The Scarlet Letter : Om Illustrated Classics

Nathaniel Hawthorne

2018年12月 · Om Books International

この電子書籍について

  Roger Chillingworth, an aging scholar, returns to Puritan Boston and
finds a crowd gathered to witness an official punishment. He spots a
young woman holding a baby, whom he recognises as his wife, Hester
Prynne, standing on the platform. Hester has been found guilty of
“the most sinful act”. She refuses to reveal the father of her child and
so, is ordered to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ for the rest of her life as a
mark of shame.Hester accepts her punishment and struggles to create a new life for her daughter Pearl. For the next seven years, she endures the accusing stares of the society, but holds her head high through the trials and tribulations. Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester’s pastor is the only person,who empathises with her. Meanwhile, Roger Chillingworth is full of vengeance and determined to exact revenge from Hester’s lover.The Scarlet Letter tells the tale of Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynneand Arthur Dimmesdale as they struggle with their internal conflicts in the morally rigid 17th century society.

著者について

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. When he was four years old, his father died. Years later, with financial help from his maternal relatives who recognized his literary talent, Hawthorne was able to enroll in Bowdoin College. Among his classmates were the important literary and political figures Horatio Bridge, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Franklin Pierce. These friends supplied Hawthorne with employment during the early years after graduation while Hawthorne was still establishing himself as a legitimate author. Hawthorne's first novel, Fanshawe, which he self-published in 1828, wasn't quite the success that he had hoped it would be. Not willing to give up, he began writing stories for Twice-Told Tales. These stories established Hawthorne as a leading writer. In 1842, Hawthorne moved to Concord, Massachusetts, where he wrote a number of tales, including "Rappaccini's Daughter" and "Young Goodman Brown," that were later published as Mosses from an Old Manse. The overall theme of Hawthorne's novels was a deep concern with ethical problems of sin, punishment, and atonement. No one novel demonstrated that more vividly than The Scarlet Letter. This tale about the adulterous Puritan Hester Prynne is regarded as Hawthorne's best work and is a classic of American literature. Other famous novels written by Hawthorne include The House of Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance. In 1852, Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography of his college friend Franklin Pierce. After Pierce was elected as President of the United States, he rewarded Hawthorne with the Consulship at Liverpool, England. Hawthorne died in his sleep on May 19, 1864, while on a trip with Franklin Pierce.