Lone Star College-Kingwood Library Nathaniel Hawthorne

Assignment Guide for

The Scarlet Letter

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

1804-1864

No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.

The Scarlet Letter, Chapter 20

For more about the life and times of the author, watch Nathaniel Hawthorne & the Scarlet Letter by Sue Goodwin (approx 5 min; requires Windows Media Player. Note: this may take a few minutes to load.)

Published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter is set in Boston of the mid-1600s and tells the story of Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery and must wear a scarlet "A" publicly as punishment. When her husband, whom she believed to be lost at sea, suddenly reappears, he resolves to discover the identity of the father of Hester's child, but Hester steadfastly refuses to identify her lover. Through the use of rich symbolism and supernatural events, Hawthorne shows the destructive effects of guilt and revenge. Though set in a Puritan community centuries ago, the moral dilemmas of personal responsibility and consuming emotions of guilt, anger, loyalty and revenge are timeless.

Librarian Talk . . . About Getting Started!

As you begin, narrow your topic to a size that you can manage.  Consider keywords that will help you find the information you need. These can be names of people, literary works, events, or broader identifying terms.  Use these keywords for locating information in the library catalog, electronic databases, and on the internet.

Sample Keywords:
     Puritans - Massachusetts                  Adultery in literature     Massachusetts, history - Colonial period     
     Hawthorne, Nathaniel                        Scarlet Letter                Puritans in literature         Hester Prynn

More about Choosing Keywords (30 sec.)

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family that had been prominent in the area since colonial times. A rich lore of family and local history provided much of the material for Hawthorne's works. He graduated in 1825 from Bowdoin College in Maine and moved back to Salem where he began his writing career. In 1836 he moved to Boston where he edited the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge and continued to write. Not able to support himself through writing alone, he took a position in 1839 at the Boston Custom House. His arrival in the Custom House is documented in the preface of this novel. In 1842 he married Sophie Peabody and lived for a time in Concord before returning to Salem where he became the Surveyor of Salem port for four years. He later obtained the position of American Consul for Liverpool and Manchester, England, and he and his family lived in Europe until 1860 when he returned to Massachusetts. He continued writing until his death in 1864.

Main characters

Hester Prynne, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter
Pearl, Hester’s illegitimate daughter
Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband in disguise who seeks revenge for his wife's transgressions
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, father of Hester's child
Governor Bellingham, a wealthy, elderly gentleman
Mistress Hibbins, Bellingham's widowed sister, who is a witch
Reverend Mr. John Wilson, Boston’s elder clergyman who advocates harsh punishment for "sinners"
The Narrator, an unnamed surveyor at the Salem Custom House who relates the story 200 years later

Topics to Consider: Characterization of Hester, Roger, Pearl or Dimmesdale; solitude; the individual vs. society; truth vs. deception; Puritanism; guilt, penitence and redemption; 17th Century medicine; irony; and symbolism.

BOOKS

librarian Librarian Talk ... About Books!

Books offer helpful information about historical background, settings, and authors. Literary criticism may be compiled in a book. The catalog is online at Kingwood College Library Catalog. If you want criticism of the novel itself, try the search words, Scarlet Letter and criticism. For setting and historical background, search for Puritans.
  • Electronic books or eBooks are available at  NetLibrary. You will need a library card barcode number to read eBooks from off-campus.
  • Apply online for a library card (for Distance Learning students).  For quicker results, after you submit the application, call the circulation desk at 281-312-1691 and ask them to process it. Use your card to:
      1. Place a hold on a book.
      2. Request a book listed in the catalog but available from another location.
      3. Access databases from home. 
More about finding books (31 sec.)

Use books about The Scarlet Letter to help choose and develop a topic for your paper and to find critical essays on the novel.   You can use some of the reference books listed below to begin developing the topic for your paper or to get background material on Hawthorne's work.

REF PN50 .L574  -  Literature and Its Times (volume 1)  -  Examines The Scarlet Letter in the context of the historical events that influenced the novel.

REF PN56.4.H69  -  Characters in 19th Century Literature  -  Helps to define the characters.

REF PN761.N5  -   Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism (NCLC)  -  A multi-volume set containing excerpts from scholarly articles on many literary works.  Information on Hawthorne is included in more than one volume, but information on The Scarlet Letter is primarily located in volume 10.

REF PN3385 .N68  -  Novels for Students (volume 1)  -  Comprehensive coverage including characters, plot, themes, historical context and selected criticisms.

REF PS153.M56 I34  -  Identities and Issues in Literature  -  Look in the index to find specific pages within the 3 volumes of the set.  Each article discusses a particular issue or theme running through a novel.

