The Scarlet Letter

Rating:
Summary: An "A" indeed
Review: Another one of those texts that we hated in high school, one that was almost literally shoved down our throats. Then, it was a dry, dull tale of a Puritan woman who had a penchant for a minister's black veil.

Now, though, a few years later, it is clear that Hawthorne's seminal novel is more than just a tragic love story. It is yet another "defining" piece of literature, this time centering on Puritanism and its eventual decline, a decline clearly evidenced when the women first see Hester leave her jail cell, Pearl clutched close to her chest. The older women condemn her, but the youngest of them seems indifferent, an air of what could be understanding about her.

Hawthorne's use of metaphor, symoblism, and the intriguing characterization of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale as well as Pearl--who herself is a symbol of change and hope--serve to turn the mundane plot and two-hundred years of dust into an excellent work of art.
We know who Pearl's father is, and the ultimate moment in the novel is not when Dimmesdale exposes his breast and reveals his own scarlet letter; it instead occurs during the juxtaposition of night and day, of Dimmesdale's refusal to admit his guilt, of Chillingworth's insidious insertion into Dimmesdale's trust.

"The Scarlet Letter" is not the best novel in existence, but it is worth the price of admission, and its overtones have an impact even today, addressing many social issues and resolving them in ways that echo biases and solutions of today.

Rating:
Summary: Never thought I'd read this one again!
Review: I first read The Scarlet Letter in high school-required reading of course. Even though I enjoyed other works by Hawthorne ("Rappaccini's Daughter" for instance), getting through "The Scarlet Letter" was true drudgery. At that time, the book's wordiness and description density got in the way of the plot. Also, I thought the Rev. Dimmesdale was a dwerb (I still do). It wasn't until my son transferred to a new school and complained about having to reread the book that I picked it up again. If he had to suffer through it twice, I figured I would too--and it was worth it.

This time around I listened to the book on tape. It was a much better experience. Yes, the characteristics I had complained about earlier remain-the density of description relative to action, the seeming irrelevance of the long prologue to the body of the book, and the antique language and culturally alien setting. But hearing the words rather than seeing them on the page gave them an immediacy and an impact that I had missed earlier-there were even (gasp!) occasional hints of humor in the turn of a phrase. In fact, Hawthorne seemed strikingly modern in his understanding of the subtleties of character; notions of guilt, repression, and revenge; and even his thoughts on the role of women.

As a writer, Hawthorne frequently made use of supernatural themes and references to convey psychological truths. "The Scarlet Letter" is no exception. Chillingsworth's researches are those of an alchemist; Mistress Hibbins believes herself a witch; and Pearl, Hester's preternaturally perceptive and occasionally perverse child, is compared to an elf. These Gothic elements are descriptions of the exterior world, but they help form our understanding of the interior world of the characters on which the plot of the book turns. Chillingworth's vengeance, because it-like the work of an alchemist-- is undertaken by choice, is seen as far more evil than Hester and Dimmesdale's adultery, a sin of nature and love. Hester's acceptance of her crime and its punishment becomes her strength. Dimmesdale's decline, in contrast, results from his own weakness and guilt in not acknowledging his role in the illicit affair. Hawthorne's description of his descent into a madness that destroys both mind and body is a stunning and even clinically relevant piece of writing.

All in all, "The Scarlet Letter "is not an easy book and definitely not a book for everyone. But for those who are willing to undertake its complexities of language, allegory and symbolism, it is an extremely rewarding one.

Rating:
Summary: This book is incredibly boring!
Review: This is one of the all-time most boring books. I do not recommend reading it at all. The introduction is incredibly long, and incredibly boring. Also, it doesn't really have the sort of plot that would make it a book you can't put down. I personally fell asleep four different times reading this book. I had much higher expectations for this book. If you are looking for a classic to read, I would recommend The Count Of Monte Cristo, not this book.

Rating:
Summary: Another stab at a high school classic
Review: I trudged through this wordy book, like many others, in high school. I previously thought the coolest part was that a married woman had had an affair with a priest. This time around, however, I actually got sucked into the book itself, not into what had happened before.
Yes, this book is extremely descriptive, but it isn't a book of what happened, but why it happened. Instead of having the reader determine or deduce the motives and minds of the characters, Hawthorne comes out and tells you. That's what makes it so timeless. Had he not written it with such density, I don't think it would be what it is today simply because times, customs, and opinions have changed so much. For many people, I think Dimmesdale's (somewhat hypocritical) pious behavior would have just been dismissed as simple cowardice.
However, I'm not trying to say that the events of the story are those that only fit into past culture, many of these things happen today, but the treatment is different; it's much more open. For me, even knowing the ending of the story, I almost couldn't bring myself to read the rest because I felt transported into the mindset of the characters. I didn't feel the need to interpret, just observe.

