For a long time, this classic has been waiting for its turn on my shelves. Although I wanted to read it, it always got pushed back, mainly because part of the story was already known to me.

Great classics often suffer from this. Since they are so well-known and talked about, it's difficult for us to start reading them in a perfect "tabula rasa" state, which is my preferred way to approach readings. Usually, there are also spoilers in the prefaces or introductions. This edition is no exception, so I alert you to skip the "Note to this edition" and avoid the synopsis on the back cover if you don't want to know in advance what happens in this story.

It was the "Club of Living Classics" (now on WhatsApp) that finally made me think about "unblocking" this classic. After having the happiness of "convincing" my wonderful reading companion Fátima to join me, the conditions were set for a pleasant and long-overdue reading.

It turned out to be a reading that I don't regret having done, although it fell a little short of expectations.

When I finished reading "The Custom-House", the author's introduction in the form of an essay, I was very expectant regarding the text of "The Scarlet Letter". That introduction explains how the author came up with the idea of writing "The Scarlet Letter" and it was a text that I loved. The sarcasm, irony, and double meanings made me remember authors that I love, such as Jonathan Swift, and I longed for the text of "The Scarlet Letter" to be in the same tone. However, I was wrong. There are undoubtedly double meanings and symbols in the main text, but without the intelligent humor of "The Custom-House".

"The Scarlet Letter" was a good reading, a good story that in my opinion lacked some action (which is also common in some classics that I have read). The pace is quite slow, repetitive in ideas, and without major events. However, it is a very rich text on other levels. I was sorry that with such an impactful theme and such strong characters, the narrative was not more vivid and exciting. Perfectly natural for a bestseller of 1850, but I think it would no longer meet the requirements of readers to become a bestseller in the 21st century. It does, however, contain themes for very current and perhaps even timeless reflection.

On a more macro level, we find various themes such as the way societies/communities organize and govern themselves, religion as an instrument of social control, the mixing of religious morality with social morality and its ascent to civil rules and laws, ideological extremisms, group behaviors, social pressure on the individual, conformism, etc...

Then, on a more individual level, we have the author's exploration of the behavior and personality of four wonderfully well-constructed characters who are part of (or decide to be part of) a very rigid community (Puritan). The author's exploration of how each of them lives their situation in the face of what the community imposes on them is of enormous richness and is really what gave more color to this narrative for me.

Hester Prynne, the protagonist of this story, became one of my favorite female classic characters, alongside Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Eustacia Vye by Thomas Hardy.

At the end of this edition, there is an essay by D.H. Lawrence on "The Scarlet Letter" that I simply hated. If I already had little interest in this classic author since my disastrous reading of his work Women in Love, after reading this essay, I feel that my "aversion" and incomprehension regarding this author's ideas have been confirmed. If I already had little interest in reading The Plumed Serpent, Sons and Lovers, and Lady Chatterley's Lover (all on my shelf... oh...

This was a truly challenging one. Hawthorne's writing style is extremely verbose and bombastic, filled with frequent archaic words and phrasing.

This book truly embodies the pathos of the 19th century, with an abundance of hyped-up feelings and is chock full of symbolism. The central theme of sin, punishment, and redemption, of course, makes it very heavy-handed, especially when combined with an omniscient narrator who constantly dishes out general wisdom.

And then there are the slightly misogynistic and downright racist statements, particularly about the Native Americans. This makes reading this mid-19th-century book extremely difficult for a person in the early 21st century.

However, at the same time, this story is intriguing. Because it deals with themes that are still relevant today. The scarlet letter, of course, represents a social stigma, but by making the protagonist Hester into a saint, Hawthorne highlights the hypocrisy of American Puritanism even more. In our 21st-century eyes, that puritanism seems to have a very patriarchal touch, as it is mainly the men who do not come out well in this novel. And that, in turn, makes Hester a feminist avant la lettre, who thinks deeply about the wretched fate of women and even points to the need for “an internal and external revolution.”

There is also a strong “gothic” accent to this novel, especially in the ambiguity surrounding Pearl, Hester's angelic and lively child, who regularly suggests that there is also something devilish in her. On closer inspection, almost all the characters carry this ambiguity between good and evil to a greater or lesser extent, in a spectrum that starts with the heroine Hester (who herself admits that she could just as well belong to the party of devil worshipers), over the fallen minister Dimmesdale (whose portrait is a bit too contrived for my taste) to the demonic Doctor Chillingworth. For me, this was all a bit too over the top to be truly enjoyable, but I can understand why this, especially in America, is still considered a classic. Rating 2.5 stars.

