Skip to Main Content

North Smithfield High School Library: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:

Scene from the 1926 film version of The Scarlet Letter  directed by Victor Sjöström

Complete Text and More:

The Complete text of The Scarlet Letter as well as sections on "The Life and Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne," "A Time Line of Hawthorne’s Life," "The Historical Context of The Scarlet Letter," and "Characters in The Scarlet Letter."

Complete Audiobook:

The Scarlet Letter complete audiobook...

NPR:

"Hester Prynne, protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterwork The Scarlet Letter, is among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature. She's the embodiment of deep contradictions: bad and beautiful, holy and sinful, conventional and radical."

Digital Public Library of America:

"This primary source set includes photographs, paintings, documents, maps, and items that relate both to the setting of The Scarlet Letter, the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the mid-seventeenth century, and thematic elements within the book."

Bloom's Guides - The Scarlet Letter (Complete Research and Study Guide):

            Contents:

  • Introduction
  • Biographical Sketch
  • The Story Behind the Story
  • List of Characters
  • Summary and Analysis
  • Critical Views
  • Jamie Barlowe on “Hester-Prynne-ism”
  • Patricia Crain Discusses Allegory, Adultery, and Alphabetization
  • David S. Reynolds on Hawthorne’s Revision of History
  • Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet Examine Hawthorne’s Dating Errors
  • Monika M. Elbert Considers Hester’s A
  • Shari Benstock on the Mother-Child Relationship in the Novel
  • Brook Thomas on Mr. Prynne
  • Laura Doyle Explores Hawthorne’s Two Histories
  • Jane F. Thrailkill on the Doctor and the Minister
  • Gale Temple Addresses Masculine Ambivalence in The Scarlet Letter