2.3 Puritanism
Puritanism is one of the movements which was brought by Protestants. They were named as Puritan society. Puritans was the name given in the sixteenth century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structures of the church. They wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence. Eventually, the Puritans went on to attempt purification of the self and society as well. So, it can be known that puritanism is a reform movement in the Church of England during the late sixteenth century.
2.3.1 Historical Background of Puritanism
argued for less ritual and more individual interpretation of the bible. After that, there were many English Protestants who support for purifying the Anglican Church.
Puritan society achieved a measure of public acceptance in the early years of Queen Elizabeth's reign. They then suffered a series of reverses that lasted through the reigns of her successors James I and Charles I. In the days of James I some Puritan society grew discouraged about their reforming efforts and separated entirely from the Church of England. These Separates included the "Pilgrims," who after a sojourn in Holland established in 1620 the Plymouth Colony in what is now southeastern Massachusetts.
Early in the 17th century some Puritan groups separated from the Church of England. Among these were the Pilgrims. These first settlers were followed ten years later by a wave of Puritans that continued in the 1630s and thereafter, until, by the 1640s, New England had over twenty-five thousand English settlers. The second group in the 1630s settled in the area of present-day Boston in a community they named Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is this colony that forms the setting of the novel which the writer is going to analyse, The Scarlet
Letter. The Puritan society brought strong religious impulses to bear in all colonies north of
Virginia, but New England was their stronghold, and the Congregationalist churches established there were able to influence their viewpoint about a Christian society for more than 200 years.
mainstream of Calvinistic thought. In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total of bad things of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience. Puritan society insisted that they, as God's elect, had the duty to direct national affairs according to God's will as revealed in the Bible. This union of church and state to form a holy commonwealth gave Puritanism direct and exclusive control over most colonial activity until commercial and political changes forced them to release it at the end of the 17th century.
2.3.2 Concepts of Puritanism
Miller (1954) in her book The New England Mind: From Colony to Province state that there are four Puritan concepts. They are Antinominanism, Arminianism, Jeremiad, and The elect.
community, which rested on each person’s need to find God in private, but in public demonstration of their place in a society of chosen people organized and rolled by men of God.
Second, Armianism by Jacobus Arminius (1560 – 1609), a Dutch theologian, reflected dissatisfaction with the principal tenets of Calvinism. Arminius came to doubt the deterministic doctrine of damnation, and believed that election, dependent in part on man’s free will, was not arbitrary but arose from God’s pity for fallen men.
The great remonstrance published in 1610 by the Arminian clergy codified Arminius’s beliefs into five major points:
1. Rejection of the doctrine of election, 2. Rejection of predestination,
3. Rejection of the belief that Christ died for the elect alone, 4. Rejection of the belief in irresistible grace, and
5. Assertion of the belief that saints could fall from grace.
As Perry Miller comments in The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century,
Third, Jeremiad. It is taken from the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, who fore saw a calamitous future for his people as a result of their decaying faith, the teem can be used to describe any form of argument which denounces evil and predicts God’s wrath. Although it was used by both Catholic and Protestant clergy centuries before the founding of the Massachuset Bay colony as a means of social control, the Puritan society adopted their own form of the Jeremiad which converted it from a mode of denunciation to and uplifting confirmation of spiritual salvation: for God’s chosen people, punishment were not condemntory, but corrective. Most typically the argument of political sermons, this concepts of the Jeremiad can be found in almost any expression of Puritan though from sacred history to popular poetry. Generally, the argument is divided into:
1. A statement of God’s word, promise, and strength as evidence in scripture,
2. A depiction of evil, weakness, and apostasy in the community as it exists along with evidence of God’s punishment,
3. Assurance of the promise of salvation through endurance of God’s sentence and a return to His word and ways.
2.3.3 Convictions of Puritanism
Puritanism generally extended the thoughts of the English Reformation, or it can be said the convictions of puritanism. Puritan society even applied these in their daily life.
2.3.3.1 Personal salvation was entirely from God.
The Puritan society believed that humankind was utterly dependent upon God for salvation. With their predecessors in England and with Luther and Calvin they believed that reconciliation with God came as a gift of his grace received by faith. They were Augustinians who regarded humans as sinners, unwilling and unable to meet the demands, or to enjoy the fellowship, of a righteous God apart from God's gracious initiative. Furthermore, J.D Legg (1986:195) stated that Puritans spoke of salvation in terms of covenant for those who had been freely by God. It is clear enough that Puritans believe that salvation was given by God. It could not be rejected by those who had chosen by God.
2.3.3.2 Bible provided the indispensable guide to life
This conviction arose because of the use of Scripture, which was soon came to be a great cause of offense between Puritan society and their Anglican opponents and among Puritans themselves. Puritan society, Anglicans, and the many in between all believed in the Bible's final authority. But Puritan society came to argue that Christians should do only what the Bible commanded. Anglicans contended rather that Christians should not do what the Bible prohibited. The difference was subtle but profound. Among Puritans considerable differences eventually appeared over what Scripture demanded, especially in questions relating to the church.
