Improving Literary Merit In The Scarlet Letter

Alaina Harry

Dr. Moore

English 3 HN

28 March 2023

The Scarlet Letter: Improving Literary Merit through the Controversy of Adultery In the words of Oscar Wilde, “the books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame"(“Banned Books Week”). Censorship has played a big role in making classics difficult to read in school settings. In the case of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many critics have argued that this book is “obscene” and “inappropriate” due to the fact that Hester Prynne, the mother of the illegitimate child Pearl, has to overcome being publicly shamed for adultery(“Reasons Why The Scarlet Letter Was Banned”). At the beginning of the novel, Hester serves punishment which helps the reader

Hawthorne uses Hester to convey how “adultery is a crime against [Puritan] society”(Ragussis). At the beginning of the novel the reader only knows who Pearl's mother is, until they find out that Reverend Dimmesdale is the father when the villagers sneak up on him and see the same letter “A” that Hester is forced to wear. Because they view adultery as “an act that lies outside the law of Puritan society,” they punish people who commit this sin by public shaming(Ragussis). As Hester is “standing on the scaffold” forced to “expiate” she realizes she wants a different future for Pearl(Hawthorne 138). While they are trying to take Pearl away from Hester because they believe she is an unfit mother, she states that she “can teach Pearl what [she] has learned [from her mistakes]” and would be better off keeping her(Hawthorne 53). In this part of the novel, it can be inferred that Puritan society believes that single mothers cannot take care of their own children without a father figure. Hawthorne examines the lack of compassion and forgiveness during the time

Originally, Hester is “rejected” by society and forced to wear the letter “A” for adultery on her chest to alert other people of her mistakes(Sova). Her character grows and the town realizes that she does not deserve to be “condemned” by society and the townspeople “assign [different] meanings” for the “A” on all of her clothing(Ragussis). From a young age, her daughter Pearl seemed to always understand the power of the letter. She was seen as the “human form” of the letter and would “constantly remind Hester of her sin”(“123helpme”). Hawthorne artfully uses many ways to display Hester’s sin which helps the reader better understand how important it is to society that its members follow the