Scarlet Letter...Blog 1

The Scarlet Letter was considered to be amongst the begginings of American Literature, along with Emerson's essays and Walden. These works were characterized by what the authors thought that American literature should sound like. They were attempting to make a break from the dominating British literature and make something of their own. Romanticism and Realism were among the first genres of American literature. 

Romanticism was characterized by the use of symbolism, idealistic and happy endings, didactic plots, supernatural components, exotic setting, and the idea of good vs. evil. Realism, on the other hand, is characterized by ambiguity, flawed heroes, personable with a relation to everyday life, the value of character over plot. Symbolism is often used as an allegoty and nature is seemingly symbolic of other things. From class discussion, the shift from Romanticism to Realism occurred due to a few factors including the Westward Expansion, shift in values and beliefs, and the railroad. Also, we can attribute this shift to America beginning to identify itself as separate from Europe.


In The Scarlet Letter, there is obvious proof that Hawthorne was a writer of the romanticism genre. The setting is in the wilderness, in a secluded town which correlates with the exotic locale that depicts Romantic literature. For example, p.36 and 37 of the text describe the wild rosebush outside of the prison doors. There are multiple examples of the supernatural. Page 41 of the text describes the glowing of the "A" which is also symbolic of adultery. Also, with her daughter Pearl, many of the townspeople have described her as having the gleam of withcraft in her eyes, for example p.102 of the text. Also, the symbolism of the "A" in the sky as a meteor adds to the fact that this is indeed a romantic novel.