Hello! Good morning! Welcome to another edition of "My Reading List for...". Yesterday I finished reading some of Hawthorne's Selected Tales and Sketches. Overall, I enjoyed these stories immensely. I especially liked "The May-Pole of Merry Mount" (1836)-- which contains mythological and supernatural imagery. For instance, this story has a lot of references to mythological creatures, especially nymphs. And these carnivalesque aspects and allusions make Hawthorne's writings highly apropo reading for today, since it's Mardi Gras.
In addition, I completed my reading of Hawthorne's most famous work-- The Scarlet Letter (1850)-- this morning. As is the case with the author's short stories, this novel contains a combination of historical, religious, supernatural, mythological, and Gothic elements (ex.: character names, like Roger Chillingworth-- creepy, huh?). One example of this is the in way in which protagonist Hester Prynne's illegitmate daughter, Pearl, is alternately referred to as being a demon, a nymph, an immaculately conceived child, and superhuman. In terms of historical references, Hester is frequently likened to Ann Hutchinson, a real-life woman who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for questioning Puritan authorities. Of course, the story is loaded with references to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in which one of Hawthorne's relatives was the presiding judge. (Consult my archived posts from Sept./Oct. '09 for more information about this topic.) After Hester has an extramarital affair, she suffers ignominy (public humilation; punishment) via being forced to wear a big red letter "A" for "Adulteress." This book illustrates in haunting detail how religious hysteria destroys societies and individual lives alike (although Hester ultimately triumphs over her adverse circumstances). For these and a multitude of other reasons, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is one of my favorite books. Thus, that concludes another edition of "My Reading List for...". Stay tuned for future editions!
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