Rating:
Summary: ehhh no thanks
Review: i strongly advise you to skip the entire introduction. it is boring and pointless. it explains the author's inspiration to write this...let's say...not-so-good book. in fact, this book was probably the most boring and uneventful book i have ever read. i only did because it was a "required reading" assignment for school. actually in my opinion it starts out interesting and gets worse as it goes along. this is most likely due to the fact that it contains so many useless pages of description that i quickly lost interest. if the author removed these extra pages, the book would probably be half the size, but much better nevertheless. there really was nothing in the plot that made me want to finish the book, maybe with the exception of why the minister kept his hand on his heart. ON THE OTHER HAND, the message was somewhat interesting and got me thinking. i'm sorry if i offended anybody who enjoyed the novel with my negative feedback. i mean, it might be a good book to some, but extremely boring to others. it really depends on ur tolerance level and how easily amused u are. also, this book and is quite hard to comprehend because of the old english and difficult concepts to grasp. that may be another reason why some find it not amusing; the story is boring because it might not make sense to them.

Rating:
Summary: Rewording would be Rewarding
Review: The Scarlet Letter is definitely not a light read. The plot and characterization are, while melodramatic, excellent. However, I don't care for Hawthorne's writing style. The story gets lost in it. I think authors such as Hugo and Dumas took a much more passionate approach to the same theme of sin and redemption and were much more successful at conveying their message. I realize it's not completely fair to compare Hawthorne to them but I think he would have benefited from adding some life to his work. At times, it felt like a chore to get through his detailed and wordy descriptions and I found my mind wandering more than a few times.

For those who can appreciate great historical literature, you will certainly not regret reading this book even if it does sometimes become laborious. You will be able to recognize a passionate tale of sin, punishment, redemption, pain, and even joy. However if you're looking for a fun summer read, this is not the book. It's not fun and it's not easy but it certainly made an impression on me and I don't regret reading it.

Rating:
Summary: A is for Art
Review: The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne is the first masterwork of literature in American letters as well as one of the very few novels that rise above literary craft to high art.
Hester Prynne and much of the framework of the story is modeled on Anne Hutchinson who in 1638 was imprisoned and then banished from Boston for being Antinomian, (anti-law), her belief being that love and personal religious experience were greater than the elderly Puritan authority. Hawthorne describes the rosebush by the prison door as springing up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson. Hester and Anne have several parallels, the dignified manner of facing their trials, rumors that each had a child by the devil, strong relationship and betrayal by a well respected Puritan clergyman, defiance of Puritan elders, punishments of prison and banishment, and both were advisors to other women. Hawthorne takes the A of Antinomian and makes it the A of adultrey because he wants to shine a brilliant spotlight on the workings of the human heart in the course of the narrative.
Witchcraft plays a role in the Scarlet Letter. John Hathorne an ancestor of the author was one of the judges at the infamous Salem witch trials where most of the condemned and executed were women. Govenor Bellingham's sister Mistress Hibbins, an historical figure later hanged for witchcraft, believes herself to be a witch in this novel. Many believe Hester's child Pearl to be fathered by the devil and that Hester's A glows red in the dark. Hester tells Pearl she met the blackman in the forest once and that the A is his mark. Chillingworth ,Hesters elderly husband, practices alchemy or something close to it and his heart is darkened the most of the players in this tale. As Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold at night he sees a display of lights in the sky and it looks to him like a giant A marked out in lines of dull red light for his adultrey.
Dimmesdale cares more for his ambition than for Hester and Pearl. The Puritans think him saintly and the truth gnaws away at him and weakens him. Hawthorne tells us at one point to "Be True Be True" meaning genuine, real, to show and be yourself warts and all.
As in Hester's great art with her needle Hawthorne has crafted great art with this masterpiece.
Some have confused the heralds description of what was on the tombstone thinking the words were on the stone. Only the red A on a black background is on the stone. The Heralds description is "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules". Gules is a heraldic word that also has a root meaning flowers, so a rendering of this in plain english would be: On a background, black, the letter A, blooms red.

Rating:
Summary: Gets better as it goes
Review: it starts out VERY slowly and VERY unevenfully at "The Custom House", but as the body of the story begins, it speeds up considerably. It gets much better as the novel moves on.

Rating:
Summary: A Scarlet A-plus!
Review: I remember reading this novel back when I was in high school, and again recently when there was another film version of it done. It really is a classic tale, set in early America. However, the moral of the tale is rather timeless -- it deals with sexual morality, but more importantly it deals with honesty and corruption in society, and how we can really harm ourselves by trying to live up to what society wants from us.

Hester Prynne is the main character. In a Puritan community, she breaks her marriage vows by having an affair, with the new preacher no less, Reverend Dimmsdale. This affair results in a pregnancy, something that is impossible to hide in the small community. Reverend Dimmsdale becomes both her lover and her chief accuser, given the status he has in the village. The entanglements that Dimmsdale and Prynne have with each other, in public and out, make for fascinating reading, and shows that people remain the same essentially no matter how technology and history may change.

The title, the scarlet letter, refers to the big red "A" Hester Prynne is required to wear, identifying her as an adulteress. Interesting, of course is that while the whole community is full of sinners, because Puritan religion believes this of all people, they single her out. This also shows times don't change, because even today sexual "sins" are often considered worse than far more bloody or violent ones.

This is a well written book, not really easy but not really difficult to read, and a fascinating look at both early America and how people interact.

Rating:
Summary: We had to read this thing in high school.
Review: We had to read this thing for class in 11th grade. It is considered a classic, but I found it really boring and uninteresting.