I just re-read this book for my classics book discussion group, and while I remember loving it in high school, I cannot possibly imagine why. I still like the story, but the style was not at all to my taste. Mayhap I have become too Austenified and too much of an Anglophile to really appreciate good old American lit??
Whatever the reason, I have dropped this one down to 3 stars.

Restons dans la même période et plus ou moins le même cercle que Thoreau et son Walden, avec Hawthorne et le grand classique de la littérature américaine, la société puritaine des colonies de New England et le bien, le mal et tout le toutim.
Le bien le mal, enfin, plutôt le pêché et la rédemption. Le secret, la pénitence.
Bon, je regrette de ne pas avoir lu le livre d'un coup, mais plutôt par à-coups en plusieurs semaines, ce qui a franchement nuit à la fluidité de ma perception de l'histoire dans son intégralité.
Une écriture fluide, malgré de nombreuses réflexions métaphysico-religieuses ponctuant la narration, suivant des personnages que l'on sent pris sans espoir dans le grand tourbillon du secret sans présage de fin positive.
J'ai surtout apprécié les descriptions magnifiques de paysages et de scènes presque cinématographiques, les premières souvent liées à Pearl, fruit du pêché d'Hester et du prêtre, les secondes liées à Hester confrontée à la communauté, en masse ou en petit comité.
On retrouve les thèmes liés à la religion, aucun heureux, hormis celui de l'aide à la communauté, d'autant plus austères que tout se déroule dans le Boston puritain, mais également l'idée de différence de l'individu confronté à la communauté, la mise en opposition de l'humain et de la Nature (Wilderness), cette dernière associée au Mal... mais pas toujours ! Encore à travers Pearl, on peut y lire une harmonie que l'on ne retrouve pas à travers les yeux des autres personnages.

Mais pour moi, l'intérêt résidait vraiment dans l'introduction, à la fois source de confusion par les thèmes abordés, la vie de l'auteur, les changements dans sa vie, l'éloignement des transcendantalistes, mais également brillante par sa richesse, posant un arrière plan historique, religieux, les détails sur la structure des instances gouvernementales de Salem, Massachusetts, des personnalités militaires, politiques, religieuses, littéraires...

Très intéressant, plutôt lisible... mériterait que je m'y penche à nouveau sans me laisser distraire par Rick Bass et ses compères naturalistes !

I was first introduced to this by my English teacher, who was (and still is) desperately trying to get me to love American Literature. Before someone has a go at me, I don't hate American Literature. I actually read a lot of it. It's more the typical, heavily American books that frustrate me, where America is so blatantly there that it is almost cliché. Gatsby I'm looking at you. Hence, my slow dislike for idealised American Literature. If it's written by an American author, but it isn't overly obvious that it is set in America, I'm happy. Hence, my absolute adoration for The Scarlett Letter.

I first heard about it from watching Easy A, a rom-com film with Emma Stone in it. It's hilarious, but the whole plot evolves around the wearing of an 'A', as seen in the Scarlett Letter, and the harsh reality of society when it comes to accusations. Essentially, this is the plot for The Scarlett Letter.

The Scarlett Letter focuses on the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who is labelled as an adulterer for sleeping with a man while married, hence becoming pregnant. Set during the Puritan years of 1642 to 1649, we see Hester Prynne develop into a deep, and emotional character. She is forced to wear a red 'A' on her chest (it, at first stands for Adulterer), hence forcing public humiliation on her as her punishment after being found guilty. We follow her guilt, her acceptance, her love for her daughter, and the daughters growth from ignorance to understanding concerning her mothers status. Pearl, the daughter, is a brilliant character: moody, mischievous but undoubtedly the character that gives us the most interesting insights into the adult characters. She's at the age where she asks pointed questions, not knowing their impact, hence revealing emotions and key plot areas that are gained so innocently.

The forefront of the novel deals with the impact of guilt and sin on someone's life. We witness Hester live with her punishment of continual public humiliation, and you see her struggle to make a respectable life for her and her daughter. This humiliation allows her to get a very strong, and different insight into humanity. Most novels are written from the point of view of a person in the middle of events. The Scarlett Letter shows the power of separation and stigma, and how it can shed new light on society and it's actions/views. Although we feel for Hester Prynne, I felt more sorrow for the elderly Puritan minister, Dimmesdale, who struggles with the sin he has committed. His health rapidly deteriorates as he tries to come to terms with his sin, and we see his desperate attempts to reason with himself: does he tell society in one of his sermons and therefore be free of guilt, or does he live with it, even though it's destroying his health yet keep his positive public image.

If you want to know his sin, you can click on the show/hide button below:

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Less so, we see the way society evolves in it's views of things, or more particularly people. Originally, the 'A' on Hester's breast is widely known to mean 'adulterer', but this comes into discrepancy as the novel develops. Through trying to make a better life for her daughter, regardless of her position, the symbolic 'A' becomes increasingly ambiguous. Some people view it as 'angel', due to the good things she's done, some view it as 'Able'. More so, it shows how society's views are meaningless - they are only a social construct.

For me, what made The Scarlett Letter stand out was it's language. It's one of those books where you just sit, read a few pages, and marvel at the beauty of the English language. Hawthorne has a way of writing that is an art form, it is not just a communication device. It is a piece of art. You can tell every word is perfectly placed, whole-heartedly thought about and placed in the exact position it should be. Not only does it have an amazing, heartfelt plot, the language is phenomenal. It's like a whirlwind of beauty, mixed in with a beautiful plot that makes it a truly amazing novel.

Read it to better understand literature, our world, American culture and what life used to be for women.

The rating is for the audio production, not the book itself. See my review on Audible if you are considering buying this audiobook.

**uni read - american fiction**
I definitely liked this book more than I thought I would, and it truly was an incredibly interesting read. Not one of my favourite books ever but definitely one that I would read again.

On my top five list.