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The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Feb 02, 2008 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018-read, love, audible-uk, religion, philo-psychol, hf, usa

Time for a reread! I read this in high school.

I remember liking The Scarlet Letter when I read it in high school. I had a good teacher and the conversation was lively. We all had a lot to say about love and sex and adultery because we all knew very little, but that rarely stops one from having opinions and hopes and ideals. We were fourteen. It was a suitable book for discussion given that the sex content is not graphic. Sex itself is not even mentioned!

Now, rereading it about fifty years later, Time for a reread! I read this in high school.

I remember liking The Scarlet Letter when I read it in high school. I had a good teacher and the conversation was lively. We all had a lot to say about love and sex and adultery because we all knew very little, but that rarely stops one from having opinions and hopes and ideals. We were fourteen. It was a suitable book for discussion given that the sex content is not graphic. Sex itself is not even mentioned!

Now, rereading it about fifty years later, what I enjoy most is the prose. Published in 1850 and describing events a century earlier, the prose style is markedly different from what we are used to today. Although the words the author uses to describe nature, events and emotions are not those we would use today, it was never hard to understand. I found the writing lyrical. Prose poetry is what comes to mind. Metaphors abound. A whole string of words are used rather than merely one or two, but there is meaning in what is said and each word serves a purpose. The writing has content, and I found it to be pretty.

This book, written so many years ago and about Puritans with strict religious and moral beliefs, remains relevant today. It focuses upon guilt and the need to do penance for one’s sins. Let’s just exchange the word sins for mistakes or errors. The weight of one’s conscience can be heavier to bear than the punishment meted out by society’s legal institutions or even public opinion! What it is that makes public disapproval soften is dealt with too. The book stands the test of time in its ability to speak to us even today. It is this that makes the book a classic.

The book does not deliver a sermon. Instead, it mirrors how people behave. Circumstances have changed but not how people behave and think, and not how we treat one another.

The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Ian Lynch. I advise against choosing this particular audiobook. First of all, it lacks the author’s lengthy introduction entitled The Custom-House. In the introduction, Hawthorne informs readers that he had worked in the Boston Custom House and had there found a piece of cloth embroidered with the letter “A”. Hawthorne did work in the Boston Custom House but that he found such an embroidered cloth is not true. Yet it is around this fictitious cloth that the story is woven. For this reason, the introduction needs to be here. Furthermore, if a portion of a book is removed, the book has been abridged and listeners should be told! A second reason for not choosing this narration is the tone Lynch employs in the dialog passages. The voices used for the female characters are atrocious. They are fake, shrill and exaggerated. Thirdly, the pacing is off; he pauses in the wrong places. Music is played between chapters. Do you like that? You may react differently, but this is my view. Choose another narrator, the choice is large. ...more

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Sep 03, 2011 Edith rated it really liked it

I hated it in highschool but re-read it recently and loved it. Time sure does change a person.

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Jan 10, 2011 Douglas Beagley rated it liked it · review of another edition

In college, I read this and absolutely loved it. In the end, all of the active "show me" scenes are brilliant and all of the "tell me" stuff that happens in between is just poor writing. The lengthy introduction is wonderful, and many people skip it. Read it! ...more

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