Nathaniel hawthorne - the scarlet letter

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE AND THE SCARLET LETTER

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Life
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on the 4th of July of 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He is a descendant from a Puritan family, and this fact is one of the main influences he has in his works, their costumes and history is, sometimes, a main theme in his works. During his adolescence he worked as a writer in several magazinesand had to overcome economical issues due to his lack of recognition.
On July 9 of 1842 he married Sophia Peabody and they had three children, during the following years he published three short stories, “Twice-Told Tales” (1844), “The Birth-Mark” (1843), and “Rappaccini´s Daughter” (1844). The next six years his literary career was put on hold and it was said he had trouble writing, during thistime he was introduced into the politics of Salem. After this period without writing, in he published his most recognized novel “The Scarlet Letter” (1850) which became a best seller. That same year he moved to Lenox, Massachusetts where he met great friends and writers, among them Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. and Herman Melville. The next years he published his other two famous novels, “The House ofthe Seven Gables” in 1851 and “The Blithedale Romance” in 1852.
He returned to the politics environment when Franklin Pierce was elected president of the United States in 1853, and because of their friendship he was named consul in Liverpool. After this period, he dedicated to travel with his wife and in May 19 of 1864 he died.
Hawthorne’s Style
Nathaniel Hawthorne is recognized because ofhow he writes and the themes he talks about. One thing that characterizes him is the credibility of his stories and how he describes the setting and characters of his novels.
Hawthorne has been categorized as a dark romanticism writer and this is because he always uses as a major conflict on his novels, the most inner issues of men and shows the dark side of the world, his works seem to suggestthat humanity’s qualities are evil, sin, and guilt.
Famous Quotes
“A hero cannot be a hero unless in a heroic world.” – This quote represents what he thinks about humanity, in his works he shows characters with flaws and he knows that perfection can’t be achieved.

Hawthorne’s Context and Influences
Hawthorne, a ninetieth century writer, had to live through the process of an expandingnation with a lack of artistic traditions.
One of the main influences Hawthorne had and which are clearly implied in his novels is Puritanism, as said before, Nathaniel Hawthorne came from a Puritan family and this not only influenced him in his writings, but it also make a huge impact on his life. This Puritan tradition also contributes to his way of thinking and writing because it made himreinforce his moral values and the importance of them in a society.
He was influenced by romantic poems such as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. He was greatly influence by Coleridge and his critical principles. Hawthorne had a huge influence in English romantics.

The Scarlet Letter
Plot: In the mid-seventeenth century within a puritancommunity Arthur Dimmesdale falls in love with a young woman, Hester Prynne. Her missing husband Roger Chillingworth is believed to be dead, but this fact isn't certain. When Hester gets pregnant with Pearl, she is punished by having to wear the scarlet letter on her chest for the rest of her life and to remember the sin she has committed.
Characters: Hester Prynne: The protagonist of thenovel, the whole plot turns around her and her sin. She’s a young woman that is married to Roger Chillingworth, a merchant that’s been gone in the search of fortunes and who is thought to be dead. During this time she had a baby named Pearl as a result of a secret relationship with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Because of this event she is accused of adultery and forced to carry a scarlet letter on...