DNF @ 24%.

I find myself completely unable to continue with this task. It seems that this particular thing is just not to my liking.

I have tried my best, but it feels like I'm swimming against the current. The more I attempt it, the more frustrated I become.

Maybe it's because it doesn't align with my interests or skills. I just can't seem to get into the groove and make any real progress.

It's a bit disheartening, but I know that it's okay to admit when something isn't for me. There are plenty of other things out there that I'm sure I'll be more passionate about and better at. So, for now, I'll just have to accept this DNF and move on to greener pastures.

I adored this! Love, love, loved it with all my heart!

The story is truly magnificent. It weaves a web of intrigue and emotion that keeps you hooked from the very beginning.

The writing is simply flawless. Every word is carefully chosen, every sentence crafted to perfection.

Oh, and everything about it is just fantastic! The characters come alive on the page, and you can't help but become invested in their lives.

Can I please have an entire book dedicated solely to Hawthorne's descriptions of Pearl? His portrayals are absolutely amazing. He brings her to life in the most vivid and enchanting way.

I actually found it incredibly difficult to put this book down. It had such a hold on me that I just wanted to keep reading and reading.

Ugh, seriously, just read this book! Read it now and experience the magic for yourself! You won't be disappointed.

The greatest disappointment.

The author's style is unbearable, completely devoid of any emotions.

It seems as if the words are just strung together mechanically, without any passion or feeling behind them.

Reading this work is like walking through a desert of monotony, where there is no sign of life or excitement.

The lack of emotion makes it difficult for the reader to engage with the story or the characters.

One would expect some sort of emotional connection, some spark that would make the reading experience worthwhile.

However, in this case, it is completely absent.

It is truly a pity that such a potentially interesting topic is presented in such a lifeless and unappealing way.

Perhaps the author should consider adding more emotion and passion to their writing to make it more engaging and enjoyable for the readers.

**"The Scarlet Letter": A Timeless Exploration of Human Nature and Society**

Considered a major work of American Romanticism (19th century), on par with "Moby Dick" (1851) and thus a compulsory read in American schools, "The Scarlet Letter" tells a story set two centuries earlier, centered around the morality of a nascent society, that of the US.

At first glance, due to the book's apparent focus on adultery and its punishment by society, one might think it has lost its value in today's times. This is evident in the numerous discussions on Goodreads, initiated by many who were forced to read the book in American schools and felt offended, not only by the story but also by the difficulty in accessing it as it was written following the aesthetic precepts of Romanticism, which are admittedly less accessible than those of today's Realism.

However, Hawthorne's work goes much deeper than the plot that keeps the story alive. Contrary to all indications, from the title to its constant mention in the text, the focus is not on Adultery, marked by the letter A, but rather on Redemption. Adultery here serves only as a launch pad for the narrative, with the aim of deepening the feelings of the characters to bring to the surface shame, guilt, vengeance, and despair. Notice how Hawthorne does not reveal what truly happened, starting the narrative in medias res, with Hester already wearing the letter on her chest.

What truly matters, and why the book is so relevant, is the way the different characters relate to what has happened, from Hester to her daughter, ex-husband, lover, and of course society. Adultery is just a means, and in its place, we could have suicide or the loss of a child, which would of course have different impacts but would serve the same purpose in the deconstruction that Hawthorne seeks to do of the human being and its social ties. For a work of the Romantic period, it is impressive the ability to delve into the human psyche, to make us enter the characters' inner world and understand how they feel.

This entire capacity to scrutinize human feeling is at the heart of literary art, and each era presents its best examples, which often, without even seeking it, surpass and precede science and philosophy, as is evident in Lehrer's work, "Proust was a Neuroscientist" (2007). In this case, we have Hawthorne, in 1850, preceding Nietzsche, who wrote in "Twilight of the Idols", in 1888, the often-cited expression "what does not kill me makes me stronger", in the following way:

“Faltava a esta — o que a muita gente falta toda a vida — uma dor que profundamente a ferisse, e assim a humanizasse e tomasse capaz de sentir profundamente.” (p.191)

“A letra encarnada era o seu passaporte para regiões onde outras mulheres não ousariam entrar. O Opróbrio, o Desespero, a Solidão! Tinham sido estes os seus mestres — mestres severos e desregrados — e tinham-na tornado forte, ainda que não fosse bom o que com eles tinha aprendido.” (p.210)

Hester Prynne is thus one of the first great heroines of literature, and in a way, a clear homage by Hawthorne to the perseverance and toughness of women, commonly categorized as the weaker sex, fragile and incapable of using force, showing here that beneath the guise of fragility attributed to them, there is much more, there is a whole capacity not only to endure pain but to go beyond, to make it bloom and be reborn, always stronger. At its core, the work reflects the life of Hawthorne, a shy and fragile person, immensely dependent on his wife, Sophia Peabody Hawthorne, an artist dedicated to painting and illustration, and the psychological pillar of the marriage, without whom Hawthorne most likely would not have left the legacy he did.

