The Scarlet Letter

If you are forced to read this by your English Literature teacher:

The Scarlet Letter, some may read it and some may not, is a novel that literature teachers love to read! I recommend you read this book because there will be tests, quizzes, and assignments based on you reading this book. Also, it honestly is not that long(192 pgs) or boring(very interesting!) Read the book( I guarantee is won't be a bad waste of time :))!!!

There are many opinions and summaries on this book, therefore I will keep things short. The novel, centered around gender roles and inequality, mostly of women, is an eyeopening novel that allows the reader to knowledge themselves of a "sensitive" topic. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the male author, published his novel around 1850 but sets his book in the 1640s in Puritan bay colony, Massachusetts. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, but not narrator, is a young women would commits adultery with a man while being married. Because adultery goes against Puritan social rules, Hester is forced to wear an A(dultery), a symbol of sin, for the rest of her life- her punishment is humiliation! You may be wondering, "well, what about the guy she did that with and how does her husband feel about this?!"

BTW: This is a summary and my opinion BUT if you want spoilers always check SparkNotes, CliffNotes, and Shmoop!

Answer, to put it simply, :

Hester doesn't reveal him to the public because he is an important role to Puritan society. They both wanted to escape the pressures of gender roles and therefore committed to the "sin"; they are both still really fond of each other.

Hester has a husband who is old, nice, but secretly twisted, and is very traditional. Although, he treats Hester nicely, he (after hearing of Hester's sin) decides to go on a mission to find the guy that Hester did the thing with. Basically, he is not happy.

The product of Hester's adultery:

Pearl, who is a beautiful, young girl; In the novel, her age is from newborn to 7. Pearl is described to be a bright, passionate jet of flame and is not suppressed by the exclusion of children interaction. She plays innocently and happily and may be precocious(or at least that is what I think). Pearl-the product of sin- is a child that holds both the mom and the father by a string and a cage. She is pitied by the adults and is feared by children( kids hear rumors from their parents hence why they fear Pearl and Hester), but she does not let that get to her and instead, uses that to fuel her flame. Basically, she is a bright sunshine!

(She is my favorite character, if you can't tell already)

Rating: (5 out of 5)

Reason: This book is really good, upgrades vocabulary, meaningful and has a universal message, and a good read to impress your English teacher(unless, they already assign this book and you are forced to read it)

Overview: The novel portrays the epitome of a women's struggle through society. It is interesting because it a good mystery and not like the ones you read in elementary. It honestly is really well-written and all your answers of: "do they end up together?', "is the child just an extra lever to Hester Prynne's ignominy," "does the old husband find out who the guy is", etc.. There is only one way to find out(well, not actually one way because internet exists, but...), so read the thrilling mystery novel that holds heart wrenching truths, secrets about society, little children that go through an emotional identity crisis, parents who go through an even worse emotional roller coaster, and the horrible, evil old men.