9/4 - The Scarlet Letter

In our class discussions preceding the Scarlet Letter we went over the differences between romanticism and realism as writing forms. The Scarlet Letter mostly falls under the romantic category, but you can see Hawthorne edging towards realist writing qualities many times in the novel. His strong, but flawed, characters form the basic shape for the future American novel heroes.

Some of the most immediate forms of romanticism show up in the initial setting of the story. The narrator sets up the book as the shy author of a story he stumbles upon in the customs house he works at, rewriting it 200 years after the original event takes place. Setting a book in a shroud of mystery in the distant, but relevant, past is an important part of romantic writing. The settlement’s wild forests add exoticism and to the general shroud of mystery of the setting.

The characters in the Scarlet Letter have many romantic qualities, while simultaneously shying away from the general hero character of most romantic novels. The romantic qualities of the main characters vary. For example Roger Chillingworth is a medicinal man, and carries a supernatural undertones to all of his vocational activities. He also serves as the clearly defined evil character, obsessed with vengeance against those who did him wrong. In addition to his evil characteristics he is also physically deformed, described as having twisted shoulders. (Hammerberg, 2009) Pearl is another great example of a romantic character, consistently being described as an elf-child and having supernatural traits, as well as always asking poignant questions, which make many of the other main characters around her uncomfortable. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are the two trickier main characters. One is tormented by guilt for the ultimate sin and the other bears a mark admitting her guilt, and being constantly judged by society for it. Both characters are able to evoke sympathy, while not being your typical heroes of the time. We discussed in class at length the different ways you could take apart these two characters and came to no solid conclusion because Hawthorne presents them objectively and lets the reader personally explore the characters through their actions. I believe Hawthorne wanted to take these characters ever further towards the realism hero, but because of the audience of the time these characters and the ending of the book go for the more traditional romantic style.

A major romantic writing tool Hawthorne utilizes in the book is how his characters often travel to the wild and exotic woods to discuss the most intimate of topics, giving us glances into what they’re actually thinking. Another tool Hawthorne used often was the supernatural. (Hammerberg, 2009) There is many times where a “devil” character or mysterious event occurs. For example Chillingworth physically progresses to have an actual evil appearance. There is also the scene where Dimmesdale sees an “A” form in the sky with clouds.

You can see how Hawthorne maintains a traditional romantic writing core, while pushing towards a more progressive “realism” movement in writing throughout the Scarlet Letter, and does a fantastic job of honoring both. It’s easy to see how this book has remained an effective upper-education teaching tool over the decades with its significance of being a turning point in the way American’s wrote literature.

Works Cited

Hammerberg. (2009, 6 27). ROMANTICISM VERSUS REALISM. Retrieved 9 4, 2009, from Macalaster College: http://www.macalester.edu/~hammarberg/russ251/romreal.html