The Scarlet Letter the Movie "The Scarlet Letter" is a highly sexual movie remake of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel. Starring Demi Moore as Hester Prynne, Gary Oldman as Arthur Dimmesdale and Robert Duvall as Roger Chillingworth. The movie is in a league of it's own and that's not really a compliment. Literary purists should be aghast at some of the liberties taken with the original text, but the complaints have more to do with cinematic misjudgments and drastic change in plot than those in the book-to-screen translation. First and foremost the movie opens considerably in advance of the novel's first scene, and the script by Douglas Day Stewart delves deeply into early events only hinted in Hawthornes tale. Though much of this background, despite being speculative, works, although it takes forever for the romance between Hester and Dimmesdale to get off the ground. This is because of Hesters circumstances. Hester comes to the Puritan stronghold at the Massachusetts Bay Colony to escape religious persecution in England. Her husband Roger has sent her ahead to set up house. Already the good folk are scandalized by her intention to live alone until her husband arrives. Hester meets Dimmesdale, who she has already seen, covertly, swimming like a glorious serpent in a woodland waterfall. Combustion is immediate and she finds herself completely indured by the fiery young minister. Hesters persistence, knowledge and beauty also draw Dimmesdale. Although they scrupulously avoid each other to put off what nature has inexorably in store for them, when word arrives that her husband's ship has been attacked by Indians, no survivors, she flings herself into the lusty reverend's arms. This is when they ... ... middle of paper ... ...le riding away in the sunset. The film has a happy, Hollywood-style ending. And the message of the movie is very clear. "Who is to judge what is a sin in God's eyes?" which are the final words of the film. Hawthornes novel does not portray that message at all but rather that evil or beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. So if the movie wanted to change the book's message it should have created an original piece of work. The movie removed the character's sense of guilt, and therefore the story's drama. Instead of being a symbolism-laden parable about hypocrisy and set morals, it decides to become a condemnation of Puritan lifestyles, sending out the wrong message. Hollywood tried to take this troublesome old novel and make it cinematic but many misjudgments came forth. It probably would have been a more effective movie if it had remand an original piece.
When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest, they discuss their true feelings about their experiences since Hester was branded with the scarlet letter. Hawthorne describes how, “No golden light had ever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest” (192). The rare presence of light in this otherwise dark situation symbolizes the relief both Hester and Dimmesdale feel after sharing the truth about Dimmesdale’s torturous guilt and Hester’s marriage to Chillingworth. In every scene previous to this one, the forest is associated with witchcraft, evil, darkness, and secrets. This prior association is contrasted by the shedding of sunshine on the sinful pair after releasing the last of their secrets. This scene is a turning point in the novel and shows how despite Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin and the consequences they’ve had to suffer for it, they are able to find some peace in the fact that they have confided in each other and fully admitted their
In conclusion, details involving the characters and symbolic meanings to objects are the factors that make the novel better than the movie. Leaving out aspects of the novel limits the viewer’s appreciation for the story. One may favor the film over the novel or vice versa, but that person will not overlook the intense work that went into the making of both. The film and novel have their similarities and differences, but both effectively communicate their meaning to the public.
The characters Hawthorne develops are deep, unique, and difficult to genuinely understand. Young, tall, and beautiful Hester Prynne is the central protagonist of this story. Shamefully, strong-willed and independent Hester is the bearer of the scarlet letter. Burning with emotion, she longs for an escape from her mark, yet simultaneously, she refuses to seem defeated by society’s punishment. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale claims the secondary role in The Scarlet Letter; he is secretly Hester’s partner in adultery. Conflicted and grieved over his undisclosed act, he drives himself to physical and mental sickness. He fervently desires Hester, but should he risk his godly reputation by revealing the truth? Dimmesdale burns like Hester. Pearl, the child produced in Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, is the third main character. She is fiery, passionate, perceiving, and strikingly symbolic; at one point in the novel she is referred to as “the scarlet letter endowed with life!” Inevitably, Pearl is consumed with questions about herself, her mother, and Dimmesdale. The reader follows Pearl as she discovers the truth. Altogether, Hawthorne’s use of intricately complex, conflicted ch...
The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.
The aspects of the movie that were brought out, for me, were the individual characteristics of each of the individual characters. They characteristics are drawn out and over dramatized, some came from generalities made by the Anglo-Americans but some were real aspects of the people. Most of the characteristics that came out were unfavorable but they did what they were supposed to. They told of the generalities that the groups place upon one another.
