Hawthorne says that he found the script of Hester's life in the Custom House attic.
Nathaniel Hawthorne found inspiration for his writing while working at the customs house in Salem, Massachusetts. He used his experiences and observations there to create settings and characters in his famous novel, "The Scarlet Letter."
The word "mountebank" is found in Chapter 20 of "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is used to describe Mistress Hibbins, the Governor's sister.
Hawthorne admits to changing the emotional tone and details of Hester and Dimmesdale's relationship in his version of "The Scarlet Letter" compared to what he found in the diary. He portrays their interactions as more passionate and dramatic to enhance the novel's narrative.
In the prologue to the story Hawthorne says that he found the Scarlett Letter preserved in the archives of the Salem Historical Society. Whether this is true or only more fiction is for the reader to decide.
he thought The Scarlet Letter was too short to print by itselfHawthorne chose to include the Custom House to add "validity" to his work. It was to express where the underlying tone of the book was coming from (being that of isolation)."Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in a small house three blocks from the Custom House. By the 1840s, he was a well known author, but he found it difficult to support his family on his writing. Fortunately, his best friend was Franklin Pierce, who later became President of the United States. Pierce and other friends in the Democratic Party got the job of Surveyor for Hawthorne (who had worked for the Customs Service in Boston a few years earlier) in 1846. With the change in administration from the Democratic to the Whig Party in 1848, however, Hawthorne lost his job after a painful and prolonged fight to continue as Surveyor.He turned the pain, anger, and betrayal he felt into his first great novel, 'The Scarlet Letter.' In the introduction to the novel, he describes the Salem Custom House and pretends to find the story among the papers of a previous surveyor."
he thought The Scarlet Letter was too short to print by itselfHawthorne chose to include the Custom House to add "validity" to his work. It was to express where the underlying tone of the book was coming from (being that of isolation)."Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in a small house three blocks from the Custom House. By the 1840s, he was a well known author, but he found it difficult to support his family on his writing. Fortunately, his best friend was Franklin Pierce, who later became President of the United States. Pierce and other friends in the Democratic Party got the job of Surveyor for Hawthorne (who had worked for the Customs Service in Boston a few years earlier) in 1846. With the change in administration from the Democratic to the Whig Party in 1848, however, Hawthorne lost his job after a painful and prolonged fight to continue as Surveyor.He turned the pain, anger, and betrayal he felt into his first great novel, 'The Scarlet Letter.' In the introduction to the novel, he describes the Salem Custom House and pretends to find the story among the papers of a previous surveyor."
it's nowhere to be found...
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born and raised a puritan. As he became older, he researched his ancestors and saw what Puritanism had done for them. Some of his ancestors were victims of the Salem witch trials and had faced persecution for being witches. This lead Hawthorne to become a critic of Puritanism He remained a puritan because he found aspects of the religion that he liked, but he also detested many of their harsh, cruel laws that they created. Hawthorne expressed his criticism in many short stories he wrote as well as The Scarlet Letter. there is some more detailed information about Hawthorne and puritanism at http:/bronski.net/works/hawthorne.html The above information is incorrect. Hawthorne DID NOT have ancestors that were victims of the trials, although his ancestors were involved. His great-great-grandfather was John Hathorne, a judge in the trials. Hawthorne felt somewhat guilty about the actions of his ancestors, and later in life added a "W" to the spelling of his name ("Hathorne" to "Hawthorne") as a method of self-differentiation. Some of his works, such as The Scarlet Letter, are a condemnation of the draconian aspects of Puritan law, which humanized those persecuted by his ancestors (suspected witches, criminals, and other sinners, especially those who committed sexual sins, such as adultery)
Hester Prynne was sentenced to wear The Scarlet Letter in 1642 by the Puritan leaders in the Massachusetts Bay Colony after being found guilty of committing adultery.
Everywhere Hester from "The Scarlet Letter" looked, she found only condemnation from her townspeople.
One pun in The Scarlet Letter occurs when the character Dimmesdale comments on his own guilt, saying it has "a black weeds a twist in his heart," which is a play on words as "weeds" may refer to both unwanted plants and to twisted or tangled threads. Another pun is found in the title itself, as the "scarlet letter" serves as both a literal punishment and a symbol of shame.
Hester's sin is officially ruled as fornication - sex outside of marriage - because her husband is believed to be dead. Had she been convicted of adultery, she would have been put to death rather than just wearing the "A". However, the "A" stands for adulterer.