Romantic Concepts in the Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter is about the Hester Prynne, a woman who was married, but got pregnant while the husband was away. This causes the town to ostracize her, especially because she does not reveal the identity of the baby's father. Then, Hester's husband comes back to town and tries to weed out the priest who has been the father the whole time, and make him sick with guilt. This book has many Romantic concepts throughout. The importance of the individual and the significance of nature are both very Romantic ideas that are strewn all throughout The Scarlet Letter. Romanticism was a movement that originated in the late 18th century. It was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Reason. Romanticism is mainly about the primacy of the individual and the importance of nature . Much of the big plans in the plot are made in the forest. Hawthorne almost always spends a little bit more time talking about nature when it appears. “This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness...” (42) Nathaniels spends about half of a page describing the past of the rose-bush. This shows how he cares about the importance of nature, which is one of the main concepts of Romanticism. The way The Scarlet Letter is written in first person-omniscient also shows how Hawthorne believes in the primacy of the individual. The focus on Hester explains the way this book has the Romantic concept of the primacy of the individual. Although the story is mainly focused on Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale, the adultering priest has many Romantic themes about him.
Arthur Dimmesdale was a very important man in the community. He was a young pastor that was very learned and handsome. “...

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...uminated upon her bosom.” (46) She took was supposed to meant as a punishment and turned it into a beautiful piece of her own. This theme of individualism is all throughout Romanticism and The Scarlet Letter. Romanticism is also a very American concept. Romanticism has very deep roots in America. It reached America in the early 19th century and has been influencing writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne and many others. Most famous authors from the 19th century were greatly inspired by the Romantic movement which was placed into their writings. Americans should pay more attentions to the values portrayed in The Scarlet Letter and Romanticism. No not the ones about adultery. The ones about making ones own truth. The ones about being an individual. If society looked more closely at the themes in The Scarlet Letter and Romanticism, people would be much better off in life.

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