The first theme expressed in The Scarlet Letter is that even well meaning deceptions and secrets can lead to destruction. Dimmesdale is a prime example of this; he meant well by concealing his secret relationship with Hester, however, keeping it bound up was deteriorating his health. Over the course of the book this fact is made to stand out by Dimmesdale’s changing appearance. Over the course of the novel Dimmesdale becomes more pale, and emaciated. Hester prevents herself from suffer the same fate. She is open about her sin but stays loyal to her lover by not telling who is the father of Pearl. Hester matures in the book; becomes a stronger character.
The film may have edited out one of the drastic details that made the novel’s success, explaining the film’s failure.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was not a Puritan. But Hawthrone’s forefathers were Puritans, so he had an understanding of their belief system and their basis behind it. He stated that he hoped the sins of his forefathers had been forgiven. Hoping to expose those ideas which he understood, yet despised, Hawthorne purposely presented many important Puritan beliefs as import aspects to the Scarlet Letter. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne addresses three main Puritan beliefs: providence, predestination, and the strict code of ethics that the settlers of New Englanders lived by.
As the book opens, the first scene the readers are introduced to is the bleak image of a throng of people surrounding a prison door. To create the mood of gloom and sadness Hawthorne uses words such as “sad colored” and “gray, steeple crowned hats,” to describe the clothing of the towns people. The prison stands for sin and an authority that does not condone the deviance from the Puritanical severity of law, and next to the prison door grows a wild rose bush. The single red rose that grows from it serves as a symbol of passion and the two combined, indicate that the prisoner has been incarcerated as a result of the sin from passion. Also, Ann Hutchinson, who disagreed with the severity of Puritanical teachings and was imprisoned, plays a small part when Hawthorne references her name by mentioning it was possible the beautiful rosebush sprang from her steps. This is an implication of the rigidness of Puritanical authoritarianism and ties the beliefs of the prisoner to those of Ann Hutchinson. The rosebush is also link to the forest and it is mentioned that the rosebush could be a remnant of the former wilderness which once covered the area. The forest surrounding the town is the only place in which Puritanical laws are not abided, and the fact that the wild rose bush and the forest are connected gives the audience the idea that the two were somehow combined. The rosebush symbolizes Hester Prynne and the fact that it is a remnant of the wilderness foreshadows much of Hester’s character and behavior. Last, the rose bush is in full bloom which indicates that Hester is in the prime of passion. The result of this passion is the birth of a child. The child can also be compared to the blossoms and serve as a “moral blossom”, making her a key player in the actual moral of the story.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has introduced a character that has been judged harshly. Because, she has been misinformed of her husband’s death; therefore, she was greave and had sought comfort resulting in a baby from the lover whom gave her comfort. When her secret had been discovered she was isolated for committing a treacherous crime of adultery, as one of her punishments she was forced to wear an A on her chest. The novel presents a structure of a society, using symbolism and diction to give underline meaning to the themes, portraying religious tendencies ruled by the philosophy of good and evil.
...ing message and provide an emotional punch to equal the book's resonance, which would have probably made a longer film, but added to the continuity if the film.
...and Dimmesdale move to the Carolinas to begin a new life, while in Hawthorne's novel, Pearl lives a full life, her mother working for the community and her father dying on the scaffold. There is no set answer as to which ending is "better," one may be more fulfilling, another may be more informative, another could touch a child, the other, a parent. One may favor the film over the novel or vice versa, but that person could not overlook the great care that went into the making of both. Using the novel as a base from which to work, the filmmaker created his own masterpiece, changing and adding elements as he felt necessary. Whether for increased popularity or his own personal satisfaction, the filmmaker's version also kept some themes and characters. The film and novel have their similarities and differences, but both effectively communicate their meaning to the public.
The film that was produced after the novel has a lot of differences and not as
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne analyzes Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. In the story, Hester is the main character of the story and was called Mistress Prynne (Hawthorne 70). Dimmesdale, in the story was referred to as Reverend Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 90). Chillingworth was originally named, Roger Prynne but later in the story he changed his name to Roger Chillingworth. In the story, Hester committed adultery with Dimmesdale against Chillingworth and in the beginning she got punished and sent to prison and later she got to get out of prison but with the exception of having to wear the letter A on her breast every time she went out in to town.
Many times in Hollywood, a movie that intends to portray a novel can leave out key scenes that alter the novel’s message. Leaving out scenes from the novel is mainly done to time limits, however doing so can distort the author’s true purpose of the story. In history, movies were directed to intentionally leave out scenes that could alter the public’s opinion. This frequently lets the novel’s main points be swept under the rug. There were times of this at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, where white Americans were the only ones making movies.