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The Scarlet Letter: study guide
By Nathaniel Hawthorne. A spoiler-light guide with themes, characters, vocabulary and questions to discuss.
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne · 1850 · public domain
The story
In seventeenth-century Puritan Boston, Hester Prynne is made to wear a scarlet “A” for adultery and refuses to name the father of her child, Pearl. Her partner in sin, the minister Arthur Dimmesdale, and her estranged husband, the scholar Roger Chillingworth, each respond in very different ways.
This summary avoids the ending, but later sections of a guide can spoil details.
Main themes
- Sin, guilt and shame
- Public punishment versus private conscience
- Hypocrisy
- Redemption and strength
Characters
- Hester Prynne
- Outcast, seamstress and mother, who grows stronger under the community’s judgment.
- Arthur Dimmesdale
- A respected minister tormented by his secret.
- Roger Chillingworth
- Hester’s husband, who hides his identity and seeks revenge.
- Pearl
- Hester’s wild and perceptive child, a living reminder of the sin.
Words worth knowing
- ignominy
- public shame or disgrace.
- penitence
- sorrow for wrongdoing; a wish to make amends.
- Puritan
- a member of a strict Protestant group in early New England.
- ostracize
- to shut someone out of a group.
Questions to discuss
- Who is punished more severely in the end: Hester, Dimmesdale or Chillingworth?
- What does the scarlet letter mean at the start, and how does its meaning change?
- How does Hawthorne treat Puritan society: with respect, criticism or both?
- Why does Hester stay in Boston after her punishment?