Finally, and returning to the aesthetic question, the text is difficult to read, although I承认 that the fact that it is a translation by Fernando Pessoa helps a great deal. Hawthorne writes extremely well, and when translated by Pessoa, it rises to a level of beauty that is sometimes ecstatic. (Interestingly, it is still not known today why Pessoa translated this work, as it was only found among his documents years after his death.) However, despite being beautiful, the text is hard to "chew", as it is very worked, as if carved by its aesthetic sense rather than its narrative. That is, before ensuring comprehension, Romanticism sought to impact sensually through form, hence the texts appear extensive and labyrinthine, loaded with symbolism, forcing the reader to strive to extract meaning from what they are reading.

Published in VI, with links and images: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2...

2.5 stars.

I really liked the concept behind this story. It was quite interesting to read about the injustice that Hester had to face when she was branded with the Scarlet letter as a form of punishment. The idea of a mark of shame for adultery is a powerful one.

However, I have to say that I didn't think Nathaniel Hawthorne did a very good job in developing the story. Although the premise was intruging, the way it was written left me feeling underwhelmed and, to be honest, rather bored.

I think it might be interesting to read a retelling of this story. Maybe someone could put a new spin on it and bring the characters and the plot to life in a more engaging way. It has the potential to be a really great story, but as it stands, it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Let me commence my review by openly admitting that I am culpable and perhaps should don a large "P" (signifying "preoccupied") on my chest. In a prior review, I expressed my concern that if I were not in the appropriate frame of mind and in a suitable setting, I might not be able to relish Dickens's Great Expectations. As it turns out, that wasn't the case. However, for The Scarlet Letter, this might be one of the reasons I didn't enjoy the book as much and gave it a 3-star rating. I was in the midst of preparations to relocate to a new place, had numerous decisions to make, and desired to resolve everything as promptly as possible.

So, perhaps this is the kind of book that requires one to be in a proper mood and mental state to truly appreciate, as it has such a distinct and unique atmosphere. To be entirely fair, though, I began The Odyssey around the same time and had no difficulty concentrating and setting aside life's concerns while delving into the story of Ulysses.

That is not to say that I didn't enjoy or couldn't recognize certain positive aspects of this book. It is a fascinating exploration of how people with their moral compasses can be influenced by sin and guilt, especially within a highly puritanical society. The scenes where Hester and Arthur meet in the woods and are finally alone are exquisitely written, and we finally get a glimpse of the love that led them to severe penitence.

Speaking of that, I simply cannot fathom the fact that Hester, a married woman whose husband is long absent, is sentenced to wear the letter "A" (standing for "adultery") sewn to her clothing, on her bosom, to be publicly and continuously humiliated, yet she doesn't simply decide to leave New England for good with her daughter. It makes no sense to me that she would agree to such a thing and raise her daughter in that, at the very least, unsound environment.

The highlight for me revolves around Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale's internal conflict. It is highly captivating to witness how a secret, and the guilt surrounding it, so well concealed, could inflict a physical wound. Not to mention the religion vs. sin conundrum: the fact that Arthur was so deeply devoted to his God and his principles that a spiritual ailment would ultimately lead to serious consequences and prove to be his downfall is, quite simply, a very rich topic for writing and contemplation.

In the book's conclusion, we learn that Hester, after being away for some time (which, again, is what she should have done from the opening scene), returns and once more wears the scarlet letter on her bosom.

  "But there was a more real life for Hester Prynne, here, in New England, than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home. Here had been her sin; here, her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence. She had returned, therefore, and resumed--of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would have imposed it--resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale. Never afterwards did it quit her bosom."

Although I can admire the author's beautiful prose, I still cannot understand or empathize with Hester's motives. I can't help but wish that Hawthorne had shone the same light on Hester Pryne as James did while painting Isabel Archer’s portrait.

