Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The
Scarlet Letter is set in the mid-1600s, after the Puritans
had settled in America. As the novel opens, a young Puritan woman,
Hester Prynne, appears before her fellow townspeople in the middle
of town. She is leaving prison after being punished for the crime
of adultery. She has had a baby, her three-month-old daughter Pearl,
with a man who is not her husband. Her punishment will continue throughout
her life, because she has been sentenced to wear a scarlet letter
"A" on her clothing at all times so everyone will know of
her crime.
The novel moves on to tell the story of Hester; her daughter Pearl;
her husband, Roger Chillingworth; and her minister, Arthur Dimmesdale,
as they struggle with the consequences of Hester’s crime and
with issues of personal guilt, conscience, and redemption. This retelling
presents key historical and cultural information about the period
documents the era in print, photographs, and maps offers biographical
information on the author
