英美文学PPT课件6.NathanielHawth

The Scarlet Letter (1850) is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered to be his masterpiece. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Hawthorne called the novel a “romance”not tied to ordinary experience. The setting of The Scarlet Letter is Boston in the 1640s.Persecuted in England, the Puritans came to North America to form their own communities. Life in the Colonies was harsh,but it gave the Puritans the opportunity to form a society based on their religious ideals. Puritans sought the freedom to live by their beliefs.However, the Puritan leaders did not tolerate religious beliefs that differed from their own. The Puritans believed that all things are controlled beforehand by the will of God. This doctrine is called predestination. No one could know for certain if they were destined to receive salvation. However, a good Puritan still had to live as pure and righteous a life as possible and to watch for signs of sinfulness in others. As for personal freedomevery member of the community was held to strict standards of behavior.In a Puritan community such as Hesters, no aspect of life was truly private.People kept a close watch on their neighbors. Those considered sinners were publicly and harshlypunished, as an example to others.In Boston, the laws of the church were the laws of the state. A Puritan could be whipped, banished from town, or imprisoned for offenses.Laws prohibited everything from swearing to excessive decoration on womens caps to murder What happens when a private sin becomes a public crime? n The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledgespecifically, in knowledge of what it means to be human. The town magistrates sentenced Hester to wear the scarlet “A” for the rest of her life so all would recognize her as an adulteress. Over time, however, newcomers did not know the history of Hesters badge and asked its significance.Some townspeople remembered its origin, but others forgot, or transformed its meaning to indicate “able” in deference to Hesters steady performance of tasks benefiting the sick and needy. The letter “A”