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Comparing Love In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter 'And Henry James' Washington Square

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Love is a “feeling of strong or constant affection for a person” (Merriam-Webster). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Henry James’ Washington Square comment on love through two romances. The Scarlet Letter and Washington Square are centered around a heroine, Hester Prynne and Catherine Sloper, respectively. Hawthorne explores the effects of being unable to love publicly by having Hester be publicly shamed of her love and sexual activity. James displays how damaged Catherine has become because she has never known or felt love. We begin to consider the general effects and power of love reading James’ and Hawthorne’s novels, recognizing that ability to love entirely dictates many facets of life. In Catherine’s case, it led to permanent damage resulting in a loveless life. Yet in Hester’s case it empowered her and gave her the courage to stand against society and fight for who she loved. Catherine loved to be loved. Hester loved and reaped the benefits. The difference drawn between the romance of Washington Square and The Scarlet Letter is that Washington Square details a ‘love’ brought by insecurity of self, but The Scarlet Letter …show more content…

Catherine’s love was a shallow one. Her father, Dr. Sloper, points out that “[she has] known him a very short time” (James. 61). Catherine believes “it doesn’t take long to like a person” (James. 61), feeling that she is “very old… and very wise” (James 62). This declaration of love seems almost as if Catherine is using her feelings to explain to her father that she is a grown and well thought woman. Did Catherine use her love with Morris Townsend to make herself feel secure, grown-up, and sophisticated? I could agree that her ‘love’ came from wanting to prove to herself that she was something more than “docile, obedient” (James. 10) and “simple” (James.

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Marriage is an idea that Catherine has hated every since she became of age; she refuses to marry Shaggy Beard. As Catherine writes in her journal, she states, "Would I choose to die rather than be forced to marry? I hope to avoid the issue for I do not think it in me to a be saint” (43). It is clear that a marriage to Shaggy Beard is not a desirable choice for Catherine. At first, she tried to find a way to reject Shaggy Beard’s marriage proposal.

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"She looks so much like Catherine I catch my breath – the plane of her face, the cut of her hair, the slim thighs I've always imagined were under Catherine's staid skirts. […] When I turn back, the woman is looking at me. Her brow furrows, as though in recognition. […] After a few seconds she steals another glance" (Jacob 115-116). Both Marlena and Jacob have a love affair, for example they manage to have sex and Jacob finds out that Marlena actually loves him too.

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Her account is also pretty selfish, as she thinks of no one but herself. However, by the second quote, it is obvious that Catherine has changed. She compares herself to the Jews that stopped by her manor, meaning that she is also thinking of others. By the end of Catherine’s narration of her year, she has grown more thoughtful,

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