Some (mostly in England) contended for a presbyterian state - church organization, others (in Massachusetts and Connecticut) supported a congregational organization in league with the state, while still others (English Independents and Baptists as well as Roger Williams in New England) believed that the Bible mandated congregational churches separate from the state. In short, Puritan society disagreed with Anglicans about the way to interpret the Bible, but they differed among themselves about which biblical interpretations were best. The former disagreement dominated English religious life so long as the king and his episcopalian allies were in control. The later came to the fore after the success of the Puritan Revolution, and it led to the disintegration of Puritanism in England.
revive family worship, and to encourage personal acts of mercy to the sick and dying. When Puritan prospects brightened in the 164os, this "spiritualization of the household" emerged into the open.
2.3.3.3 Church should be organized from Scripture.
Puritan society believed that the church should reflect the express teaching of Scripture. Anglicans contended that episcopacy, since it was tried and tested by time and did not violate any command of Scripture, was a godly and appropriate way of organizing the church. Puritan society responded that the defenders of episcopacy missed the point, for they did careless to follow the positive teachings of the Bible. Puritan society argued that Scripture laid down specific rules for constructing and governing churches. Furthermore, the Bible taught a system of church order that was not based on bishops. Puritan society maintained this conviction even when they failed among themselves to agree on what that biblical system was. But even these disagreements were fruitful, for they grounded the modern polity of Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists as well.
2.3.3.4 Society was one unified whole.
From a modern vantage point the intolerance entailed by a unified view of society has harmed the Puritans' reputation. For example:
a) Puritanism considered women as the inferior to men.
Blumin (1995:299) stated that Puritan women’s role was as domestic and private which separated from the world of the market place and public life. It means that women were expected as faithful wives for the husbands, good mothers for the children and submissive daughters for the parents. They only had a responsible in the family only.
Puritan society considered women as weak people. Women were physically and skillfully inferior than men. In addition, they were reputed that they had to be dependent on men in every single thing in their lives. That is why they had to obey their husband and father as well.
b) Punishment was associated with the Puritan tradition.
Margareth W. Masson (1976-304) stated that Puritans conceived of body and soul as integral parts of the self. As a result of the fall, the body and soul suffered punishment that had to be endured. From this statement, it can be meant that Puritan society gave punishment to those who made mistakes and made sure that the ‘sinner’ felt suffering on both the body and soul because of their sins.
The reason why they could punish someone was because they thought they were elected by God. They believed that what they did, incuding the punishment itself, was came from God and God absolutely supported it.
great advantages. The Puritan society succeeded in bursting the bonds of mere religiosity in their efforts to serve God. Puritanism was one of the moving forces in the rise of the English Parliament in the early seventeenth century. For good and for ill, it provided a foundation for the first great political revolution in modern times. It gave immigrants to Massachusetts a social vision whose comprehensively Christian character has never been matched in America. And, for such a putatively uncreative movement, it liberated vast energies in literature as well.
2.3.4 Characteristics of Puritan
After describing the concepts and convictions of Puritan, it can be found the characteristics of Puritan. It is important to make easy to understand in analysing the novel, especially to know why Puritan society punish and judge the main characters Hester Prynne and Pearl.
These are the characteristics of Puritan.
1. Puritan society believed that God was active in the world. 2. Puritan society believed that devil was active in the world. 3. Puritan society believed in predestination.
This predestination is related to the concept of Puritanism, which is the elect. Puritan society believed that certain individual, known as the elect, were destined to go to heaven as part of God’s plan. And they also believed that they were the elect.
4. Puritan society believed in original sin.
5. Puritan society believed in a literal interpretation of the bible. 6. Puritan society were judgmental and often intolerant.
This is the effect of the elect. Since they believed that they were the elect, they thought that they were proper to judge and punish a sinful person.
7. The government in Puritan society was a theocracy.
There were no differences between the law of government or church and society in the Puritans. They were the same. All crimes were punishable the same.
8. Puritan society avoided sensual pleasures.
Puritan society believed that all pleasures came from devil, especially sensual pleasure like sex. They believed that sex was for procreation or “puritanical”.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
In doing this thesis, the kind of research used is library research. The writer finds some books and journal or other written sources closely related to the topic that is analyzed. Besides, the writer uses inductive method as the method of this thesis. It is a scientific procedure to get conclusion from general idea to particular thing. It is divided into three steps, data and source, collecting data, and analysing data.
3.1Data and Source of Data
The writer uses Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter as the main source data. The novel was published in 1850 b by Vintage Books. the cover is designed by Anne-Louise Knudsen. The picture of the cover is a big red letter A.
The data of this analysis are quotations, attitudes of the characters, etc.
