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"This thoroughly thought-provoking volume will prove useful to English/history/humanities teachers and student researchers, on their mutual journeys toward richer understanding of American history, Hawthorne's novel…"
VOYA on
Understanding The Scarlet Letter
Upon its publication in 1850, The Scarlet
Letter shocked the nation by boldly confronting "forbidden"
topics including the sexual misconduct of society's leaders,
the plight of single mothers, and the separation of church and state.
Ironically, the novel's moral and social themes, which at the time
inspired such scandal, are now the source of its continued vitality
since those very issues occupy America's conscience today. Now,
no study of American history is complete without thorough examination
of Nathaniel Hawthorne's timeless masterpiece.
This multidisciplinary study of the novel contains:
original 17th-century documents that illuminate Puritan attitudes
and bring the Salem witchcraft trials to life; 19th-century
magazine and newspaper articles, private journals, historical reports,
and sketches of Hawthorne's time; an examination of the novel's
introductory essay, "The Custom House," in which
Hawthorne grapples with the role his ancestors played in persecuting
the Quakers and the Salem witches, as well as his own internal
conflict over his vocation as a fiction writer; reviews of
The Scarlet Letter at the time of publication which reflect
the controversy ignited by the novel; current news articles which
display the novel's relevance to today's controversial issues.
In addition, the online sourcebook provides
the user access to:
- E-text of The Scarlet Letter and nine other Hawthorne
works
- Early line drawings and illustrations from The Scarlet
Letter
- E-texts of: Wonders of the Invisible World, 1693 (Cotton
Mather); Letter of Thomas Brattle, F.R.S., 1692 (Thomas
Brattle); The Writings of Hawthorne, 1851 (Arthur Cleveland
Coxe); and Day of Doom (Michael Wigglesworth)
- Biographical profiles of Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John
Calvin, Michael Wigglesworth, Cotton Mather, Mary Dyer, John
Winthrop and others
- An historical overview of crimes and punishments in Plymouth
Colony
- Interactive timeline of Salem witchcraft accusations (February-March
1692), highlighting the accusers and accused on a map of Salem
Village - with links to other primary information
- Biographical profiles of key figures of the Salem Witch Trials
- Photos and illustrations of Hawthorne and his residences
- Virtual photo tour of turn-of-the-century Concord, Massachusetts
- Contextual timelines
- Glossary of cultural references and historical idioms from
The Scarlet Letter
- Web-based study questions
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