Nathaniel Hawthorne opens his novel by introducing the reader to his omniscient narrator, a man from Salem, Massachusetts who holds some "affection" for his native town. This narrator, who is indeed Nathaniel Hawthorne, reveals to the reader that he worked for a custom house for three years. He fuses his job as a custom house worker with his intent as a writer, thus explaining how his past helped to shape him as an author. He makes the reader aware of the fact that it is a deeply personal undertaking. One of the most compelling moments in the introduction comes when he states, "The truth seems to be, however, that, when he casts his leaves upon the wind, the author addresses,not the many who will fling aside his volume, or never take it up, but the few who will understand him, better than most of his schoolmates and lifemates"(3). This statement showcases Hawthorne's shy nature and brooding mentality. He admits or believes that very few will understand him and he was anxious about how the public received his writing. However, it also showcases his ultimate faith in writing as supernatural forces which reaches the souls of like-minded individuals.
2. Hawthorne's Ancestors in Salem & The Development of the Stain of Sin
After discussing and describing Salem as a dilapidated seaport and boring town, once known as a major port in the new world, he focuses on his ancestors who first settled in Salem in the early 17th century. Through these descriptions the reader can sense Hawthorne's resentment, shame and possible guilt for his family's reputation. While describing William Hawthorne, the first settler to bear his family name, he states, "I seem to have a stronger claim to a residence here on account of this grave, bearded sable-cloaked and steeple crowned progenitor,--who came so early with his Bible, and his sword, and trode the unworn street with such a stately port, and made so large a figure, as a man of war and peace..."(9). After this initial description the narrator continues to describe how his ancestors were a line of judges in Salem who had all the "Puritanical traits, both good and evil." After revealing more about his lineage, Hawthorne expresses his shame for his heritage stating, "His son, too, inherited the persecuting spirit, and made himself so conspicuous in the martyrdom of witches, that their blood may fairly be said to have left a stain upon him. So deep a stain, indeed, that his dry old bones...must still retain it, if they have not crumbled utterly to dust!"(9). The concept of a great sin leaving a deep impression or "stain" upon one's soul is a topic developed by Hawthorne throughout the novel.
3. The Narrator Discovers The Scarlet Letter
After much discussion of his co-workers and his boss at the custom house Hawthorne displays his scorn towards the custom house and government officials because he was fired from his job of three years. After this digression Hawthorne describes a package belonging to a local land surveyor, Mr. Pue. The package was part of an estate and it was left behind. Mr. Pue was a known antiquarian or collector of antiques. It is within this package that the narrator discovers the scarlet letter and its history. This is where the reader gets the first description of the scarlet letter; it appears as an enchanted object or symbol, "wrought with wonderful skill of needle-work" and embodying mystical powers. Hawthorne states, "While thus perplexed, ---and cogitating, among other hypotheses, whether the letter might not have been one of those decorations which the white men used to contrive, in order to take the eyes of Indians,--I happened to place it on my breast. It seemed to me, --the reader may smile, but must not doubt my word,--it seemed to me, then, that I experienced a sensation not altogether physical, yet almost so, as of burning heat; and as if the letter were not of red cloth, but red-hot iron. I shuddered, and involuntarily let it fall upon the floor" (23). Hawthorne emphasizes the indelible impression sin may leave upon one's soul by describing an incident in which the narrator feels a burning sensation when holding the letter up to his breast.
4. The Introduction of Hester Prynne
After describing the scarlet letter the narrator gives us his first account of Hester Prynne, a main character in the novel. He foreshadows the story by providing subtle hints about Hester's background and the type of woman she becomes after the story. In this fashion Hawthorne's frames the story for us.
Chapter 1: The Prison Door
It is interesting that Hawthorne chooses to open his novel with a detailed account of a prison door. This enables Hawthorne to display an ominous tone and mood as a foundation for his perspective on Puritan hypocrisy. He discusses how they came to America seeking to form a utopia, a perfect world. Yet, there is a need for a prison. He also notes that they built a cemetery. These two foreboding images help to establish the concept of Puritan control and dominance: the idea that sin abounds among the Puritan society and that God will punish those who fail to lead moral and upstanding lives. He describes the prison as a "black flower of civilized society", revealing his contempt of the Puritan establishment while ironically adopting the same attitude that the puritan's held of personal sin as corruption against the natural order. The narrator in this regard takes on a Puritanic tone yet shortly after juxtaposes a wild rose bush next to the prison. In this instance the narrator personifies the rose bush as it offers kindness or "fragile beauty" to the prisoner. This is clearly Hawthorne siding with a different view of one's connection to a higher power. Perhaps a more natural connection as he was heavily influenced by his good friend, the Transcendentalist author, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Given the fact that the prison door is described as ominous with its weather beaten exterior and iron spikes, there seems to be a metaphorical contrast drawn between the flower (aka the prisoner) and the Prison (aka puritan society). In this scene, Hawthorne is already alluding to a central conflict in his novel.
The author also theorizes that the rose bush may have sprung up out of the footsteps of Anne Hutchinson as she entered the prison. This makes reference to Anne Hutchinson, a woman who was excommunicated from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for her independence and her Quaker belief in the holy spirit contained within each individual. The narrator then tells us that the rose bush represents or symbolizes a "moral blossom" to relieve "the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow." In this statement, Hawthorne reveals one of his central themes: the concept of human frailty (often perceived as sin by the Puritans) and how concealing one's weakness leads to sorrow, guilt, confusion and ultimate destruction. We will track how Hawthorne develops these concepts further as we read the rest of the novel.
Wow Factor: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by the 80's band Poison
While this song is melodramatic and in a sense comical, it shares a central concept with The Scarlet Letter. The duality of a rose: The idea that something enchanting, attractive, or beautiful can also be dangerous; The idea that something that looks perfect from a distance is ultimately flawed and possibly harmful. It is also a fair link to the love story that the novel contains. The Scarlet Letter is a love story and this country song basically addresses the pangs of unrequited love or love gone awry.
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