Stark Romanticism

“Change,” declared political science writer Saul Alinsky, “means movement. Movement means friction.” Indeed, society transformed and clashed between 1649 and 1850 as the austere Puritan lifestyle gave way to Romanticism. Because of their distinct contrasts, The Scarlet Letter, a nineteenth-century tale of punishment against sin in seventeenth-century Boston, misrepresents Puritan life. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter applies a Romantic technique of literature to illustrate Puritanism by tinting situations in the story to a nineteenth century approach.

By describing Hester’s punishment as romantic fantasy rather than Puritan custom, Hawthorne imposes Romanticism into The Scarlet Letter. The plot initiates as Hester Prynne receives punishment for committing adultery with the clandestine Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the zenith of divinity within the Boston community. As a punishment for her crime, Boston magistrates require Hester to wear a letter ‘A’ on her clothing to remind her, and others, of her sinful deeds. Upon receiving her punishment, one town’s woman cries out, “This woman has brought shame upon us all and ought to die” (Hawthorne 49). The exclamation of the anonymous voice points out the brutality associated with

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Romantically, nature applauds her return to virtue, “all at once with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest” (199). Dimmesdale…in so many futile methods, followed out – by inflicting a hideous torture to himself” (252-253). Dimmesdale’s internal pain becomes eminently visible, as he appears “Haggard and feeble and betrayed. Hawthorne connects witchcraft, a practice associated with devil worship, with the forest, nature. ” Later in the story, Hester removes her ‘A’ symbolizing her emancipation from wrongdoing. Unlike drab Puritan times, Hester’s punishment is vibrant compared to other Bostonians; Hester sparkles with glamour despite her condemnation. Indeed, the woods symbolize acceptance and virtue rather than evil.

Romanticism is evident in the gothic details of Dimmesdale’s character. ’ It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy” (51). The self-inflicted horror, an example of gothic detail, centers on dismal pain and anguish. Despite Hester’s rejection, Hibbins asks, “Wilt thou go with us tonight? …I well-night promised the Black Man that comely Hester Prynne should make one” (113). Hawthorne uses idyllic punishment rooted in modern psychology rather than harsh retaliation. In regard to the origin…Reverend Mr. Notably, Hawthorne uses nature as a tool celebrating rapture and a jaunty precedent rather than a boundless source of evil. Romantics view the world as a source for good, while Puritans consider it a struggle against evil.

Approximate Word count = 843
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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