The Scarlet Letter

E11805

American literature classic historical fiction work novel

The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne that explores sin, guilt, and social judgment in a 17th-century Puritan community through the story of Hester Prynne and the emblematic letter "A" she is forced to wear.

Aliases (6)

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	American literature classic → historical fiction work → novel →
antagonist	Roger Chillingworth →
author	Nathaniel Hawthorne →
centralSymbol	scarlet letter A →
centralTheme	female agency → guilt → hypocrisy → individual versus society → legalism → public shaming → redemption → sin →
countryOfOrigin	United States →
firstEditionFormat	print →
firstPublishedInCity	Boston →
form	prose →
genre	gothic fiction → psychological fiction → romantic novel →
hasAdaptation	The Scarlet Letter (1926 film) → The Scarlet Letter (1934 film) → The Scarlet Letter (1973 film) → The Scarlet Letter (1995 film) →
hasISBN	9780142437261 →
hasLiterarySignificance	one of the first great American novels →
influenced	American realist fiction →
literaryMovement	American Romanticism →
literaryPeriod	19th-century American literature →
mainCharacter	Arthur Dimmesdale → Hester Prynne → Pearl → Roger Chillingworth →
narrator	unnamed custom-house surveyor →
notableMotif	forest versus town → light and darkness → scaffold scenes →
openingSection	The Custom-House →
originalLanguage	English →
partOfSchoolCurriculum	United States high school literature →
protagonist	Hester Prynne →
publicationYear	1850 →
publisher	Ticknor, Reed & Fields →
setInPlace	Boston → Massachusetts Bay Colony →
setInTimePeriod	1640s → 17th century →
titleCharacter	Hester Prynne →

Referenced by (26)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Arthur Dimmesdale → Hester Prynne → Pearl → Roger Chillingworth →	appearsIn
The Scarlet Letter (1926 film) → The Scarlet Letter (1934 film) → The Scarlet Letter (1973 film) → The Scarlet Letter (1995 film) ("The Scarlet Letter (novel)") →	basedOn
The Scarlet Letter (1934 film) ("The Scarlet Letter (novel)") → The Scarlet Letter (1973 film) ("The Scarlet Letter (1850 novel)") →	adaptationOf
Arthur Dimmesdale → Roger Chillingworth →	diesIn
Arthur Dimmesdale ("The Scarlet Letter (1850)") → Pearl →	firstAppearance
American Renaissance →	associatedWork
The Scarlet Letter ("scarlet letter A") →	centralSymbol
The Scarlet Letter (1926 film) ("The Scarlet Letter (novel)") →	filmVersionOf
The House of the Seven Gables →	follows
American literature →	hasNotableWork
United States Custom House in Salem ("“The Scarlet Letter”") →	mentionedIn
Nathaniel Hawthorne →	notableWork
Little, Brown and Company →	notableWorkPublished
The Scarlet Letter ("The Custom-House") →	openingSection
Ticknor and Fields →	publishedWork
Old Corner Bookstore →	publisherOf
The Scarlet Letter (1934 film) →	title