The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850 and set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to lead a new life of repentance and dignity, forced as punishment to wear a scarlet letter A for adultery. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin and guilt, was one of the first mass-produced books in the United States, and is commonly listed among the Great American Novels.
Facts
Classification
Original Language Composed, From (Year) FAQs
Why does Hawthorne call The Scarlet Letter a romance?
Hawthorne means a neutral ground between the real world and fairyland where the actual and the imaginary meet.
The book carries the subtitle A Romance, and Hawthorne uses the word for a particular purpose. In his introduction, The Customhouse, he describes a neutral territory between the real world and fairyland where the actual and the imaginary may meet and each takes on something of the other's nature. Critic Elmer Kennedy-Andrews reads this as the setting for the story, a mix of dreaminess and realism that gave Hawthorne room to explore the novel's major themes.
Connections
Authored By
Source The Scarlet Letter (Wikipedia)
Features Character
In Genre
Source The Scarlet Letter (Wikipedia)
Source The Scarlet Letter (Wikipedia)
Long-Form Articles
Written In Form
Source The Scarlet Letter (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Same As
Also in Divinity Atlas: the same subject.
Original Language
Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source The Scarlet Letter (Wikipedia)tier 2
Took Place In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject took place.
Source The Scarlet Letter (Wikipedia)Leadtier 2Quote, Lead
Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to lead a new life of repentance and dignity.
Sources
1. Open Library: The Scarlet Letter
2. The Scarlet Letter (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.
Lead
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.
Lead paragraph
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to lead a new life of repentance and dignity.
Authored By: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Lead section, authorship
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.
In Genre: Historical Fiction, Lead section, genre (historical)
is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850
In Genre: Romance, Lead section, genre (romance)
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance
Written In Form: The Novel, Lead sentence
is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.
View the Source 3. Open Library: Open Library search: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Open LibrarySearch result, first workQuote, Search result, first work
"number_of_pages_median": 272
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.