Historical Background
The Puritans were a The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 ensconced information and events that occurred nearly 200 years earlier. The book relied heavily on the Puritan influence in their society and their strict religious views. The Puritans were a religious group based mainly off Calvinist beliefs in 17th century Britain. The Puritans fled Britain to escape the Anglican Church and religious persecution. Led by John Winthrop the Puritans sailed to America in order to establish a Utopian society based off of their strict religious beliefs. The idea was called "a ciity upon a hill," and it was going to be the epitome of the pure perfect town that Puritans were capable of creating. The idea was presented by Winthrop on the ship from England. Utilizing captivating diction and extreme excitement, morale towards creating the perfect colony prospered. However, the idea could only be established if based strictly off of the Puritan beliefs and prosecution of sins was a necessity. The Puritans were known for very strict and violent writings regarding the cost of sin leading the general public to be more weary of any possible mishaps. The Puritans began arriving in America and the French islands by 1620. The Massachusetts Bay colony had one of the heaviest influxes of immigrants out of all lands colonized by the Puritans.
The author of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a writer who wrote seemingly uncharacteristic novels for his time period. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born into the Romantics literary time period. this time period was characterized by the fairly evident heavy romantic appeal. Not only was the writings of this time heavily catered to romance but the music and art were also. Hawthorne had a different approach to what romance really was. Hawthorne stated, "romance is a method of showing the depths of our common nature." It would have been uncharacteristic for Hawthorn to have written about dreamy and surreal love scenes. His literary forte was in combating reality and altering historical events. Hawthorne received heavy influence from his Puritan grandfather (a leader of the Salem Witch Trials) and his experience in the customs house. The Puritan lifestyle lie beneath the ground as he grew up in Salem Massachusetts, a city bustling with heavy Puritan influence nearly 200 years before his existence. Nathaniel Hawthorne was intrigued with his cities' history and the concrete ideas of the Puritan religion. The Scarlet Letter is a challenge of the Puritan ideas as he vows for Hester Prynne who committed a sinful crime of adultery. He disagrees with the isolation and cruelty towards Hester from the Puritans. Mainly, because his grandfather was one of the head masters of the Salem Witch Trials and felt the need to reconcile on his ancestors' behalf.
The author of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a writer who wrote seemingly uncharacteristic novels for his time period. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born into the Romantics literary time period. this time period was characterized by the fairly evident heavy romantic appeal. Not only was the writings of this time heavily catered to romance but the music and art were also. Hawthorne had a different approach to what romance really was. Hawthorne stated, "romance is a method of showing the depths of our common nature." It would have been uncharacteristic for Hawthorn to have written about dreamy and surreal love scenes. His literary forte was in combating reality and altering historical events. Hawthorne received heavy influence from his Puritan grandfather (a leader of the Salem Witch Trials) and his experience in the customs house. The Puritan lifestyle lie beneath the ground as he grew up in Salem Massachusetts, a city bustling with heavy Puritan influence nearly 200 years before his existence. Nathaniel Hawthorne was intrigued with his cities' history and the concrete ideas of the Puritan religion. The Scarlet Letter is a challenge of the Puritan ideas as he vows for Hester Prynne who committed a sinful crime of adultery. He disagrees with the isolation and cruelty towards Hester from the Puritans. Mainly, because his grandfather was one of the head masters of the Salem Witch Trials and felt the need to reconcile on his ancestors' behalf.