3.2Collecting Data
In this step, the writer begins to collect the data which are related to the title of the thesis. This has some steps.
1. Reading the Novel
2. Selecting the Important Information
After reading the novel, the writer selects the important information which is needed to support the analysis Puritans social judgement through characters in The
Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne and Pearl. The important information which the
writer must get are quotations, attitudes of the characters, etc.
3. Finding Secondary Data
In this step, the writer finds secondary data to further support the main data or important information which already got from the novel. The secondary data must be related with the analysis. The secondary data which is helpful is such as articles from internet.
4. Identifying Data
After deciding the relevant sources as the reliable sources, the next thing to do is identifying data. This step is done by reading the selected sources, both from the novel or main data and secondary data, then marking the texts related to the thesis analysis, Puritans social judgement through characters in The Scarlet Letter.
3.3 Analysing Data
4.1 Puritans Social Judgement
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the aspects of relationships, religion, community, discipline and punishment in the puritan community of 17th century Boston. Relationships between men and women were very constrained and that is what made adultery such a bad sin in the eyes of everyone in the community. Religion seemed to govern over all, people would look up to reverends and the community believed that fate was their destiny. Public discipline and punishment were used to discourage everyone else from committing the same crime or sin as the offending criminal did. The community was to follow the beliefs of god and to do their duties the best they could, yet were there to criticize and punish all who disobeyed the religion or laws. In 17th century Boston everything was very strict and everyone was expected to follow the laws. This can be seen from this quotation,
Amongst any other population, or at a later period in the history of New England, the grim rigidity that petrified the bearded physiognomies of these good people would have augured some awful business in hand. It could have betokened nothing short of the anticipated execution of some noted culprit, on whom the sentence of a legal tribunal had but confirmed the verdict of public sentiment (Hawthorne, 2008: 51).
In the beginning of chapter two, it is said that the townspeople are staring at the prison door, waiting for the criminal, in this case Hester Prynne, going outside the prison. They are very strict with their anticipation to Hester. They are gathered to observe Hester Prynne’s punishment.
It is a description of the solemn way Puritans observe any act of punishment, from the execution of a hardened criminal to a child’s whipping. The quotation above gives more explanation about how strict the Puritans society in this novel. People are ruled by religion and law. Their behaviours must be carefully controlled under the norms of society. If someone breaks the law, people will judge and punish them so bad without considering the mistakes which have been done. This is felt by the main characters of this novel, Hester Prynne, and her daughter, Pearl.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF PURITANS SOCIAL JUDGEMENT AS PICTURED THROUGH
CHARACTERS IN THE SCARLET LETTER BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
4.1 Puritans Social Judgement
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the aspects of relationships, religion, community, discipline and punishment in the puritan community of 17th century Boston. Relationships between men and women were very constrained and that is what made adultery such a bad sin in the eyes of everyone in the community. Religion seemed to govern over all, people would look up to reverends and the community believed that fate was their destiny. Public discipline and punishment were used to discourage everyone else from committing the same crime or sin as the offending criminal did. The community was to follow the beliefs of god and to do their duties the best they could, yet were there to criticize and punish all who disobeyed the religion or laws. In 17th century Boston everything was very strict and everyone was expected to follow the laws. This can be seen from this quotation,
Amongst any other population, or at a later period in the history of New England, the grim rigidity that petrified the bearded physiognomies of these good people would have augured some awful business in hand. It could have betokened nothing short of the anticipated execution of some noted culprit, on whom the sentence of a legal tribunal had but confirmed the verdict of public sentiment (Hawthorne, 2008: 51).
very strict with their anticipation to Hester. They are gathered to observe Hester Prynne’s punishment.
In either case, there was very much the same solemnity of demeanour on the part of the spectators; as befitted a people amongst whom religion and law were almost identical, and in whose character both were so thoroughly interfused, that the mildest and the severest acts of public discipline were alike made venerable and awful (Hawthorne, 2008: 51-52).
It is a description of the solemn way Puritans observe any act of punishment, from the execution of a hardened criminal to a child’s whipping. The quotation above gives more explanation about how strict the Puritans society in this novel. People are ruled by religion and law. Their behaviours must be carefully controlled under the norms of society. If someone breaks the law, people will judge and punish them so bad without considering the mistakes which have been done. This is felt by the main characters of this novel, Hester Prynne, and her daughter, Pearl.
4.2 Puritans Reaction toward Hester Prynne and Pearl
4.2.1 Hester Prynne
the baby is born. She is pinned by the letter A as a symbol that she commits adultery. Hester steadfastly refuses to reveal the name of Pearl’s father, so that he might be saved from punishment. Meanwhile, the minister is too afraid to confess his sin publicly.
