Scarlet Letter Summary and Synopsis
Short Summary: The Scarlet Letter is a novel providing a view of Puritan society in the 17th century.
The story takes place in Boston, following young Hester Prynne and her life as an outcast having been caught committing adultery when she gives birth to a daughter. Her husband had sent her to Boston from Europe, planning to follow her. When he never arrived, many people assumed he’d been lost at sea.
Still, Hester is punished for her adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life. When her husband returns under a false identity, Hester and her young daughter must navigate the fallout of sin, betrayal, and revenge.
Literary Elements of The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Type of Work: Novel
Genres: Historical; romance
Published Date: 1850
Setting: Boston, MA during the 17th century
Main Characters: Hester Prynne
Protagonist: Hester Prynne
Antagonist: Roger Chillingworth
Major Thematic Elements: The human experience of sin; society and personal identity; the presentation of evil
Motifs: Civilization and wilderness; night and day; names
Exposition: A preamble relayed by a nameless narrator recounts the discovery of a manuscript found in a customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts of which he was the surveyor. The manuscript was written by a past surveyor telling events that happened two hundred years prior to the narrator’s time. The Scarlet Letter, as a result, is a fictional retelling of the manuscript.
Conflict: When Hester Prynne’s husband mysteriously fails to meet her in Boston after their emigration from Europe, she has an affair and gives birth to a child. Enraged, the community forces her to wear the letter “A” on her clothes, standing for “adulterer.”
Plot: Past-tense chronological told by an unnamed narrator.
Major Symbols: The letter; the town scaffold; the meteor; Pearl; the rosebush
Climax: A meteor traces an “A” in the sky and Dimmesdale confronts his role in the sin Hester is being punished for.
Literary Significance of the Scarlet Letter
This novel serves as a historical context for Puritan culture in New England. A deeply superstitious and religious group of people, the Puritans had exceptionally low tolerance for deviance from social norms. When Hester gives birth to a daughter even though her husband has disappeared, she is outcast as being a sinner and a woman who consorts with the devil. Both she and her daughter suffer greatly for that as social outcasts for much of Hester’s daughter, Pearl’s, childhood years.
In this novel, Hawthorne has used Puritan culture as a symbol for humankind in general when under extreme pressure. The way people react to change, fear, distress, etc. can all be examined in this tale. The problems that these individuals face are problems that humankind in general repeatedly faces—betrayal, revenge, jealousy, fear, sadness, etc. are all emotions that are born of great pressure. The novel begs the question—is how we react to these issues ever really different, even after all these years of human development? At our core, have we really changed? This timeless exploration of the human condition earned The Scarlet Letter an unmoving place in the English literary canon, and the novel continues to be studied to this day.
The Scarlet Letter Book Summary, Plot Outline
The introduction of the book sees the nameless narrator taking a job at the Salem Custom House (where taxes are paid on foreign imports). The narrator works as the surveyor, or CEO, of this customhouse. One day, he discovers a manuscript covered in a scarlet piece of cloth embroidered with gold in the shape of an “A.” Written by a past surveyor about two hundred years prior, the narrator is inspired to write a fictional account of the manuscript.
The novel’s action opens in 17th century Boston as a young woman emerges from a prison building holding an infant and wearing a scarlet “A” on her chest. She is being punished for adultery by having to stand on scaffolding to be mocked by the townspeople for three hours and continuing to wear the “A” on her clothes from then on. Hester arrived in Boston ahead of her husband, who was supposed to follow her there but never arrived. People assumed he was lost at sea on the journey. In chapter three, Hester is standing before the town on the scaffold and is confronted by the town fathers, who demand that she reveal the name of her child’s father. She refuses.
An elderly onlooker in the crowd is later called to visit Hester in prison in chapter four. He is a doctor named Roger Chillingworth. However, Hester has already recognized him in her time on the scaffold as her husband in disguise. He tells Hester that he plans to get revenge on her and the partner to her affair. He swears her to secrecy not to reveal his true identity and she wonders aloud whether he might be a devil sent to torment her.
Several years pass after Hester is released from a few months’ prison sentence. Although Hester can leave Boston, she stays and lives on as an example of a disgraced woman. Hester is able to support herself by working as a seamstress, and her daughter, Pearl, grows into a willful, inquisitive, and rebellious young girl. The two live on the outskirts of town, shunned by the community. In chapter eight, the question of whether or not Hester and Pearl should stay together is brought up by town officials. They believe that either Pearl is a demon-child and should be taken away for Hester’s sake or that Pearl is a normal girl and should be removed from Hester for Pearl’s healthy development. The young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, interrupts and says that Pearl was sent by God and should stay with her mother.
In chapter nine, Chillingworth is described as having become the town doctor. When Arthur Dimmesdale begins showing signs of severe health problems, Chillingworth petitions the town officials to assign him to live with Dimmesdale so that he can work to cure him. Chillingworth suspects that there is a connection between Hester and Pearl and Dimmesdale’s failing health—that there is a secret there worth uncovering. After spending some time with Dimmesdale, Chillingworth becomes convinced that he is who Hester had her affair with.
As time goes on, Dimmesdale’s health continues to worsen and his psychological condition declines. Chillingworth adds to this by playing mind games with his patience, thereby enacting his revenge. Dimmesdale starts to whip himself and deprive himself of sleep to meditate on his sin. In chapter twelve, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold at night. Hester and Pearl walk by and join him on the scaffold, forming an “electric chain” which causes Dimmesdale to feel soothed. Pearl asks Dimmesdale to join them again on the scaffold the following day at noon, but Dimmesdale refuses. A bright meteor flashes through the sky, and the trio notice Chillingworth watching them.
As time goes on, Hester commits herself to volunteering and being a source of aid to people in need. Although she’s still an object of scorn and torment, she begins to win back the favor of her community. She even asks Chillingworth to stop tormenting Dimmesdale. Aware of how wretched he has become, Chillingworth places all blame on Hester for what has happened. In chapter fifteen, Hester talks to Pearl about the meaning of the scarlet “A” that she wears and Pearl is able to put two-and-two together about their situation and Dimmesdale’s bad health.
In the next chapter, Hester arranges to meet Dimmesdale in the forest to tell him about Chillingworth’s real identity. When they meet, they decide to flee to Europe where they can live as a family with young Pearl. They agree to depart in four days. Hester removes the scarlet letter from her chest and lets her hair down, feeling a sense of relief. Chillingworth, however, has discovered their plan and books travel on the same ship.
In chapter twenty-three, after delivering an election sermon, Dimmesdale calls for Hester and Pearl to join him on the scaffold. When they do, he confesses publicly to his sins and to being Pearl’s father. He removes his garments and reveals a letter “A” emblazoned into his chest. He falls down atop the scaffold and Pearl kisses him. After this, he dies.
Having been foiled on his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston without keeping anyone there updated on their lives. Several years later, Hester returns to Boston alone, taking up home in the cottage where she and Pearl used to live and continues to do charity work. She receives letters from Pearl from time to time, updating her mother on her new life having married a European aristocrat and started a family of her own. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale, sharing his tomb, which shows a scarlet “A” on it.
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