The story starts with a preface about how the book was written; the unnamed narrator was a custom house surveyor who, in the attic, found a manuscript and a gold-embroidered patch of cloth in the shape of an “A”. The manuscript was the work of a past surveyor hundreds of years ago; when the narrator lost his job, he decided to write a fictional novel of the events in the manuscript and The Scarlet Letter was the final product. The story focuses on a young woman named Hester Prynne in a Puritan settlement in Boston who is led from the town prison with her baby Pearl in her arms and an embroidered “A” on her chest. She is said to be punished for adultery as her husband, a scholar, sent her to American first but never arrived and is presumed dead at sea. Hester refuses to reveal the identity of Pearl’s father; the public shaming and scarlet letter are her punishment for her sin and secrecy. An elderly traveler in the crowd is Hester’s missing husband who is now a doctor and goes by Roger Chillingworth. After discovering Hester’s sin and revealing his true identity to her, Roger settles in town, intent on revenge. As the years pass, Pearl grows into a challenging child as she lives in a cottage outside of town; officials try to take Pearl away from Hester but with the help of Minister Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl stay together. Dimmesdale, although young, appears very sick from “heart trouble” caused by psychological distress and guilt. Roger becomes closer to Dimmesdale and suspects there is a connection between Hester’s sin and the minister’s declining health, leading him to test Dimmesdale to gain information. Soon, Roger discovers a mark on Dimmesdale’s chest, which convinces him that his suspicions are correct. Hester asks Roger to stop torturing Dimmesdale but he refuses so Hester arranges a meeting with the minister in the woods. Here, Dimmesdale and Hester rekindle their love and make plans to leave America but Roger discovers their plan and makes arrangements to be on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl in the crowd and asks them to come join him; the town is in shock as they walk up the platform where Hester was publicly shamed seven years ago. Hand-in-hand, Dimmesdale stands with Hester and Pearl as he confesses to the sin he shares with Hester and rips open his robe, exposing the scarlet letter on his chest and then dying on stage. Filled with revenge, Roger dies less than a year later, leaving all his possessions to Pearl who leaves Boston with Hester. Years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resume her charitable work; she receives letters and gifts from Pearl who is married. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale, sharing a tombstone bearing the scarlet letter.
In terms of United States history, The Scarlet Letter helped show how much of a role the church can play in people’s way of life and government. The Puritans felt it was necessary for the sinner to confess and repent publicly, as well as be subject to the church community in order to return to God; at Hester’s public shaming, the Governor told Dimmesdale, “the responsibility of this woman’s soul lies greatly within you. It behooves you, therefore, to exhort her to repentance, and to confession, as a proof and consequence thereof” (39), meaning the church and government were one and were responsible for Hester’s change in community status. When pondering United States culture, The Scarlet Letter exposed the reader to early Puritan ways; the narrator depicts the Puritans as strict, confining, narrow-minded, and unforgiving to Hester. In the beginning when Hester is released from prison, the narrator describes the town jailer as representing the 'whole dismal severity of the Puritanical code of law,' (31) which bound religion with law. The Puritans are depicted as shallow hypocrites whose opinion of Hester and Pearl improves only when they become more of an asset to the community, specifically when Hester becomes a seamstress and Pearl inherits Roger’s fortune. When looking back on the story, the most impressionable quote was “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true” (120); this quote was so powerful because it forced self-reflection and thought in a way which was touching and seemed personal. Overall, the most powerful part of the book was when Hester tore off the scarlet letter and her head covering when in the woods with Dimmesdale because the descriptive nature of the text, for example, stated, “She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom” (113) and the actions itself conveyed love, passion, and freedom which seemed to jump right off the page and into the reader’s heart. In addition to the book being a great read, it was also significant to American history because it portrayed how in the past, people’s lives and sins were often subject to public shaming and how the church played a major role in everyday life, which helped build the foundation of the country's history in church, government, and societal opinions. However, the book’s language was not modern, which did not aid in the reading process; also, the book mainly focused on Hester’s story, so an incomplete picture was given of the period. On the other hand, the book portrays how difficult society can be and how sin and guilt can change a person, which is important in understanding how and why historical figures made certain decisions.
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