Hester Prynne is publicly humiliated as a punishment for breaking a Puritan belief and one of the Ten Commandments; adultery. After giving a birth, she is brought from the prison to the scaffold fo getting her punishment. There are so many comments coming out from the society while waiting for Hester’s appearance. It is also a Puritan belief: the belief that sin not only permeates our world but that it should be actively sought out and exposed so that it can be punished publicly. While exposing sin is meant to help the sinner and provide an example for others, such exposure does more than merely protect the community.
‘This woman has brought shame upon us all , and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in Scripture and the statutebook...’ (Hawthorne, 2008: 53-54)
The women of the town gossip as they wait near the scaffold, the place where Hester is going to be executed. One says Hester should have been put to death for her sin. Another says that Hester’s punishment is way too light, simply a letter A on the bodice of her dress could be easily covered up. A third spectator scolds all of them, saying she is sure Hester Prynne will feel the mark every day. It can be said that they are absolutely disappointed with Hester’s punishment, which is only being prisoned and also standing in front of people for hours, as the same thought with other Puritans. In their opinions, Hester’s sin cannot be forgiven since it is written in Scripture. Death is suitable punishment for Hester.
But the point which drew all eyes, and, as it were, transfigured the wearer, ... was that S c a r l e t L e t t e r, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself. (Hawthorne, 2008:56)
That letter A is the most awful punishment for Hester and the Puritans know it so well. They realize that it can make Hester always remember her sin and feel embarassed because of her adultery as well.
Hester chooses to accept all the punishment, including the letter A, than struggle against it. However, the funny thing is she makes the symbol so beautiful. Back to the situation in the scaffold, when Hester Prynne appears in the doorway of the prison with her 3-month-old daughter in her arms, The crowd tries to break her down with criticism and shaming words, especially after her release. The women’s disapproval turns into a tornado of anger and intensity: how dare that adulteress make the scarlet letter A on her bodice so intricate. The townspeople think she’s mocking them and mocking her punishment.
The scene was not without a mixture of awe, such as much always invest the spectacle of guilt and shame of a fellow-creature, before society shall have grown corrupt enough to smile, instead of shuddering, at it. The witnesses of Hester Prynne’s disgrace had not yet passed beyond their simplicity. They were stern enough to look upon her death, had that been the sentence, without a murmur at its severity, but had none of the heartlessness of another social state, which would find only a theme for jest in an exhibition like the present. (Hawthorne, 2008: 58-59)
She could no longer borrow from the future, to help her through the present grief. To-morrow would bring its own trial with it; so would the next day, and so would the next; each its own trial, and yet the very same that was now so unutterably grievous to be borne. (Hawthorne, 2008: 81-82)
Hester is still humilliated by the society, especially after not being prisoned anymore. Hester’s shame really hits home when everyone in the town is staring her down: her scarlet A will always mark her as an outsider. She has to raise her child, Pearl, by the judgement of the Puritans.
Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast…as the figure, the body, the reality of sin. And over her grave, the infamy that she must carry thither would be her only monument. (Hawthorne, 2008:82)
This is explained that the letter A has function as a reminder to everyone that she has committed adultery. Not only is Hester banished from the community and has to live extremely far from the rest of them, she is also alienated as well. Punished already by living outside her community, the people are still not satisfied with this punishment and choose to pass their negativity on to their offspring. She is really thrown out of town and is no longer a community member. The mothers of the children in the community will point her out and tell their children not to be like her. They use her as an example of the consequences of being an individual and going against society's rules.
something horrible in this dreary woman, gliding silently through the town, with never any companion but one only child. Therefore, first allowing her to pass, they pursued her at a distance with shrill cries, and the utterance of a word that had no distinct purport to their own minds, but was none the less terrible to her, as proceeding from lips that babbled it unconsciously. (Hawthorne, 2008: 88-89)
Those lines above show the way Puritans society treat Hester. They insult her so bad. They gossip about her. They do everything as her punishment. Everywhere Hester goes, she is met with reminders of her adultery. If she enters a church, she may be the subject of the sermon. As she goes about town, children mock her. Young women glance at the scarlet letter and then haughtily glance away.
Society even like to remind everybody about Hester and her sin. They will not forget her sin, as stated in this sentence below.
The exception indicated the ever relentless vigor with which society frowned upon her sin. (Hawthorne, 2008: 86)
Another peculiar torture was felt in the gaze of a new eye. When strangers looked curiously at the scarlet letter, and none ever failed to do so, - they branded it afresh into Hester’s soul; so that, often times, she could scarcely refrain, yet always did refrain, from covering the symbol with her hand. (Hawthorne, 2008: 89)
It is not enough for the society humiliate Hester by only themselves. They also tell strangers about her and her sins everytime strangers ask why Hester wear the letter A. They always ensure Hester get punishment badly by themselves.
men, ministers, and so on. Yet, she is never called to make or to embroider a single wedding gown for fear of symbolically staining the bride’s purity.
