The Scarlet Letter is a classic American novel of sin and punishment. It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1840 and was his first great work. Hawthorne was one of the three primary transcendental pessimists. He disagreed with transcendental optimists on theological reasons. His works often defend and attack the beliefs of the Puritans. In The Scarlet Letter, he presents the chronicle of a woman in a Puritan town who is branded and punished for her sin. Hawthorne uses this book to state that with sin comes consequences and guilt, but the guilt can be erased with repentance without pride.
The book begins as the narrator, presumably Hawthorne, makes a discovery. This discovery occurs at the Custom House while the narrator is working there. …
