The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The short list of great American novels includes Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. In this story, the consequences of Hester Prynne's adulterous affair with the reverend Arthur Dimmesdale are literally borne out as she gives birth to their child and is forced to wear a Scarlet Letter A on her bosom. Hawthorne is at his best as he treats with the complexities of sin and redemption as the The Scarlet Letter progresses and carries Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale and Pearl toward their respective outcomes. The Scarlet Letter is a true masterpiece of American Literature a must read for every student of literature.

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Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

The Custom-House

I. The Prison-Door

II. The Marketplace

III. The Recognition

IV. The Interview

V. Hester at Her Needle

VI. Pearl

VII. The Governor's Hall

VIII. The Elf-child and the Minister

IX. The Leech

X. The Leech and His Patients

XI. The Interior of a Heart

XII. The Minister's Vigil

XIV. Hester and the Physician

XIII. Another View of Hester

XV. Hester and Pearl

XVI. A Forest Walk

XVII. The Pastor and His Parishioner

XVIII. A Flood of Sunshine

XIV. The Child at the Brook-Side

XX. The Minister in a Maze

XXI. The New England Holiday

XXII. The Procession

XXIII. The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter

XXIV. The Conclusion

Return to Nathaniel Hawthorne's library.