Besides, she does charity. She helps poor people by feeding them and making clothes for them. Unfortunately, she even still get judgement from them. Poor people even think that she is beneath them because of her past.
The poor, as we have already said, whom she sought out to be the objects of her bounty, often reviled the hand that was stretched forth to succor them. Dames of elevated rank, likewise, whose doors she entered in the way of her occupation, were accustomed to distil drops of bitterness into her heart; sometimes through that alchemy of quiet malice, by which women can concoct a subtile poison from ordinary trifles; and sometimes, also, by a coarser expression, that fell upon the sufferer’s defenceless breast like a rough blow upon an ulcerated wound. (Hawthorne, 2008: 88)
This can be known that not only rich, but also poor people humiliate her. Ironically, both people seems that they actually need her. Rich people need her to make beautiful clothes, meanwhile poor people are given food and clothes from her. But, they do not want to admit it since they still can not forgive her adultery.
None so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty; even though the bitter-hearted pauper threw back a gibe in requital of the food brought regularly to his door, or the garments wrought for him by the fingers that could have embroidered a monarch’s robe. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 166 – 167)
Hester always give something to the poor. Although she is always rejected by them, but she does not give up. She only wants to help them without repaying.
can see the truly Hester prynne without considering her sin anymore. This can be seen in quotations below.
... society was inclined to show its former victim a more benign countenance than she cared to be favored with, or, perchance, than she deserved. (Hawthorne, 2008: 168)
The prejudices which they shared in common with the latter were fortified in themselves by an iron framework of reasoning, that made it a far tougher labor to expel them. Day by day, nevertheless, their sour and rigid wrinkles were relaxing into something which, in the due course of years, might grow to be an expression of almost benevolence. (Hawthorne, 2008: 168)
People change their point of view about Hester. They begin to treat her well. Without realizing, they make her become part of society again.
On the other hand, the symbol letter A is still pinned, although Hester is not punished anymore by society. She even get respect from society. The townspeople have begun to regard Hester with a certain amount of respect. She has been pure in heart and deed ever since her public fall from grace, and she is charitable to the poor. In fact, her suffering makes her kinder towards others. She knows how to offer grace, because she had been denied it herself.
The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, - so much power to do, and power to symphatize, - that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 167)
Individuals in private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for her frailty; nay, more, they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since. ‘do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘it is our Hester, - the town’s own Hester, - who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’ (Hawthorne, 2008: 168 – 169)
Hester begins to be the pride of the town. They look her proudly, not shamefully anymore. They even tell strangers how great Hester is.
However, it does not change anything for Hester Prynne herself. She still wear the scarlet letter. For Hester, however, the symbol has hardened her against ever feeling passion or affection again. She has ceased, in short, to be a woman.
The effect of the symbol – or rather, of the position in respect to society that was indicated by it - on the mind of Hester Prynne herself, was powerful and peculiar. (Hawthorne, 2008: 169)
The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, - stern and wild ones, - and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 207)
When she was pinned with that adultery symbol, Hester felt in a shame. But she still accepted the punishment because she realized her mistake. As time goes by, Hester feels stronger because of it. Hester is taught by the symbol of adultery itself. The letter is not a mark of shamefulness anymore. It has already changed her into the strong woman.
We shall see whether Hester Prynne were ever afterwards so touched, and so transfigured. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 170)
All the punishment to Hester, including wearing the scarlet letter A as symbol of committing adultery, has influenced every single thing of Hester. She used to be living by herself, never depends on anybody. This makes her become a cold person.
But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergymen. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness... (Hawthorne, 2008 : 207)
From the quotation above, it is known that Hester is not influenced by the society’s changing treatment. It is because she realizes that she is sinful. She is punished and it will always exist until she dies. She still give her kindness to everybody without asking payment. accept the consequences of her past decisions.
Knowing that Hester still wears the letter A, Puritans society becomes uncomfortable. They realize that they has already judged Hester wrongly. They even feel embarrassed because of humiliation to Hester.
It was debated whether or no, with safety to the common weal, yonder scarlet letter might be taken off your bosom. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 175)
From the quotation above, it indicates that Puritans society has already forgiven Hester. They even debate for her, consider whether the scarlet letter A should be taken off or not.
judgement. They still believe in their religion as basement of law, but it seems that they are not strict anymore. Their reaction of treatment to Hester has changed greatly.
4.2.1 Pearl
Pearl is Hester Prynne’s daughter. She is born in a prison. Her mother is isolated by society since the aldutery is revealed. Hester names her daughter Pearl, a reference to Jesus’ proverb describing heaven as a "pearl of great price": when a merchant came upon a pearl, he went and sold all he had to buy it. Hester gave away her entire life, everything, for her daughter.
Pearl is both the sign of Hester’s shame and her greatest treasure. She is a punishment and a consolation. Pearl is as beautiful as her mother. She is so lively.
