Honors- The Scarlet Letter

In the novel The Scarlet Letter, initially it seems like a very calm and somewhat average book from the 1800's. As you read further into the story, you are drawn into the scandalous plot and uncivilized actions. The civilized story for this novel is about a woman who commits adultery, has a child and is sentenced to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing for the rest of her life. As a reader you don’t expect the crazy plots and twists and without them, the story wouldn’t have the same effect or the irony that makes you think.

This book was set in the 17th century in colonial Boston. Adultery was one of the worst crimes you could commit and it held some of the harsher punishments. People were also very religious and thought highly of their priests. As soon as the book begins you already are aware of Hester Prynne, her act of adultery and her resulting child. You continue to read, turning each page trying to figure out who the father is, and why Hester is so desperate to keep his identity a secret.

The first example of a crazy idea that doesn’t fit was when she was out on public display, she sees her husband, a man missing for several years. This was part of the crazy plot because instead of revealing himself, he says “it is my purpose to live and die unknown” and to “beware!” because the father of the babies “fame, his position, his life will be in my hands.” The husband wanted to remain anonymous so he could have his crazy revenge and have the fathers mind and soul in his control.

The uncivilized part of the plot comes when you learn that the young and respected pastor is the father, something completely uncivilized and unheard of in that time period. Without the progression of the story and learning about each character, and the crazy idea that a priest would commit adultery, the story wouldn’t have any value or make you want to turn the pages.

As the story goes on you watch as the priest gets ill, in his mind and heart out of guilt for not showing his true colors and from having her husband secretly be living with him and getting his revenge by “having his soul” “His nerve seemed absolutely destroyed. His moral force was abased into more than childish weaknesses.”The battles he has within himself really make you feel weighed down by what he is going through.

This novel is written to be wild and out there because it keeps you interested and some of the ridiculousness makes you really think. I think the novel was written about such unacceptable things because the author wanted to show that these things still were happening secretly and the people involved were greatly effected. This novel gives you a look into how people who committed these crimes felt, even if it was a bit extreme.

Throughout the story you see how Hester Prynn has this weight pulling her down that “was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude!”. You see how the pastor has his own scarlet letter in his mind, and how the revenge of the secret husband ends up killing both of them in the end. With the ideas of the devil and witchcraft, mixed in with the pastor, adultery and the pure coincidence that the husband would come home the day of his wife’s punishment, make this story one of the most unconventional and uncivilized books of its time. That was what made you want to keep reading more. These wild ideas were the solid structure of the book and without them The Scarlet Letter wouldn’t be such an excellent novel.