The Scarlet LetterNathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

• Born in Salem, MA; 1804-1864

• Worked as a tax collector as well as a writer.

• Great-great grandfather was a judge during the Salem Witch Trials (1600s)

• Hawthorne criticized and questioned the Puritan ways. He was also very ashamed of his family’s involvement in the Salem Witch Trials.

The Scarlet Letter

• Written in 1850

• Setting: Puritan Boston, MA 1642-1649

• Unnamed narrator telling us Hester Prynne’s story 200 years after the events.

• Narrator parallels Hawthorne…

“The Scarlet Letter” Movie Posters

• 1930s

1960s

1995