The Scarlet Letter in Who Doesn't Love a Classic?

Aug 14, 2013 Book Concierge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: psychology, movie, historical-fiction, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, audio, classic, literature, library, concierge, strong-women

Audio Book read by Anne Wauters

This classic of American literature is an exploration of guilt, hypocrisy, revenge, and atonement. Full of psychological nuance and forcing the reader to weigh the merits of various arguments as to whose sin is worse and what punishment is appropriate. The ethical dilemmas presented are still debated today.

Hester Prynne is a beautiful young woman who has been ostracized and outcast by her 17th-century Puritan community in Massachusetts for the unforgiveable sin of Audio Book read by Anne Wauters

This classic of American literature is an exploration of guilt, hypocrisy, revenge, and atonement. Full of psychological nuance and forcing the reader to weigh the merits of various arguments as to whose sin is worse and what punishment is appropriate. The ethical dilemmas presented are still debated today.

Hester Prynne is a beautiful young woman who has been ostracized and outcast by her 17th-century Puritan community in Massachusetts for the unforgiveable sin of adultery. Her husband has been missing (and presumed dead) for several years and now she has a child, but she refuses to name Pearl’s father. She is forced to wear a scarlet ”A” on her breast, marking her as an adulteress and giving the community permission to scorn and ridicule her. But Hester holds her head high, lives quietly away from town with her child, and performs good works for those who are less fortunate even than she. The two men in her life however are continually present.

SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

Her husband has returned in disguise and stays incognito, calling himself Roger Chillingsworth so that he can punish the man who wronged him – the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

Hester’s sin is the most obvious, and her punishment has become an iconic symbol of public outrage. But she, at least, owns up to her transgression, and remains in the community, wearing the scarlet letter almost proudly. Dimmesdale proves himself a weak, if tortured, man who fasts and prays but cannot bring himself to confess and share the blame that is rightly his. More than once he publicly urges Hester to name the child’s father, hoping that she will save him from himself and the hypocrisy he feels “forced” to live. Chillingsworth is a vengeful troll, hiding behind his adopted persona as a “learned physician” he probes and needles Dimmesdale, providing a far worse torture than any punishment the community might have imposed.

The playaway portable audio version was read by Anne Wauters. I really did not like her performance and her voice was irritating to my ears. I almost lowered the rating, but in this case I didn’t think the book should be penalized for a poor audio performance.
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Jan 01, 2022 Jess Penhallow rated it it was ok

Shelves: usa, 17th-century, boxall-s

This classic didn't really live up to what I expected of it. I was hoping for something a bit salacious and daring and maybe at the time it was written this book was that, but reading it now I only felt incredibly sad for Hester and angry at how she was treated. (view spoiler) It seems that most of the interesting aspects of this story happened "off-screen" with pages instead ...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Cora rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle, classic, religion, america, new-england, movie, 1001-books, 17th-century, american-literature, banned-books

The Scarlet Letter is the story of a couple that commits adultery in puritan New England. Hester Prynne, whose husband has been missing for two years, has a baby as a result of the affair. Because of her circumstances (no one knows if her husband is alive) she is sentenced to wear a scarlet "A" on her breast for the rest of her life instead of executed (which is the usual sentence for adultery). Hester refuses to name the baby's father. While Hester wears the evidence of her sin every day, the b ...more

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