3 Review(s)

A young woman is put to trial for bearing a child out of wedlock and condemned by her Puritan society in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Summary of the Book In the 17th century, there is no room for love. Love is a thing of wedlock, borne from matrimony, holy and pure. It cannot come free, ungoverned by discipline. However, it is exactly this form of love that left Hester Prynne pregnant. She is put to trial by the Puritan society, condemned for her “sins”. However, it is the hidden guilt that astonishes readers the most as her lover’s identity comes to the surface. Yet, despite all he put her through, Hester cannot deny that she loves him. About Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. He is also remembered for writing The House of the Seven Gables, The Marble Faun, The Blithedale Romance and Twice-Told Tales. Media Note Of all its film adaptations, The Scarlet Letter was best adapted in the 1926 drama film starring Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson and Henry B. Walthall. It was more recently adapted into a film in 1995, starring Demi Moore, Gary Oldman and Robert Duvall. Cultural Importance of the Work The Scarlet Letter has influenced a plethora of fiction, music and art since its publication, including: John Updike’s Roger’s Version, Hugues Merle’s The Scarlet Letter and the Metallica song, Thorn Within.