Scarlet Critique Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written in 1850. It was based on the Puritans of the 1600's, which were revived in Hawthorne's era. Hawthorne descended from Puritan heritage and harbored a sense of guilt and hatred for their way of life. He used many themes and literary techniques in The Scarlet Letter including symbolism and irony. He emphasized the individual's role in the community and the role of women in society. Hawthorne used romanticism as opposed to the classical correctness of writing. Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in the 18th Century and stressed strong emotion and imagination. Puritanism was the belief that all humans are sinful and that it is only though God and the bible that one can find redemption. Hawthorne did not agree with their philosophy. "The tendency of that Hawthorne had for calling unpleasant things 'Puritanic' is an indication that he rejected Puritanism†¦" (Gerber, p.41) He felt they were hypocrites and protrayed them as stuffy and disillusioned. They lived their lives atoning or sins they were born with. Ironically, Hawthorne's writings seemed just that- atonement for his would-be sin, the puritan heritage that he was born with. Even thought The Scarlet Letter set in 1642 in New England, it was written in 1850 at the revival of Puritanism. It focused the role of women in society. Hawthorne had a strong love for women and never portrayed them weak...