The Double Life Exposed in The Scarlet Letter
Irish novelist Brian Moore observed, "There comes a point in many
people's lives when they can no longer play the role they have chosen for
themselves". From Hollywood movie stars to professional athletes,
people have and will continue to lead false lives, under the public spotlight,
concealing their personal travails. In literature, the preceding statement has
held true numerous times, in works such as Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet
Letter. Minister and respected citizen, Arthur Dimmesdale, was perceived as an
upstanding member of the community who preached the word of the heavenly Father.
But before the public, he was only camouflaging his dark, hidden secret, which
was the sole cause of his sufferings. Hawthorne successfully portrayed the
personal agonies one would suffer by cowardly holding secrets within oneself.
In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne set out to show the consequences of
leading a double life. Arthur Dimmesdale, to the people of Boston, was a holy
icon. According to the public, "never had a man spoken in so wise, so high,
and so holy a spirit, as he... nor had inspiration ever breathed through mortal
lips more evidently than it did through his" (167). Dimmesdale had risen
through the ranks of the church and had the utmost respect of the people of
Boston. Dimmesdale's "eloquence and religious fervor had already given the
earnest of high eminence in his profession" (48). Hawthorne pointed out that
Dimmesdale was a very influential and powerful speaker, whose soft spoken words,
"affected them [the townspeople] like the speech of an angel" (48). ...
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...so
tormented Arthur Dimmesdale.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Bradley, Sculley, Beatty, Richmond Croom, and E. Hudson Long (1996). "The Social Criticism of a Public Man." Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne (pp. 47-49). San Diego: Greenhaven.
Brodhead, Richard H., "New and Old Tales: The Scarlet Letter," Modern Critical Views Nathaniel Hawthorne, New York, Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Dibble, Terry J., Cliff Notes on The Scarlet Letter, Lincoln, Cliff Notes, Inc., 1988.
Fogle, Richard Harter, "The Scarlet Letter," Hawthorne's Fiction The Light and The Dark, Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1975.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: St. Martins, 1991.
Matthiessen, F.O., "The Scarlet Letter," Critics on Hawthorne, Readings in Literary Criticism: 16, Coral Gables, University of Miami Press, 1972.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Enriched Classic ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.
The conditions of prisons were a bit dreadful. In some prisons, prisoners had their feet fasten together by iron bars and had chains around their necks. Most prisoner cells had very little furniture and bedding, prisoners had to sleep on the floor or unless had their friends supply them with furniture and bedding. Most cells did not have a toilet, prisoners were given buckets. A prisoner was giving a small loaf of bread unless they had money to buy more food but that was a bit expensive. Even children were allowed in prisons. Some prison...
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, everyone had some form of a secret they’d rather not share, but sometimes not telling can do more harm than good. At the end of the film, Hawthorne left us a quote saying, “Be true, be true, be true.” Hawthorne is trying to say keeping secrets isn't always the best because it only leads to someone getting hurt.
Hawthorne, J. (1886, April). "The Scarlet Letter." The Atlantic Monthly [On-line], pp. 1-20. Available: http://wwww.theatlantic.com/unbound/classrev/scarlet.html
http://www.chuckiii.com/reports/book_reports/scarlet_letter.html. March 1, 2002. Clendenning, John. The. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Swisher, Clarice., ed. "Color and Images in The Scarlet Letter." Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne. Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1996.
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
The debate of nature vs nurture, or whether genetic makeup or environmental impacts determine the thoughts and actions of a person, is a classic controversy that is also prevalent in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein. In the book, scientist Victor Frankenstein irresponsibly creates a man out of many body parts. He is appalled at the sight of the hideous creature with “yellow skin [that] scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath,” and abandons the monster, leaving it full of hate and a need for revenge (Shelley). Frankenstein’s monster was inclined to be murderous due to a lack of nurture from his creator as opposed to having a malevolent nature in his genes. The lesson to be learned in Frankenstein is that monsters are
Andrew Lustig proposed a great question to the readers of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, “How far should we go in out efforts to alter nature, including human nature? As stewards of God’s creation what are our responsibilities?” (Lustig 1) This question results in theme of nature vs. nurture in the novel. The nature vs. nurture debate is an important topic in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The two central characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he creates; both, characters were raised differently. The nature and the nurture of their upbringing can be a cause of why they are, the way they are. Victor and his creature are subject to very different nurturing styles. Shelley also incorporates the representations of light and fire. This representation is key to the nature vs. nurture discussion in the novel.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Scarlet Letter." Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales. Ed. James McIntosh. New York: Norton, 1987.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre chronicles the growth of her titular character from girlhood to maturity, focusing on her journey from dependence on negative authority figures to both monetary and psychological independence, from confusion to a clear understanding of self, and from inequality to equality with those to whom she was formerly subject. Originally dependent on her Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester, she gains independence through her inheritance and teaching positions. Over the course of the novel, she awakens towards self-understanding, resulting in contentment and eventual happiness. She also achieves equality with the important masculine figures in her life, such as St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester, gaining self-fulfillment as an independent, fully developed equal.
letter *A* embroidered on her chest. The A served as a symbol of her crime, was
“I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which, from what I was, have made me what I am” (Shelley 92). Frankenstein’s Creature presents these lines as it transitions from a being that merely observes its surroundings to something that gains knowledge from the occurrences around it. The Creature learns about humanity from “the perfect forms of [his] cottagers” (90). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers compelling insights into the everlasting nature versus nurture argument. Her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Treat a person ill, and he will become wicked.” Shelley believes that the nurture of someone, or something, in the Creature’s case, forms them into who they become and what actions they take. While this is true for Frankenstein’s Creature, the same cannot be said about Victor Frankenstein.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the most respected and admired novels of all time. Often criticized for lacking substance and using more elaborate camera work, freely adapted films usually do not follow the original plot line. Following this cliché, Roland Joffe’s version of The Scarlet Letter received an overwhelmingly negative reception. Unrealistic plots and actions are added to the films for added drama; for example, Hester is about to be killed up on the scaffold, when Algonquin members arrive and rescue her. After close analysis, it becomes evident of the amount of work that is put into each, but one must ask, why has the director adapted their own style of depicting the story? How has the story of Hester Prynne been modified? Regarding works, major differences and similarities between the characterization, visual imagery, symbolism, narration and plot, shows how free adaptation is the correct term used.
In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, one of the most prevalent and recurring themes and ideas relates to human freedom. The main characters in the two novels, Edna Pontellier and Jane Eyre, both long for social, religious, and sexual emancipation among other things – freedom from the constraints of Victorian society, which have rendered them dependent and inferior to men. While it is true that both protagonists of their respective novels wanted emancipation, their living conditions and qualities of life varied widely. Even though both women, Edna and Jane, wanted “emancipation” from their respective societies, the conditions that each woman was subject to were quite dissimilar. Jane had a very malnourished upbringing and was an orphan, surround by treacherous and tormenting families. Edna, on the other hand, grew up in an affluent and aristocratic home, with little financial troubles. Edna is of a more “modern” generation than Jane, which must be taken into account when comparing the two, however. Jane Eyre was written in 1847 while The Awakening was written in 1899. Even so, both of these women, as was the case with women almost everywhere, had to succumb to what society deemed socially acceptable – very little. Women were generally no more than mere faces whose responsibilities fell into the categories of household affairs, and entertaining. Edna has money, a husband who loves her, children, friends, a large house, and everything else that comes from being wealthy at the time - but it’s not enough for her. She wants to be able to get what she wants when she wants. In this sense, Edna is slightly more “radical” than Jane because of her at times, open disregard for societal customs and traditions. Ult...