The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not to tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude!
      These had been her teachers—stern and wild ones—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.
The Scarlet Letter, Chapter 28

Circulating Books:  Books containing critical analysis of The Scarlet Letter can be found by searching the library catalog.  Some of them may have been placed on Reserve by your professor and may be located at the Circulation Desk. Don't forget to include books on the background and setting such as:

F67 .W4 1970  -  The Puritan Oligarchy by Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker

F67 .D68 1988  -  Everyday Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony by George Francis Dow  

HQ1438 .N35 R45 - Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England by Elizabeth Reis

Searchable online text of The Scarlet Letter from bartleby.com

NetLibrary  This is a database of full-text books.  You can search the contents of the books electronically to find information about your topic. NetLibrary does contain information about The Scarlet Letter as well as Puritans. Among the books is Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Critical Heritage, which includes essays of literary criticism on The Scarlet Letter.
Learn to search NetLibrary for literary criticism! Download Adobe Flash Player

DATABASES

Librarian Talk . . . About Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles!

Electronic databases are purchased by the libraries for your research use. To find articles in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs and more, use your updated library card to login to the following databases. If you find an interesting article that is not full-text, you may request it through interlibrary loan (I.L.L.) Contact the librarian if you need help getting an article. There is some overlap of articles in the databases, but all are excellent sources of information for research. We encourage you to use more than one.

HINT: For a full list of article databases, go to http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/db-alpha.html and use your library card for login.

More about searching databases (25 sec.)

Use databases to find articles from scholarly journals which discuss The Scarlet Letter.  Most of the articles are full text within the database, so you will be able to email them, print them or save them. To login from off-campus, enter your current library card barcode number when prompted.

Project MUSE - Search and browse the full text of scholarly journals in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

JSTOR Arts & Sciences -Search or browse the complete back issues for scholarly journals in literature, economics, history, social sciences, science and mathematics. The most current issue available is determined by publisher agreements and varies.

Literature Resource Center  - This database contains information about literature.  Students can search for biographical information on an author (Author search) or information about the authors works (Title search).  Choose articles which are critical essays.  Those articles will be from scholarly journals.  This database provides a link to the MLA index (see below).

MLA - Modern Language Association index to literary journals.  This database provides access to only a few full-text articles, but it is the most complete index for literary journals.  Use MLA to locate citations to articles found on microfiche in the library.  The Reference Librarians will be happy to help you locate the articles you need.

Academic Search Complete - This multi-subject database includes articles from scholarly journals in literature.  On the search page, limit your search to "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals."  Enter the title AND Hawthorne to find articles discussing the novel.

ProQuest Research Library - Another multi-subject database which includes some full-text scholarly literary journals.On the search page, limit your search to "Scholarly journals including peer reviewed." Enter the title and Hawthorne to find articles discussing the novel.

INTERNET

Librarian Talk . . . About the Internet!

The internet will be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Look at:

  1. Accuracy - The information should be researched and show proof that it has been.
  2. Source - Who wrote the information? Look at the domain.  .edu .gov. org .net are valid research sources.
  3. Authority - What are the author's credentials?  (Don't quote from another college freshman's paper.)
  4. Coverage - Does the page have the information you need for your research?
  5. Objectivity - If a work is biased, use it - just make sure your professor knows YOU know. And offer both sides of issues, where applicable.
More about finding internet sources (25 sec.)

The internet will contain information on Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter, but students need to be very careful to evaluate the information for validity, the level of scholarship, the content of the site, and the authority (who created the site).  If you are in doubt about the usefulness of an internet site, check with your instructor before adding it to your works cited.  The sites below have been reviewed by the librarians.

Hawthorne in Salem
Includes historical background, biographical information, literary influences, Hawthorne’s characters and more.  The “Scholar’s Forum” section has papers, articles, and lectures on Hawthorne and his world by Hawthorne scholars.  (A project of North Shore Community College, Massachusetts)

Nathaniel Hawthorne Page from Eldritch Press has lots of information about Hawthorne's life and his writings including links to a substantial number of literary criticisms.  The site is a little difficult to navigate but worth the time to discover some really good resources.  This site also includes the full text of the novel.

The Scarlet Letter:  The Classic Text -- Traditions & Interpretations.  
This site examines various editions of the novel and in the process includes background information and analysis.

Literary History.com: Indexing the Internet - Excellent site linking to free critical articles related to authors and their works. There are numerous scholarly articles about Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter.

Some Early Reviews of the Novel:
Massachusetts Quarterly Review  "The Scarlet Letter & Transcendentalism" (1850)
Church Review  "The Writings of Hawthorne" (1851)

SUPPORT Getting help for your assignment  

Citing Sources Using the Library MLA Style Guide | Lone Star College-Kingwood Library guide. Examples of both paper and electronic citations.

Avoiding Plagiarism | Excellent information and guide on how to avoid plagiarism from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.

University of Texas Copyright Crash Course | This helpful guide on copyright is suggested by Lone Star College-Kingwood Teaching and Learning Center.

Learning  Center | Check our hours for in-house tutoring.


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page by Charles Gillis, 01/22/2004. Updated 05/08 cg
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