The Scarlet Letter - English 3 CPE - Whelan

Author of The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Year the novel was published

1850

Genre of the novel

Historical fiction

Historical setting

Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the 1600s

Why Hawthorne was interested in Puritanism

His ancestors were involved in the Salem Witch Trials

Purpose of public punishment in Puritan society

To shame sinners and enforce moral conformity

Literary movements influencing the novel

Romanticism, Dark Romanticism, Transcendentalism

What is Romanticism

Focus on emotion, nature, and individual experience

What is Dark Romanticism

Emphasizes sin, guilt, moral complexity, and human flaws

Why The Scarlet Letter is Dark Romantic

It focuses on hidden sin, guilt, and moral corruption

What is Transcendentalism

Belief in intuition, individual conscience, and truth found in nature

How Transcendentalism contrasts with Puritanism

Freedom and intuition versus law and control

How Hawthorne uses Transcendentalism

He borrows its ideas but critiques human imperfection

How the novel begins

Hester stands on the scaffold holding Pearl

Why Hester is punished

She committed adultery

Hester's punishment

Wearing the scarlet letter A for life

What Hester refuses to do

Reveal Pearl's father

Who arrives from Europe

Roger Chillingworth

Chillingworth's relationship to Hester

Her husband

What Chillingworth demands

That Hester keep his identity secret

How Chillingworth seeks revenge

Psychological torment

Why Dimmesdale suffers physically

His hidden guilt destroys him

Why Dimmesdale does not confess immediately

Fear of losing his reputation

What happens in the forest

Hester and Dimmesdale plan to escape

What Hester does with the scarlet letter in the forest

Removes it

Why Pearl reacts negatively

She demands the truth

What happens on Election Day

Dimmesdale delivers a powerful sermon

Climax of the novel

Dimmesdale confesses on the scaffold

How Dimmesdale dies

From guilt and exhaustion after confessing

What happens to Chillingworth

He wastes away and dies

How the novel ends

Hester lives independently and is buried near Dimmesdale

Protagonist of the novel

Hester Prynne

Hester's key traits

Strength and resilience

How Hester changes

Becomes independent and respected

How society views Hester at first

Sinner and outcast

How society views Hester later

Able and compassionate

Who Pearl represents

Living truth and consequence of sin

Why Pearl is described as wild

She resists Puritan control

Why Pearl questions the scarlet letter

She seeks truth

Arthur Dimmesdale's role

Respected Puritan minister

Dimmesdale's main conflict

Public honor versus private guilt

Roger Chillingworth's motivation

Revenge

How Chillingworth changes

Becomes obsessed and morally corrupt

Who represents Puritan law

Governor Bellingham

Who represents religious authority

Reverend Wilson

Central theme of the novel

Sin and its consequences

Theme of hidden sin

Secret guilt causes greater suffering

Theme of public shame

Public punishment does not create true repentance

Theme of hypocrisy

Leaders punish sin while hiding their own

Theme of identity

Conflict between public image and inner truth

Theme of isolation

Judgment causes loneliness

Theme of redemption

Truth and confession bring spiritual freedom

Theme of gender roles

Women face harsher punishment than men

Theme of morality

Human law conflicts with natural law

What the scarlet letter A symbolizes at first

Adultery

How the letter's meaning changes

Ability and strength

What Pearl symbolizes

Living sin and truth

What the scaffold symbolizes

Public judgment and confession

What the forest symbolizes

Truth, Freedom, and moral honesty

What the prison symbolizes

Sin and punishment

What light symbolizes

Truth and knowledge

What darkness symbolizes

Hidden sin and guilt

What Dimmesdale's hand over his heart symbolizes

Internal guilt

What is symbolism

Objects representing deeper meanings

What is an allegory

A story with a moral meaning

How the novel is an allegory

It teaches lessons about sin, guilt, and redemption

What is irony

Contrast between appearance and reality

Key example of irony

Dimmesdale is secretly sinful

Another example of irony

Hester is publicly shamed but morally strong

What is a motif

A recurring image or idea

Important motifs in the novel

Light vs darkness, nature vs society, the scaffold

What is imagery

Descriptive language appealing to the senses

Purpose of imagery in the novel

To reveal emotional and moral conflict

What is foreshadowing

Hints of future events

Example of foreshadowing

Dimmesdale holding his chest

Why Hester stays in Boston

To face punishment and seek redemption

Why Chillingworth is the true villain

He chooses revenge over forgiveness

Who suffers the most

Arthur Dimmesdale

Why Dimmesdale suffers more than Hester

His sin is hidden

Who experiences true freedom

Hester

Why Pearl shows affection at the end

Truth has been revealed

Public sin vs private sin

Private sin causes greater damage

Role of nature

Represents freedom and honesty

Role of society

Enforces judgment and conformity

Importance of reputation

Determines social standing

Why Hawthorne criticizes Puritanism

It values appearance over morality

Best symbol to analyze

The scarlet letter

Best character for internal conflict

Dimmesdale

Most important setting

The forest

Most tested contrast

Puritan law vs individual conscience

Biggest message of the novel

Hidden sin causes greater suffering

Character with the most growth

Hester Prynne

True villain of the novel

Roger Chillingworth

How redemption is achieved

Through truth and confession