REVIEW The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

                                                                                                       

The Scarlet Letter is the story of Hester Prynne who has committed the sin of adultery, in 17th century, Puritan Boston. She becomes pregnant by her lover, and her punishment is to stand before the people of the town in public disgrace and to always wear The Scarlet Letter attached to her chest as a reminder of her shame. She lives a solitary life with her daughter Pearl who is also ostracised from the rest of the community. 


 The intense writing perfectly reflects the subject matter. Hester Prynne, despite being a social outcast is able to live with some degree of freedom, and forge her own life, whereas her lover whom she refused to name is weighed down with the burden of guilt and shame. Shame for the sin he has committed and shame for allowing Hester and his daughter to stand alone.  In the end it is Hester who has to be strong for all three of them, because her lover is so weak and afraid of the consequences of his actions, both within the community and before God.


I have to say I didn't really  enjoy reading this classic. The writing is quite hard to understand at times and you find yourself reading the same passage over and over again. The subject matter is very heavy and  intense, so despite it being a quite a short book it took me a very long time to read. I'm a big fan of classics but this one was not for me.