We have as yet hardly spoken of the infant; that little creature, whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 92)
Pearl, as a child, does not know and understand what happen to her mother. She is still innocent. She, as same as common children, still feel free doing what she wants without thinking any problems. She even does not like to be ruled. However, for the society, she is still an evidence of her mother’s adultery.
For the society, Pearl has the same sin like her mother. She is the product of adultery. She absolutely brings shabbiness to the Puritans society. That is why she is called and judged as the child of evil by the society.
Like her mother, Pearl gets humiliation from the society. It is because they think Pearl has already had seen since she was still an infant.
‘Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!’ (Hawthorne, 2008 : 105)
Puritans society does not consider about Pearl’s knowledge of the sin. They only think that she is sinful too. She is deserved to be punished as well. Everytime Pearl is appeared with her mother, people automatically insult both mother and daughter.
The truth was, that the little Puritans, being of the most intolerant brood that ever lived, had got a vague idea of something outlandish, unearthly, or at variance with ordinary fashions, in the mother and child; and therefore scorned them in their hearts and not unfrequently reviled them with their tounges. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 97)
Mother and daughter stood together in the same circle of seclusion from human society; and in the nature of the child seemed to be prepetuated those unquiet elements that had distracted Hester Prynne before Pearl’s birth, but had since begun to be soothed away by the softening influences of maternity. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 98)
But Pearl, who was a dauntless child, after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures, suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to flight. She resembled, in her fierce pursuit of them, an infant pestilence, - the scarlet fever, or some such half fledged angel or judgment, - whose mission was to punish the sins of the rising generation. She screamed and shouted, too, with a terrific volume of sound, which doubtless caused the hearts of the fugitives to quake within them. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 105 – 106)
Pearl, like her mother, is an outcast. Pearl does not always respond kindly to Puritan children’s insults. Because she has grown up as an outcast, even her imaginary friends are adversaries. From the quotation above, it indicates how strong Pearl is in order to defend herself. The situation is when she and her mother go to the Governor’s hall. While waiting for the Governor, they meet some people in there. people begin to insult them as always. As it is known, Hester has already chosen to accept the treatment and ignored as well, but it is not followed by Pearl. She decides to defend as strong as she can. She defends her mother too.
Pearl saw, and gazed intently, but never sought to make acquaintance. If spoken to, she would not speak again. If the children gathered about her, as they sometimes did, Pearl would grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones to fling at them, with shrill, incoherent exclamation that made her mother tremble, because they had so much the sound of a witch’s anathemas in some unknown tongue. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 97)
The quotation above shows how Pearl defends herself and her mother as well. it is explained that Pearl actually does not like to gather with society. She chooses to be careful and not disturbs them. On the other hand, society likes to disturb and insult her. If this happens, Pearl undoubtfully attacks them as defence.
On the supposition that Pearl, as already hinted, was of demon origin, these good people not unreasonably argued that a Christian interest in the mother’s soul required them to remove such a stumbling block from her path. If the child , on the other hand, were really capable of moral and religious growth, and possessed the elements of ultimate salvation, then, surely, it would enjoy all the fairer prospect of these advantages by being transferred to wiser and better guardianship than Hester Prynne’s. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 103)
Puritans society believes that they can teach Pearl better than her mother. They regard themselves as people who knows Christianity more than other societies. They believe Pearl can grow well with good moral and attitude, so much different than her mother.
When Hester hears about the plan, she refuses it. Nobody can separate her from her daughter.
‘... The point hath been weightily discussed, whether we, that are authority and influence, do well discharge our consciences by trusting an immortal soul, such as there is in yonder child, to the guidance of one who hath stumbled and fallen, amid the pitfalls of this world.... Were it not, thinkest thou, for thy little one’s temporal and eternal welfare, that she be taken out of thy charge, and clad so, and disciplined strictly, and instructed in the truths of heaven and earth? What canst thou do for the child, in this kind?’ (Hawthorne, 2008 : 113)
But Hester refuses it. She replies by saying that she can teach pearl with the letter A which is meant shamefulness. She ensures him that she can raise her daughter well. she does not want to be separated from her daughter indeed.
Yet, had little Pearl never come to her from the spiritual world, it might have been far otherwise... She might, and not improbably would, have suffered death from the stern tribunals of the period, for attempting to undermine the foundations of the Puritan establishment. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 171)
From the quotation above, it is clear enough the reason why Hester does not want to be separated from Pearl. It is because Pearl is her strength to face all the problems she gets. Hester is alone. She does not have any relations. Pearl is the only person she has. Pearl is also the only one beside her. She cannot live without her daughter.
Time goes by, as Hester is slowly being accepted by society because of her kindness, Pearl is also treated better by them. Pearl begins to interract with others.
‘And who told you this story, Pearl?’ asked her mother, recognizing a common superstition of the period.
