Customer Reviews

The Scarlet Letter: An Authoritative Text Essays in Criticism and Scholarship (Norton Critical Editions)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Scarlet Letter is one of those novels which richly repay a re-reading every 5 years or so. While most of us are first exposed to this great work in high school, few of us have the depth of understanding at that age to do the novel justice. Hawthorne's study of the human mind and heart, of the nature of evil, and his exploration of relative morality is a constant revelation to me. His symbolism and understanding resonate more deeply every time I pick this novel up again. A close reading of his language is especially rewarding. One of the great ironic, symbolic and passionate novels of all time.

The book includes great critical essays for students who study the novel. I particularly appreciate the essay about Pearl which offers insight into Hawthorne's development of this character based on his struggles with his own daughter. I use these writings in my AP classes, and they are helpful to those pursuing an in-depth study of The Scarlet Letter.

The Scarlet Letter puts even the most morally secure people's beliefs to the test. The line between what is really sin and what is "different" in this novel is one that most cannot define at the end of finishing this book. It makes the reader think about the choices in their own life, and the choices they would make in situations such as those of Hester Prynne, Dimmsdale, and little Pearl. The Scarlet Letter has a wonderful way of depicting the exclusiveness of the early Puritans that is not outwardly horrible, but chips away at the patience of the reader until their feelings towards the Puritans are nothing but distain. The novel uses light and dark in ways that subconsciously show what is Godly and reverent and what is evil and sin. So many elements in The Scarlet Letter just capture the reader into wanting more, and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to challenge their beliefs.

I first read this book in high school, and i didn't like it much, which was surprising because i really enjoy Hawthorne's short fiction. i again picked it up recently, and found that loved it. There no doubt that it is a difficult book to read, Hawthorne requires the reader to think as he reads. everything is symbolic of something in this book. Hawthorne has a mastery of the language that you just don't see anymore. think this is one we should re-read every few years, as we mature. I got the Norton edition, which helps a little with understanding the story, but most of the articles were not that helpful.

Well, I read this in my Intro to Lit class. It was right after Frankenstein, so perhaps that made me like the book more than I normally would. Or maybe it was just Hawthorne's writing style. He tells us the story of Hester, a woman forced to wear the scarlet A for adultery in early Puritan America. How did they know she committed adultery? Her husband had not yet joined her in America and suddenly, she's pregnant. She refuses to reveal the father of her child. For the next couple of years we follow Hester, her daughter Pearl as she grows up isolated, and Pearl's father as well as Hester's newly returned husband...who has a new identity. Sometimes Hawthorne got so descriptive he went off-track, but for the most part, it's quite an interesting, almost soap opera storyline.

To read The Scarlet Letter as a simple tale is a very confusing endeavor; I tried that once, and I wondered why people called this a great American novel, save the fact that it had an interesting female protagonist - although this still doesn't make it great. A symbolic reading is highly recommended: each and everything in the novel is a symbol for something. The fun part is, Hawthorne never makes it clear just what it is these things are meant to symbolize, which is perhaps due to the fact that he doesn't really know. So the Scarlet Letter becomes a novel that you can make your own. You decide what everything stands for; not Hester, not the narrator of the story, not even the author himself. This is partly why it is a great American novel: it gives its readers the freedom to make their own judgments on what transpires in the book, and what it tells us not only about Americans, but about people in general

This was an interesting book. I liked the plot, but the author really needed to wrap up those words that I didn't understand. I mean, I can define any one of the words in the book, save few, but using about 5 of them in one sentence just makes me too confused to try to get into the story like I normally do.