THE SCARLET LETTER
Jan 17, 2016
THE SCARLET LETTER
THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE
• Nathaniel Hawthorne• the Pilgrims• the Puritans• Predestination• Literary Factors
– psychological
– thematic
– symbolic
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE:personal history
• Born July 4, 1804• only son of Captain
Nathaniel Hathorne• Educated at home• Exposed to
Shakespeare, Spenser, Bunyan at an early age
• Not an outstanding student
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE: personal history
• Descended from a Puritan judge who presided over the witch trials
• In order to distance himself from his ancestors he added the W to his name
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE:personal history
• Married Sophia Peabody1842
• MOBY DICK was dedicated to him by Herman Melville
• Died 1864• Pallbearers were
Longfellow, Emerson, Holmes and Lowell
MOBY DICKby Herman Melville
THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES
THE PILGRIMS
• Arrived on the Mayflower in 1620
• a Protestant group• They were separatists
from the Anglican Church
• working class• not well educated
THE PILGRIMS
THE PILGRIMS
THE PURITANS
• Massachusetts Bay Colony 1629
• They wanted to “purify” the Anglican Church
• also a Protestant group but more extreme in their beliefs and less tolerant
THE PURITANS
• Wealthy thinkers, writers and readers
• highly educated and socially superior
• influential in American politics, literature
• popular reading centered on the workings of God
PREDESTINATION
• Key religious concept to the Puritan faith
• Calvinism: – John Calvin, originator
PREDESTINATION
• God has decided, from birth, whether you are going to heaven or hell.
• Nothing can change this.
• It is God’s grace that saves you not your effort.
PREDESTINATION
• All men and women are born in sin and deserve damnation.
• Man is basically EVIL– original sinfulness
– original depravity
PREDESTINATION
• Theocratic society• Religious leaders are
political leaders• Absolute belief in the
Bible, literal (not figurative) interpretation
PREDESTINATION
• Preoccupation with GRACE
• Grace comes only from God
LITERARY FACTORS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL– Sigmund Freud’s
theories regarding consciousness
– Conscious vs. unconscious mind
Freud – The Conscious Mind
• Includes everything we are aware of.
• We can think and talk about this rationally.
• Includes memory– Not always part of consciousness but can be
easily retrieved at will.– Ordinary memory = preconscious
Freud – The Unconscious Mind
• Reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness
• Most are unpleasant or unacceptable– Pain, anxiety, conflict
• Continues to influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions even though we are unaware
LITERARY FACTORS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL– repression
• a defense mechanism
• forgetting protects the individual from consciously dealing with painful circumstances
• the memory has the potential to resurface at any time
REPRESSION!
PSYCHIATRIC ANALYSIS:literary and emotional
LITERARY FACTORS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL– EGO
• distinguishes between the internal mind and external reality
• functions in preconscious, conscious, and unconscious mind
LITERARY FACTORS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL– ID
• mental representation of biological drives and instincts
• characterized as the “dark” part of the human mind or consciousness
• in THE SCARLET LETTER the Id is symbolized by the forest
the ID
LITERARY FACTORS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL– SUPER EGO
• governs moral behavior
• it is the mental representation of society’s moral code
• seeks to limit behavior based on the DRIVES of the Id
• characterized by “light”
LITERARY FACTORS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL– DENIAL
• refusing to accept the realities of a situation
• works alongside repression
• a defense mechanism
LITERARY FACTORS
• THEMATIC– CRITICISM OF
PURITANISM• preoccupation with sin and
guilt• forgiveness is needed, if
the confession is sincere the individual must be taken back into society
• excessive punishment– leads to a stain on the
soul and excessive suffering
LITERARY FACTORS
• THEMATIC– “pride goeth before the
fall”
– namely the pride of intellect and achievement
– CHILLINGWORTH
– DIMMESDALE
– BELLINGHAM
LITERARY FACTORS
• THEMATIC– THE EVIL OF
ISOLATION• the consequences for
Hester’s sin were excessive
• humans are social beings
• to be isolated is against the love of God
LITERARY FACTORS
• THEMATIC– GUILT
• if hidden, leads to destruction
– remorse, bad conscience, hypocrisy
• it must be admitted openly for it to be a useful psychological tool
– Hester’s admission leads to her freedom