Originally published in 1850, ‘The Scarlet Letter’ is a classic of the American Romantic era and an historical novel that became an instant bestseller by Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. His works often concentrate on history, morality, and religion.
This is a dark tale of love, crime, and revenge set in colonial New England. It revolves around a single, prohibited act of passion that forever transforms the lives of three members of a small Puritan community: Hester Prynne, an ardent and fierce woman who bears the penalty of her sin in humble silence; the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a respected public figure who is inwardly tormented by long-hidden guilt; and the malevolent Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband—a man who seethes with an Ahab-like lust for retribution.
The landscape of this classic novel is uniquely American, but the themes it explores are versatile- the nature of sin, guilt, and penitence, the clash between our private and public selves, and the spiritual and psychological cost of living outside society. Constructed with the grace of a Greek tragedy, the novel brilliantly illuminates the truth that lies deep within the human heart.