The Scarlet LetterNathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece: A searing portrait of sin and redemption in Puritan New England When Hester Prynne, a young Puritan woman in seventeenth-century Boston, becomes pregnant out of wedlock, the unforgiving society in which she lives judges her harshly. Sentenced to wear a scarlet A emblazoned on her dress, Hester raises her daughter, Pearl, on the outskirts of town—an exile meant to cause her shame for the remainder of her life. In refusing to name Pearl’s father, Hester seeks to protect the minister Arthur Dimmesdale from sharing her fate. As the years pass, Dimmesdale grows weaker, eroded by his guilt, while Hester finds renewal in a defiant reclamation of her strength and identity. Their diverging paths lead to a searing final scene that stands among the most powerful in American literature. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices. |
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Ann Hutchinson answered Hester Art thou Arthur Dimmesdale aspect beauty beheld beneath bosom breast breath brook brought character child clergyman cried Custom-House dark deep Dimmesdale’s Dost thou earth earthly embroidered England evil eyes face fancy father felt forest gaze gleam Governor Bellingham hand hath heart Heaven Hester Prynne hither human ignominy imagination impulse infant kind knew laughed light likewise little Pearl look magistrates man’s market-place mind minister minister’s Mistress Hibbins moral mother’s murmur NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE nature never Old Manse old Mistress old Roger Chillingworth once pale passed passion perchance perhaps personage physician pillory poor Prynne’s Puritan recognised Reverend scaffold scarlet letter scene secret seemed seen shadow shame sinful smile solemn sorrow soul speak spirit step stood strange sunshine Surveyor sympathy thee thought token torture town tremulous truth venerable voice walk whispered wild Wilson Wilt thou woman yonder young