There could not be a more perfect work of the American imagination than The Scarlet Letter.— D. H. Lawrence “It is beautiful, admirable, extraordinary; it has in the highest degree that merit which I have spoken of as the mark of Hawthorne’s best things—an indefinable purity and lightness of conception...One can often return to it; it supports familiarity and has the inexhaustible charm and mystery of great works of art.”— Henry JamesThe Scarlet Letter is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850, and was an instant best-seller. It is also one of the first mass-produced books in America.Set in Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne who conceives a daughter through an affair and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. The book explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in America. It was popular when first published and is considered a classic work today. It inspired numerous film, television, and stage adaptations. Critics have described it as a masterwork and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a “perfect work of the American imagination”.
INTRODUCTORY /1Chapter 1 THE PRISON-DOOR /43Chapter 2 THE MARKET-PLACE /45Chapter 3 THE RECOGNITION /55Chapter 4 THE INTERVIEW /65Chapter 5 HESTER AT HER NEEDLE /72Chapter 6 PEARL /82Chapter 7 THE GOVERNOR’S HALL /92Chapter 8 THE ELF-CHILD AND THE MINISTER /99Chapter 9 THE LEECH /108Chapter 10 THE LEECH AND HIS PATIENTS /119Chapter 11 THE INTERIOR OF A HEART /129Chapter 12 THE MINISTER’S VIGIL /137Chapter 13 ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER /148Chapter 14 HESTER AND THE PHYSICIAN /157Chapter 15 HESTER AND PEARL /164Chapter 16 A FOREST WALK /172Chapter 17 THE PASTOR AND HIS PARISHIONER /179Chapter 18 A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE /189Chapter 19 THE CHILD AT THE BROOK-SIDE /196Chapter 20 THE MINISTER IN A MAZE /203Chapter 21 THE NEW ENGLAND HOLIDAY /214Chapter 22 THE PROCESSION /224Chapter 23 THE REVELATION OF THE SCARLET LETTER /235Chapter 24 THE CONCLUSION /244