Rating: 3 stars.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is often a writer that people find it easy to dislike.

He comes across as stuffy and overly moralistic, constantly using the word "thou" which can make readers want to roll their eyes. And if you happened to read him in ninth grade, which is a time when eyerolling reaches its peak, it doesn't help matters.

Hawthorne loves to rant about how awful the Puritans were, perhaps due to his own guilt over having an ancestor involved in the Salem witch burnings - his personal secret shame. But the Puritans were such joyless and uptight individuals that there's plenty of room to criticize them and still be a prig oneself, which Hawthorne is. He also has a tendency to refer to Natives as savages and makes comments like "Women derive a pleasure, incomprehensible to the other sex, from the delicate toil of the needle." This may not have been an uncommon sentiment in 1850 when the Brontes were writing, but many other writers had already moved past such bullshit.

Starting "The Scarlet Letter" with a framing story that consists of 50 deadly pages of complaining about his crappy job at a customs house doesn't do him any favors either. It's a terrible choice and a good litmus test for your high school English teacher. If they defend this awful intro, they're probably not a very good teacher.

Despite all these reasons to dislike Hawthorne, "The Scarlet Letter" is a five-star book. This is because of the sheer power of its central image.

Hawthorne was obsessed with symbolism, as can be seen by looking into his stupid dark woods. The scarlet letter itself, his central symbol, may not be as powerful as Melville's Whale, and this isn't as good a book as "Moby-Dick", but it does have its own power. Like the Whale, it can mean different things to different people and is versatile enough to serve any function. Hawthorne was specifically talking about religious hypocrisy, but any kind of hypocrisy - whether secret or public shame - can fit perfectly.

The story itself is almost perfect (assuming you skip the shitty framing story). Hawthorne's pace and language never waver. It moves quickly and ends when it should. He's also a very visual writer, with images like Dimmesdale standing on the scaffold in the middle of the night in the "Minister's Vigil" chapter being truly awesome.

Like "Moby-Dick", "The Scarlet Letter" is basically inscrutable. There's major debate over how much Hawthorne believes his own bullshit. Was he a Puritan at heart? He moralizes like one, but some critics like Arthur Symons say he had the Puritan sense of sin in his blood, while Henry James argues that he deals with Puritan values from a point of view of entertainment and irony. The question is, how much irony is there? My own sense is that Hawthorne struggled with this himself, being both a humorless old prick and smart enough to realize it. "The Scarlet Letter" isn't sure how seriously it should take itself.

Henry James and possibly your ninth grade English teacher are trying to convince you that Hawthorne is more fun than he seems, but this isn't true. He's not fun at all. However, he's still great! This is a great book, and the reason the great scarlet A is a universally-understood reference is because it's such a great thing to have come up with. None of Hawthorne's other writing is up to this level, and neither is most other writing. So skip the intro, but this book is the real deal.

Time for a reread! I read this in high school.

I vividly remember liking The Scarlet Letter when I first read it during my high school days. I was fortunate to have a great teacher, and our classroom discussions were incredibly lively. We delved into topics like love, sex, and adultery, despite our limited knowledge on these matters. However, that didn't stop us from having our own opinions, hopes, and ideals. After all, we were just fourteen years old. Given that the sex content in the book is not graphic and sex itself is hardly even mentioned, it was a suitable book for our discussions.

Now, approximately fifty years later, as I reread it, what I appreciate the most is the prose. Published in 1850 and描绘 events from a century earlier, the prose style is significantly different from what we are accustomed to today. Although the words the author uses to describe nature, events, and emotions are not the ones we would use nowadays, it was never difficult to understand. I found the writing to be lyrical, almost like prose poetry. There are numerous metaphors, and instead of using just one or two words, the author strings together a whole series of them, yet each word has meaning and serves a purpose. The writing has substance, and I found it to be quite beautiful.

This book, written so many years ago about Puritans with strict religious and moral beliefs, still holds relevance today. It centers on guilt and the need to do penance for one's sins. If we simply substitute the word "sins" with "mistakes" or "errors," we can see that the weight of one's conscience can be heavier to bear than the punishment handed out by society's legal institutions or even public opinion. The book also explores what makes public disapproval soften. Its ability to speak to us even today is what makes it a classic.

The book doesn't deliver a sermon; instead, it reflects how people behave. Circumstances may have changed, but human behavior, thinking, and how we treat one another have not.

