Summary of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Intro Summary Analysis Themes Characters Symbolism Introduction: The novel The Scarlet Letter begins with an account of how the book was written. The unnamed narrator, a surveyor at the customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts, found documents in the attic, including a manuscript bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered "A" patch. Written by a previous surveyor, the manuscript details events from around two centuries prior. After losing his customs post, the narrator decided to turn the manuscript’s events into fiction, producing The Scarlet Letter . The Story Begins: Set in 17th-century Boston, a Puritan settlement, the story opens with Hester Prynne, a young woman, emerging from prison holding her infant daughter, Pearl, and wearing the scarlet letter "A" as punishment for adultery. A townsman explains to an elderly observer that Hester's husband, a scholar who had sent her ahead to America, never arrived. Presumed lost, Hester, during his absence, had an affair resulting…