The Real Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne

A Novel about Patriotism and Politics, not Rosebushes or Embroidery

Nov 4, 2008

It's easy to teach this novel as an example of symbolism without dealing with the complexity of placing it within its historic context, but that doesn't do it justice.

The Scarlet Letter is one of the most important texts in the canon of United States literature. As such, it is a mainstay of secondary school English curricula, where it is usually packaged as a book about “Sin, experience, and the human condition; the nature of evil; identity and society.” (Spark Notes)

It is also, according to many teachers, the perfect text with which to teach the effective use of symbolism, and this is often the way it is taught. That’s nice. While those themes are certainly present, and the novel is indeed full of symbolism, the real story is far more patriotic and political.

Nathanial Hawthorne, not James Fenimore Cooper, is the Author of the First Truly American Novel

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States was still young and so was United States literature. Up until the 1820s, the literature taught in most U.S. schools was French and British literature. While some give James Fenimore Cooper credit for being “the first United States author,” in reality, Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales—although important—are really nothing more than Sir Walter Scott’s Waverly novels with an American setting and based on American colonial history. It is Hawthorne, and more specifically, The Scarlet Letter that strives to do something truly new—truly American.

What makes The Scarlet Letter different from earlier United States novels is that it is a very interior story -- a psychological tale. In short, Hawthorne strives to not only write an original novel, but he also attempts to create a new genre -- a distinctly American genre. It is therefore safe to say that this novel is about patriotism, and Hawthorne’s intent, at least in part, was to create the first truly original United States novel.

Hawthorne’s Novel is a Criticism of Mid-Nineteenth Century United States Literature

In addition to being about literary patriotism, The Scarlet Letter is about politics. Sure, there is more than enough fodder in the novel for a limitless number of secondary school essays on the nature of evil, sin and the human experience, but, in truth, the novel is far more political than all that.

Hawthorne, like other mid-nineteenth century Americans, was looking at a country that was barely three-quarters of a century old—a country that was founded on the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Despite this, Hawthorne observed, in 1850 the United States was enslaving a race (African Americans) and committing genocide against a people (Native Americans), and too many Americans were struggling to make ends meet in an increasingly industrialized Northeast. The Scarlet Letter is about the disconnect between what the United States espoused to be and what Hawthorne perceived it to have become. In short, it is a deeply political novel—a criticism of the United States.

The common themes discussed in relation to the novel all serve the two overarching objectives of patriotism and politics. While it is interesting to look at the themes in and of themselves -- to explore the symbolism of the rosebush and how it relates to the contrast between Wilderness and civilization, for example -- this misses some of the most important aspects of the novel. It’s easy for teachers to make worksheets, multiple choice tests and writing prompts about what the scarlet letter symbolizes or the relationship between the letter and Hester's identity, but to truly do the novel justice, one ought to place it in its historic context.

To read the novel within the context of 19th century United States history, and deal with the political and social commentary Hawthorne is putting forth, is more difficult, but it unlocks the true scope and brilliance of this important piece of United States literature.

For other perspectives on this novel, please see the following Suite101 articles:

The copyright of the article The Real Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne in Classic American Fiction is owned by Ret Talbot. Permission to republish The Real Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Sep 2, 2009 5:40 PM

Guest :

youre missing the mark on scarlet letter. The novel is about the connection between artistic understanding and sin (passion, sex); as is comparable to adam taking an apple from the tree of knowledge and gaining both worldy knowledge and sexual understanding

Sep 10, 2009 2:00 PM

Ret Talbot :

Thank you for your comment. I actually don't think my discussion is that far off the mark based on many years of teaching this novel and numerous readings. Of course there is no one "correct" interpretation of a novel, but I do believe that reading The Scarlet Letter through the lens of its historic context is both interesting and illustrative, especially for today's reader. Just my two cents...:-)

Oct 14, 2009 7:44 PM

Guest :

I thought that this was pretty good, I never thought of the story in a historical context before.

I figured that the purpose the author was making was to criticize the puritans, but he may have been just using them as an example of how a society can be depraved and completely unaware of it.|