‘It was the old dame in the chimney-corner, at the house where you watched last night,’ said the child. (Hawthorne, 2008 : 192)
The dialoque happens in a forest, while Hester and Pearl are waiting for Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl tells her mother about a myth about Black Man in that forest. Hester asks her from whom she knows the story. Pearl replies that she is told by the old dame in the chimney-corner. From this, it can be known that both mother and daughter have already accepted by society. Pearl who used to play by herself and be careful with surroundings, begin to gather with them. The situation has absolutely changed for them.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 CONCLUSION
Having analyzed the data of this analysis, it is concluded Nathaniel Hawthorne, as the writer of The Scarlet Letter, wanted to share about the wrong judgment of Puritan society at that time. Puritans social judgment itself was given to those criminals by humiliating them. It is potrayed through the characters Hester Prynne and Pearl. The way Puritan society humiliate them is so awful, as if they were the one who created human. Hawthorne only wanted to give critics to Puritan society that they were also human who could do sins too.
5.2 SUGGESTION
Reading literature will enrich the literary knowledge of the readers. Hopefully by reading and understanding this thesis, it will be a valuable thing for the readers. And for the best result, it is suggested to apply a good relationship with society in daily life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bernard, L.L. 1930. Attitudes Social in Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York: Macmillan.
Calhoun, Craig. 2002. Dictionary of Social Sciences. London: Oxford University Press. Damono, Sapardi Djoko. 1979. Sosiologi Sastra Sebuah Pengantar Ringkas. Jakarta: Pusat
Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. Davies, A. Andrew. 1990. The Nature of Puritanism in Perfecting the Church Below.
London: The Westmonster Conference.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. 2008. The Scarlet Letter (1850). London: Vintage Books. J.D Legy. 1986. The Footsteps of God. New York: Evangelical Press.
Jasper, David. 1987. The Interpretation of Belief. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd. Kasim, Razali. 2005. Introduction to Literature. Medan: USU Press.
Klarer, Mario. 2004. An Introduction to Literary Studies. New York: Routledge.
Miller, Perry. 1956. The American Puritan: Their Prose and Poetry. New York: Garden City Achor Books.
Miller, Perry. 1954. The New England Mind: From Colony to Province. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Miller, Perry. 1954. The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Perkins, George. 2002. The American Tradition in Literature Volume I Part 1. New York: McGraw-Hill
Persell, Clone Hedger. 1987. Understanding Society: An Introduction to Sociology. New York: Harper and Row Publisher.
Ratna, DR.Nyoman Kutha. 2003. Paradigma Sosiologi Sastra. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar. Robert, Edgar V, and Henry E. Jacobs. 1995. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and
Writing. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Taylor, Richard. 1981. Understanding The Elements of Literature. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.
Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren. 1963. Theory of literature. New York: Harcourt, Brace Javanovich.
Verduin, Kathleen. 1983. Our Cursed Natures: Sexuality and the Puritan Consciense. New York: New England Quarterly.
APPENDIX
BIOGRAPHY OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1804, into the sixth generation of his Salem family. His ancestors included businessmen, judges, and seamen—all Puritans, a strict religious discipline. Two aspects of his background especially affected his imagination and writing career. The Hathornes (Nathaniel added the "w" to the name) had been involved in religious persecution (intense harassment) with their first American ancestor, William. Another ancestor, John Hathorne, was one of the three judges at the seventeenth-century Salem witchcraft trials, where dozens of people were accused of, and later executed for, being "witches."
isolated but far from unhappy, especially since as a handsome and attractive only son he was idolized by his mother and his two sisters.
With the aid of his wealthy uncles, Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College from 1821 to 1825. Among his classmates were poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882), and future U.S. president Franklin Pierce (1804–1869). At Bowdoin, Hawthorne read widely and received solid instruction in English composition and the classics, particularly in Latin. His refusal to participate in public speaking prevented his achievement of an outstanding academic record, but he was in good standing. On one occasion he was fined 50 cents for gambling at cards, but his behavior was not otherwise singled out for official disapproval. Though small and isolated, the Bowdoin of the 1820s was an unusually good college, and Hawthorne undoubtedly profited from his formal education. He also made loyal friends.
Returning from Bowdoin, Hawthorne spent the years 1825 to 1837 in his mother's Salem household. Later he looked back upon these years as a period of dreamlike isolation and solitude, spent in a haunted room. During these "solitary years" he learned to write tales and sketches that are still unique.
Recent biographers have shown that this period of Hawthorne's life was less lonely than he remembered it to be. In truth, he did have social engagements, played cards, and went to the theatre. Nevertheless, he consistently remembered these twelve years as a strange, dark dream, though his view of the influence of these years varied.
Most of Hawthorne's early stories were published anonymously (without an author's name) in magazines and giftbooks. In 1837 the publication of Twice-Told Tales somewhat lifted this spell of darkness. After Twice-Told Tales he added two later collections, Mosses
(1841), a history of New England for children. Hawthorne's short stories came slowly but steadily into critical favor, and the best of them have become American classics.
