Full Length Research Paper
“The Scarlet Letter” Of Nathaniel Hawthorne, as a Satire of Puritan values
This Study aims to bring forward the Puritanical aspects in the great novel of Hawthorne “The Scarlet Letter”. The study is an attempt to highlight the basic ideology of Nathaniel Hawthorne on Puritan codes and conduct. In the effort of establishing my viewpoints on Puritanism, I have been basically guided by Hawthorne’s rejection of Puritanism as being particularly biased and discriminative. Other indications include Hawthorne’s deep Knowledge of his Puritan ancestors, which have provided the strong basic points in the study. The study makes it clear that Hawthorne describes him as having ‘all the Puritanical traits, both good and evil’, because the author uses the word ‘evil’ to describe them, every reader automatically think of them as bad guys in the story; although since he does say they have ‘good’ traits as well readers don’t go as far as despising them. Hawthorne also describes his ancestors as ‘a bitter persecutor’ that is remembered by the Quakers as having ‘hard severity towards a women of their sect which will last longer, it is to be feared, than any record of his better deeds, although these were many’. Clearly Hawthorne wanted to stress that the Puritans were not altogether evil; however they were certainly last people with whom anyone would want to hang around. The Puritanical environment in the novel also helps me in forming my argument. Therefore I have used the traditional approach to investigate Hawthorne’s experience with Puritanism by analyzing the religious conflicts and finally his unyielding stand on Puritanism. The study reveals that Hawthorne repeats again and again throughout the novel the cruelty, ...
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...ional works allowed Hawthorne to examine the virtues and vices of his ancestor's beliefs, and to resolve the conflict in his own mind of the Puritan way of life.
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Beginning with the very first words of The Scarlet Letter the reader is thrust into a bleak and unforgiving setting. “A thong of bearded men, in sad-colored garments,” that are said to be “intermixed with women,” come off as overpowering and all-encompassing; Hawthorne quickly and clearly establishes who will be holding the power in this story: the males (Hawthorne 45). And he goes even further with his use of imagery, painting an even more vivid picture in the reader’s mind. One imagines a sea of drab grays and browns, further reinforcing the unwelcoming feeling this atmosphere seems to inheren...
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The Puritan society was extremely restricting. They had strict laws and rules, and harsh punishments for even the smallest of misdemeanors. They lived with only the bare necessities and discouraged uniqueness or boldness. As a Romantic writer, with beliefs the complete opposite of the Puritans, Nathaniel Hawthorne was very critical of the Puritan’s strict society. In the allegorical novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the characters of Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth order to convey the central moral of rejecting societal ideals and acting upon one 's own desires and emotions.
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Smiles, Samuel. "The Scarlet Letter." The Critical Temper. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York City: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is a well known 19th century author. One reason he is well known is his view towards Puritanism. Hawthorne would often criticize Puritanism in his short stories and novels. Two short stories that show Hawthorne’s view of Puritanism are “Young Goodman Brown” and “The ministers black veil”.
Hawthorne was a private individual who fancied solitude with family friends. He was also very devoted to his craft of writing. Hawthorne observed the decay of Puritanism with opposition; believing that is was a man’s responsibility to pursue the highest truth and possessed a strong moral sense. These aspects of Hawthorne’s philosophy are what drove him to write about and even become a part of an experiment in social reform, in a utopian colony at Brook Farm. He believed that the Puritans’ obsession with original sin and their ironhandedness undermined instead of reinforced virtue.
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
Portrayal of Puritan Society in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter In the introductory sketch to Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel the "The Scarlet Letter", the reader is informed that one of the author's ancestors persecuted the Quakers harshly. The latter's son was a high judge in the Salem witch trials, put into literary form in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" (Judge Hathorne appears there). We learn that Hawthorne feels ashamed for their deeds, and that he sees his ancestors and the Puritan society as a whole with critical eyes. Consequently, both open and subtle criticism of the Puritans' practices is applied throughout the novel.
Sewall, Richard B. "The Scarlet Letter: Criticism." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 319-27.