I became a little familiar with the story many years ago when I watched a movie of the same name with Demi Moore. Since I could hardly remember a thing about that film and the name of the novel quite often appears in various lists of important works of literature, I've decided to give it a try. I believe that the main focus of the movie was the adulterous affair between the main characters, so I expected some sort of a love story with a tragic ending. It was not the case.

Unlike the movie, a significant part of which is devoted to the development of the relationship between the priest and Hester Pryne, "The Scarlet letter" begins after that relationship had tragically ended. A resident of God-fearing puritan community, Hester, whose affair with the priest ended with her getting pregnant, is sentenced to wearing a letter A, which stands for "adultery," on her chest for the rest of her life. A scene of her standing on the scaffold, with the letter on her chest and a baby daughter in her arms, opens the narration.

The conflict of the story revolves around four main characters: the wearer of the letter A, Hester; her lover, Dimmersdale, who happens to be the most revered clergyman in the community; her husband, who has been missing for the past two years and now swears to avenge his honor by destroying the man who stole his wife; Perl, Hester's illegitimate child. "The Scarlet Letter" covers seven years of the main characters' life and is concerned with Hester dealing with her ignominy, the priest being tortured by his conscience, and the husband trying to uncover the truth.

The novel was written in mid-nineteenth century, and this is easy to tell from Hawthorn's manner of writing. In it, the author explores social and religious norms of Puritanical society, as well as the ways in which sin can affect people. His style is often convoluted and rather formal; the story is somber and moves very slowly. The characters and their actions are often exaggerated to the point of ceasing to be believable. Overall, "The Scarlet Letter" was definitely not a page turner, and while it is undoubtedly a solid and meaningful work of literature, I found it to be a chore, not an enjoyment.

Осталось прочитать 29 книг списка на 2010 год