By his own account it was Hawthorne's love of his Salem neighbor Sophia Peabody that brought him from his "haunted chamber" out into the world. His books were far from profitable enough to support a wife and family, so in 1838 he went to work in the Boston Custom House and then spent part of 1841 in the famous Brook Farm community in hopes of finding a pleasant and economical home for Sophia and himself.
Hawthorne and Sophia, whom he finally married in 1842, resorted not to Brook Farm but to the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, where they spent several years of happiness in as much quiet living as they could achieve. Concord was home to Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803– 1882), Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), and Ellery Channing (1780–1842), and Hawthorne was in frequent contact with these important thinkers, though he did not take to their philosophical lifestyles.
Facing the world once more, Hawthorne obtained in 1846 the position of surveyor (one who maps out new lands) in the Salem Custom House, but was relieved of this position in 1848 because of his political ties. His dismissal, however, turned out to be a blessing, since it gave him time in which to write his greatest success, The Scarlet Letter.
The period 1850 to 1853 was Hawthorne's most productive, as he wrote The House of
the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance, along with A Wonder Book (1852) and
Tanglewood Tales (1853). During 1850 the Hawthornes lived at the Red House in Lenox in
influenced) of the two men. It left its mark in dedication of his Moby-Dick, and in some wonderful letters.
In 1852 Franklin Pierce was elected president of the United States, and Hawthorne, who wrote his campaign biography, was appointed to the important overseas post of American consul (advisor) at Liverpool, England. He served in this post from 1853 to 1857. These English years resulted in Our Old Home (1863), a volume drawn from the since-published "English Note-Books."
In 1857 the Hawthornes left England for Italy, where they spent their time primarily in Rome and Florence. They returned to England, where Hawthorne finished his last and longest complete novel, The Marble Faun (1860). They finally returned to the United States, after an absence of seven years, and took up residence in their first permanent home, The Wayside, at Concord.
Although he had always been an exceptionally active man, Hawthorne's health began to fail him. Since he refused to submit to any thorough medical examination, the details of his declining health remain mysterious. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864. He had set off for the New Hampshire hills with Franklin Pierce, an activity he had always enjoyed, hoping to regain his health. But he died the second night in Plymouth, New Hampshire, presumably in his sleep.
APPENDIX
SUMMARY OF THE SCARLET LETTER
Hester is being led to the scaffold, where she is to be publicly shamed for having committed adultery. Hester is forced to wear the letter A on her gown at all times. She has stitched a large scarlet A onto her dress with gold thread, giving the letter an air of elegance. Hester carries Pearl's father, but she refuses. In the crowd Hester recognizes her husband from Amsterdam,
Chillingworth visits Hester after she is returned to the prison. He tells her that he will find out who the man was, and he will read the truth on the man's heart. Chillingworth then forces her to promise never to reveal his true identity as her cuckolded husband.
Hester moves into a cottage bordering the woods. She and Pearl live there in relative solitude. Hester earns her money by doing stitchwork for local dignitaries, but she often spends her time helping the poor and sick. Pearl grows up to be wild, even refusing to obey her mother.
emblazoned on his chest. While standing there, Hester and Pearl arrive. He asks them to stand with him, which they do. Pearl then asks him to stand with her the next day at noon.
When a meteor illuminates the three people standing on the scaffold, they see Roger Chillingworth watching them. Dimmesdale tells Hester that he is terrified of Chillingworth, who offers to take Dimmesdale home. Hester realizes that Chillingworth is slowly killing Dimmesdale and that she has to help Dimmesdale.
A few weeks later, Hester sees Chillingworth picking herbs in the woods. She tells him that she is going to reveal the fact that he is her husband to Dimmesdale. He tells her that Providence is now in charge of their fates, and she may do as she sees fit. Hester takes Pearl into the woods, where they wait for Dimmesdale to arrive. He is surprised to see them, but he confesses to Hester that he is desperate for a friend who knows his secret. She comforts him and tells him Chillingworth's true identity. He is furious but finally agrees that they should run away together. He returns to town with more energy than he has ever shown before.
Hester finds a ship that will carry all three of them, and it works out that the ship is due to sail the day after Dimmesdale gives his Election Sermon. But on the day of the sermon, Chillingworth persuades the ship's captain to take him on board as well. Hester does not know how to get out of this dilemma.
Dimmesdale gives his Election Sermon, and it receives the highest accolades of any preaching he has ever performed. He then unexpectedly walks to the scaffold and stands on it, in full view of the gathered masses. Dimmesdale calls Hester and Pearl to come to him. Chillingworth tries to stop him, but Dimmesdale laughs and tells him that he cannot win.
side over seven years earlier. He then rips open his shirt to reveal a scarlet letter on his flesh. Dimmesdale falls to his knees and dies on the scaffold.
