Reflections on The Scarlet Letter

The edition of the Scarlet Letter that I read (Barnes & Noble Classics) included a forward by Nancy Stade that was more of an analysis of the book than a foreword, so I saved it for last. In many ways it solidified the thoughts I already had on the book, and added a few additional details I had not considered. All of this is of course my opinion, and I will try to indicate where my thoughts were influenced by Stade.

As I stated several times in my summaries, I think the book was heavily influenced by Hawthorne’s own perspective and his inner thoughts on sin, punishment, and the curse of one’s family lineage. Granted, you find this with any author, but in this book I felt the narrator was literally Hawthorne, and not an anonymous omniscient force. It was not relating objective fact as much as Hawthorne’s opinion of events. He consistently refers to the act that brought Hester to jail as a sin, rather than a crime. He finds it to be moral failing rather than a legal matter, and no matter how little he may think of Puritan culture, he seems to agree with their views on Hester’s actions. Stade also mentions that Hawthorne was very close with his sister, and some scholars believe they might have had an incestuous relationship. Whether true or not, it is clear that his views on Puritans, his ancestors, and sin are complicated, to say the least. He seems to find an affinity with them while at the same time reviling them. In The Custom-House he mentioned the tendency for one to stay where they are from regardless of how miserable they are. I have not found this to be true in my own life, and it does not ring true to the characters. Hester is fiery and independent, and it does not seem in character to me that she would willingly stay in a place that shuns her and reviles her very existence. Why would she want to raise her child in such an environment? The only reasonable explanation to me of why she stays is that is what Hawthorne would do. He stated that he stayed where he was miserable, perhaps as penance for his own perceived sins, or those of his ancestors.

For a book that spans seven years, very little action actually takes place, so the majority of the book explores the inner world of the characters. There are very few main characters, and they can be seen more as a personification of the emotions that drive them more than actual characters. Dimmsdale is obsessed with shame, Chillingworth’s only focus in life is on revenge and punishment, Hester is preoccupied with guilt and the consequences of one’s actions, and Pearl is angry at the whole situation. They could be substituted for Shame, Revenge, Guilt, and Anger.

By the way, there is an important distinction between guilt and shame: Guilt is paying for a crime once, shame is paying for it over and over. Guilt is good – it keeps us from repeating mistakes and expresses a desire for recompense. Shame is unproductive and ultimately hurtful. While Hester had guilt over her actions, she moved on with it and learned to live with the consequences as best she could. Dimmsdale, on the other hand, embodies shame that eats at him and ultimately brings him to an early grave.

The crime itself we are all led to believe is adultery, but the book never explicitly states that is what took place. It is inferred by the presence of Pearl and the magistrate’s demands that the name of father be revealed, but Stade points out that in reality it is actually left to the reader to decide what it is. The townspeople interpret the fiery A in the sky to be “Angel”, and they also interpret Hester’s letter to stand for “Able” after she demonstrates her character.

Stade also explains that one of Hawthorne’s New England ancestors was tried and convicted for incest with her brother, and was the precedent for passing a law that required those guilty of incest to wear a Letter I. She explains that A is likely a stand-in for I, and coupled with the fact that the exact meaning of A is never clarified, Hester’s punishment, and subsequent emotions and actions are a stand-in for sin in general.

The fact that there are few characters, very little action, and a biased narrator lead me to think that this book is essentially Hawthorne wrestling with his own inner demons by personifying his views on sin: guilt, shame, anger, and punishment. There is an interesting quotation in the last chapter of the book that is a good example of his own philosophical musings:

It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at the bottom. Each, in it’s utmost development, suppose a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent for the food of his affections and spiritual life upon another; each leaves the passionate lover, or the no less passionate hater, forlorn and desolate by the withdrawal of his object. Philosophically considered, therefore, the two passions seem essentially the same, except that one happens to be seen in a celestial radiance, and the other in a dusky and lurid glow.

Whether you agree or not, it is an interesting thought to ponder, and is perhaps a way for him to reconcile his own mixed feelings on the subject of his ancestry and predilections.

Lastly, an inquiring reader emailed me this thoughtful message I thought I would share: