Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter
OVERVIEW
The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne who has committed adultery and must wear a scarlet "A" publicly as punishment. When her husband, whom she believed to be dead, suddenly reappears, he determines to discover the identity of the father of Hester's child, although Hester steadfastly refuses to reveal his identity. Through the use of rich symbolism and supernatural events, Hawthorne shows the destructive effects of guilt and revenge.
How do you think his own past might have affected his writing?
(Hawthorne was intrigued and even haunted by his past ancestors, and they appeared quite often in his fiction. Hawthorne’s past greatly influenced his writing of The Scarlet Letter.)
How did his life affect the writing of the novel?
John Hathorne presided over
the Salem Witch Trials of 1692
Major William Hathorne (1608-1681) persecuted quakers
The Custom House
How did his life affect the writing of the novel?
2) Salem- childhood, later work at the Custom House, as Surveyor of the Port
“The Custom House” introduction creates a FRAME STORY
This introduction gives an account of his experience as surveyor; he attacks the officials who connived in his dismissal… Like his heroine Hester, Hawthorne emerges from confrontation with a self-righteous society as an individual of integrity,passion, and moral superiority.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Scarlet Letter was finished in 1850…..
What was going on in America in 1850? HISTORICAL, SOCIAL, AND LITERARY EVENTS TIMELINE
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
To what “period” of American
Literature does Hawthorne belong??
Lets take a look at the history of American Literature…..
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
English Heritage (Elizabethan Age)
1650-1570: Early Colonial period- Puritan writings, no distinctive American literature
1750-1800: Later Colonial period- Age of Reason/Enlightenment (Neoclassicism, Rationalism)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
1800-1850: American Renaissance/ Romanticism- slave narratives, inner feelings, the burden of a Puritan past, the rejection of Neoclassicism
Transcendentalism was a part of this…
Romanticism
A Movement Across the Arts
Definition
Romanticism refers to a movement in art, literature, and music during the 19th century.
Romanticism is characterized by the 5 “I”s
Imagination
Intuition
Idealism
Inspiration
Individuality
Origins
Romanticism began to take root as a movement following the French Revolution.
The publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1792 is considered the beginning of literary Romanticism.
Imagination
Imagination was emphasized over “reason.”
This was a backlash against the rationalism characterized by the Neoclassical period or “Age of Reason.”
Imagination was considered necessary for creating all art.
British writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it “intellectual intuition.”
Intuition
Romantics placed value on “intuition,” or feeling and instincts, over reason.
Emotions were important in Romantic art.
British Romantic William Wordsworth described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”
Idealism
Idealism is the concept that we can make the world a better place.
Idealism refers to any theory that emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or language over matter – thought has a crucial role in making the world the way it is.
Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, held that the mind forces the world we perceive to take the shape of space-and-time.
Inspiration
The Romantic artist, musician, or writer, is an “inspired creator” rather than a “technical master.”
What this means is “going with the moment” or being spontaneous, rather than “getting it precise.”
Individuality
Romantics celebrated the individual.
During this time period, Women’s Rights and Abolitionism were taking root as major movements.
Walt Whitman, a later Romantic writer, would write a poem entitled “Song of Myself”: it begins, “I celebrate myself…”
The Arts
Romanticism was a movement across all the arts: visual art, music, and literature.
All of the arts embraced themes prevalent in the Middle Ages: chivalry, courtly love. Literature and art from this time depicted these themes. Music (ballets and operas) illustrated these themes.
Shakespeare came back into vogue.
Visual Arts
Neoclassical art was rigid, severe, and unemotional; it hearkened back to ancient Greece and Rome
Romantic art was emotional, deeply-felt, individualistic, and exotic. It has been described as a reaction to Neoclassicism, or “anti-Classicism.”
Visual Arts: Examples
Music
“Classical” musicians included composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Josef Haydn.
Romantic musicians included composers like Frederic Chopin, Franz Lizst, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Music: Components
1730-1820.
Classical music emphasized internal order and balance.
1800-1910.
Romantic music emphasized expression of feelings.
Literature
In America, Romanticism most strongly impacted literature.
Writers explored supernatural and gothic themes.
Writers wrote about nature – Transcendentalists believed God was in nature, unlike “Age of Reason” writers like Franklin and Jefferson, who saw God as a “divine watchmaker,” who created the universe and left it to run itself.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
SUBDIVISION OF ROMANTICISM: GOTHIC LITERATURE, the “dark romantics”(1800-1850)
-use of supernatural
-motif of double (both good and evil in
characters; sin and evil does exist)
-depression, dark forests
-Poe, Hawthorne, Melville
-emphasis on symbolism
(which we will discuss later)
Transcendetalism
Transcendentalism was based on the belief in the concept that there was inherent good in man, nature and the universe. Appreciation for, and communion with, nature were common themes.
In Thoreau's "Walden," the author had isolated himself in a cabin near a simple, peaceful pond. Thoreau had abandoned the modern accommodations of his time in order to retreat to a more simpler, natural habitation. The result of this regression was his personal serenity and spiritual growth.
Transcendentalists believed nature was created by God. Therefore, nature was definitively good and man need only to transcend the narrow vision of modern-day life to connect with nature and glow in its pure goodness.
Antitranscendentalism
Antitranscendentalism is a philosophical movement most notably associated with a period in literature during the eighteenth century.
This movement was born directly out of resistance to the period's very popular transcendentalist themes in literature.
Well-known authors such as Emerson and Thoreau were among the forefront of transcendentalism whereas Melville, Hawthorne, Crane and Poe are often credited as the leaders of antitranscendentalism.
To understand antitranscendentalism, one must first learn of transcendentalism.
Antitranscendentalism
A movement that rose up to point out the flaws in the Utopian-like views of its counter-movement.
To the antitranscendentalist, man was capable of evil and nature was destructive and indifferent.
History has displayed innumerable characters driven by self-serving goals. From the common thieves, thugs and murderers of society to the tyrannical rulers of governments, humans proved corruptible and without compassion.
Nature itself was capable of causing much pain and suffering through floods, fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and disease.
