The only punishment for such a sinful act of passion is banishment. However, in her long wait, she becomes pregnant with a child deemed a product of Hester’s infidelity. In the townspeople’s eyes, Hester is a married woman awaiting her husband, who is believed to be lost at sea. The Scarlet Letter follows the story of a woman called Hester Pryne and her illegitimate child Pearl. It recently featured at number sixteen spot on Guardian’s list of The Best Novels Written In English. The book was published in 1850, first in America.
The Scarlet Letter is a historical fiction by Nathaniel Hawthrone. The Plot – a tale of chastisement and shame No woman should follow in Hester’s footsteps if she desires any position within the society. Hester is a walking reminder to the Puritan town that any transgressions amount to social annihilation. Its choice of colour – red perhaps is to emphasise on the demonic origins of the mark that is forced on to Hester. She must carry her sin with her through the alleyways of a small Puritan Town of 17th century Boston, settled by the newly arrived colonists from Europe. The red letter “A” is engraved on the clothes of a woman called Hester. ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter The first edition of The Scarlet Letter sold out in ten days and “made Hawthorne’s fame, changed his fortune and gave to our literature its first symbolic novel a year before the appearance of Melville’s Moby-Dick” (Bradley).“ She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.” She becomes the archetype of the free-thinking American woman grappling with herself and her sexuality in a cold, patriarchal society" (The Guardian). Hawthorne's achievement is to make her passion noble, her defiance heartbreaking and her frailty inspiring. "The most memorable and original aspect of The Scarlet Letter lies in Hawthorne's portrait of Hester Prynne, who has been described as "the first true heroine of American fiction", a woman whose experience evokes the biblical fate of Eve. A near fine example with minor rubbing to the extremities, with the spine gilt title quite bright. First edition, with 4 pages publisher’s advertisements inserted between preliminary blanks, dated March 1, 1850.
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