The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Ian Lynch. I would caution against choosing this particular audiobook. Firstly, it lacks the author's lengthy introduction titled The Custom-House. In this introduction, Hawthorne tells readers that he worked in the Boston Custom House and found a piece of cloth embroidered with the letter "A" there. While Hawthorne did work in the Boston Custom House, the story about finding the embroidered cloth is fictional. Nevertheless, it is around this fictitious cloth that the story is woven. For this reason, the introduction is essential. Moreover, if a portion of a book is removed, the book has been abridged, and listeners should be informed! Another reason not to choose this narration is the tone Lynch uses in the dialog passages. The voices he uses for the female characters are terrible. They are fake, shrill, and exaggerated. Thirdly, the pacing is off; he pauses in the wrong places. Music is played between chapters. You may have a different reaction, but this is my opinion. There are many other narrators to choose from, so I suggest you make a different choice.

While I have a deep passion for reading classics and am often immersed in one, I have discovered that this particular classic, The Scarlet Letter, ranks among my least favorite. It was a reread for me. The first time I read it, I did enjoy it to some extent. However, this time around, I found myself extremely bored.

The story itself is actually quite captivating. Due to adultery, Hester Prynne is regarded as an outcast and has to wear a scarlet letter constantly. Nevertheless, I truly dislike the way Nathaniel Hawthorne narrates the story. He frequently steps back from the actual plot to philosophize and describe, and in this instance, it simply doesn't click.

I was bored for the majority of the book and eagerly anticipated whenever Hawthorne would return to the actual story. I rate this book 2 stars because I find the subject matter very interesting. However, I don't have much regard for Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing style, and I don't think I'll be reading other works by him in the future.

“Así pues, se instigaría a las más jóvenes y puras a que la contemplaran, con la letra escarlata brillando en su pecho [...] y reconocieran en ella la figura, el cuerpo, la realidad del pecado.”

What can I say? I am more than delighted with this reading, and mainly with the prose and the narration that Hawthorne does in this novel.

I had wanted to read The Scarlet Letter since early February of this year, when closing my edition of Moby Dick, I read again that Melville dedicated his masterpiece to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Immediately, I ran to the bookstore for an edition of his best-known work (this one in question), but it was not until the end of April —for one reason or another— that I could get it, and here I am, more than satisfied because the wait has been worth it.

As I said at the beginning, I liked how the author presents the story of this book, his way of narrating from the outside in, that is, first describing the environment, the setting of a fact, and then directly attacking that fact. The atmosphere of the novel, as well as its large number of reflections (many of a religious, metaphysical nature) and symbolisms, is what imparts the force for the story and its development to be executed. However, I must clarify that the religious load is very present throughout the entire work (I don't know how many times the word'sin' is mentioned, but it's many), and this particularly I like, despite my atheism, and it is basically because it interests me to know how these topics were portrayed in past eras; so I suggest taking this data into account in case you are not interested in reading a novel where the religious is very marked, or the opposite as in my case.

Now, from my point of view, I see it like this: I imagine that the scarlet letter is positioned in a middle point, while around it each of the four main characters and those who truly interest the reader are located: Hester Prynne —who has the scarlet letter on her chest— on one side, Pearl (her daughter) on the other, the Reverend Dimmesdale and the doctor Chillingworth last. Thus, the four move throughout the surface where the conflict of the novel will be seen to develop, directly influenced by the scarlet letter. Themes such as hypocrisy, injustice, remorse, revenge, among others, are those that are addressed and developed in the novel and make it work at all times.

In summary, the scarlet letter is what moves the strings in this story, what makes it exist and 'beat', and it is around it that the characters live together, move and face each other, making the final result a great novel, elevated by a lot thanks to the meticulous writing of Hawthorne.

It is true that both the story and its development could have given more (I am aware of this), and if I had to say something negative, it would be that aspect —the deepening of the plot—. However, in my way of thinking, it is likely that if the story extended beyond what it addresses, it would have become unnecessarily long; I feel that the author manages to capture his idea, manages to develop it and concludes in a satisfactory way. Thinking about it more carefully, I would neither subtract nor add pages, the work works as it is. That said, I'm not going to deny the obvious: the number of details and descriptions from the beginning to the end of the book is exorbitant and at times it becomes tiring; another piece of data to take into account.

But in the end, I do highly recommend its reading and that each one draw their own conclusions (one should not judge prematurely like the inhabitants of Salem in this work).

And I end with a phrase that I think is more than accurate:

The Scarlet Letter is not only the protagonist but the heart of the entire novel.