The Visible and the Invisible Letter A - Puritanism and the Dualism of Confession and Concealment in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1.5, University of Freiburg (English Department), 22 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Since its publication in 1850, Hawthorne's masterpiece romance The Scarlet Letter hasbeen hailed by average readers and literary critics alike as one of the finest pieces ofliterature ever to have come out of the pen of an American writer.Not only regarded as Hawthorne's most widely read and admired novel3, The ScarletLetter has also given numerous generations of critics bountiful opportunity for in-depthanalysis of the novel's plot, characters, and meaning. A fair amount of scholarlyattention has, for instance, been devoted to Hawthorne's imposing splendor ofportraiture4. In the case of The Scarlet Letter, this has been evidenced by critics¿particular interest in Hawthorne's portrayal of two of the novel's central characters: theBoston townswoman Hester Prynne and the pastor Arthur Dimmesdale.Against the backdrop of mid-17th century Puritan society in the newly foundedAmerican colonies, Hawthorne describes how these two characters¿ lives are, each in itsvery own way, dramatically changed by one moment of adulterous passion.It is the aim of the present paper to deliver a careful analysis of Hester and Arthur atthe center of which shall be the difficult social and psychological circumstances the twocharacters encounter in the wake of their adultery. It will equally be shown that Hesterand Arthur embrace different strategies in dealing with their situation. A plo t analysisreveals a clear dilemma and duality of a confession versus concealment theme whichimpacts greatly on the two characters and their behavior. Having been forced to confessto adultery charges, Hester manages to reshape her life by confronting pre sentdemands while also hoping for future opportunities. By contrast, Arthur is tormentedand obsessed by his moment of moral weakness in the past, wavering between reve -lation and dissimulation of his deed as he doubletalks his way through the novel's plo t.The first chapter of this study intends to establish a framework for the ensuingcharacter analysis. Its aim will be to portray Puritan society as shown in Hawthorne'swork, so that Hester's and Arthur's situation in the novel's plot will become clear.An interpretation of the two characters will follow in chapter two. First, Hester'sbehavior and the role she plays in the novel shall be analyzed under the aforementionedconfession theme. [...]3 Waggoner, p. 118.4 Ripley, p. 26.