A review by tiiiger35
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The infamous ‘scarlet A’. The subject is timeless. A woman, sentenced to bear more burden and shame, than a man, for a shared act. 

Quintessentially 19th century prose, very verbose. I’m sure one sentence was at least 10 lines, separated just by commas. It was a little off putting but, I settled in to the writing style eventually. For the detail & symbolisms alone, it was worth it. Only Tolstoy could do it better. 

Hester was strong & resilient, accepting her fate & never shrinking from her punishment. Her defiance of convention & independence as a single woman was light years ahead of her time. She inevitably found a sense of solace living as an outcast.

Pearl, never knew another way of life, thus, she had a strong connection to nature & an inner freedom & wildness to grow up away from the rigid Puritanism of the town. She was however, a slightly irritating child, prone to erratic behaviour & indulgent mood swings. Perhaps, this had something to do with her own mother, constantly worrying if she was a child of satan? A living symbol of her sinful transgressions. 

Predictably, the men are all judgemental, self righteous, egocentric and cowardly characters. The Minister Dimmesdale, was a weakling, who would rather privately suffer a life time of martyrdom, than admit to his sins. Chillingworth, the hidden ex husband, was spiteful & revenge driven, the catalyst to Hesters’ demise. 

Although the writing at times, dense, especially the awful prologue. **skip it** The overall content of a dramatic romance in a time of Puritanism was something refreshing to read about. It certainly projects the idea that confession is good for the soul, and that society has always had a dark tendency to judge & damn anyone. 

**As I was reading this, I kept thinking of the movie, ‘Easy A’ which I appreciate 10x more now.**