charlesbbaker
The Scarlet Reader
This post focuses on the culture of Puritanical America in which the story takes place
The Scarlet Letter is a book that brings a terror to most students when they first hear of it. Described by high school seniors as the most dense, bland book they have read, it strikes a fear that may only be matched by Tale of Two Cities. Needless to say I was displeased with the idea of being forced to read it. This apprehension was swayed when I was told we would blog about the book when we read it. This was a project format I had never experienced before. We were assigned groups, and we went off to study different parts of background information, in order to further give us a further understanding of the story before we began to read. I was given the task to research Puritan culture as to gain an understanding on motives of characters in the story. Because this is about their culture, I will not be going in depth about their history.
Puritan culture is most heavily based on religion, as they follow a Calvinist doctrine. Their belief system can be laid out in the acronym of Tulip:
T: Total Depravity- the extensive ruin of mans nature and how man is flawed in mind, body, and soul.
U: Unconditional Election– God only saves those he wishes, predestination.
L: Limited Atonement – Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone.
I: Irresistible Grace – Gods grace omnipresent and cannot be earned or denied.
P: Perseverance of the Saints – The elected have the power to interpret god’s will. (Ruben)
The Puritans were also interested in the concept of Typology, where God’s intentions are apparent in human action and natural phenomenon. Those who fail to see these intentions are flawed by human limitations. Puritans also felt that history was cyclical, and types of saints and leaders would repeat. This can be shown in the parallel between Moses and John Winthrop, as both lead people away from religious oppression. Typology also talked about how God’s wrath and reward are present in natural phenomena like bountiful harvest, famine, flooding, locusts, and storms(Ruben).
Puritans were also constantly aware of their status in the eyes of god, and they were constantly fearful of backsliding. Backsliding is when a person who is saved falls to temptation. To avoid this, members of the church were told to stay modest, continue to soul search, constantly pray, and to be introspective.
Before writing this, I was informed that the story would revolve around a woman who was punished because of adultery. With this knowledge, I have decided to look at the punitive system In Puritan America.
To start, I will look at the laws that merit capital punishment. Puritan America is famous for the Salem witch trials, so it is fitting that one of the crimes that falls under this category is witchcraft. Other laws include worshiping false idols, men committing adultery (the mistress is also killed), murder, bestiality, homosexuality, theft, being a false witness in a capital case, and treason(“Capital Crimes in Puritan Massachusetts”). Minor punishments would include being put in the stocks (see picture below) for hours at a time. Being branded for one’s crime (such as a T for thief) was also popular in the time period. The puritans were and incredibly punitive culture (Cox).
“Capital Crimes in Puritan Massachusetts.” The Historic Present. N.p., 06 Sept. 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
Cox, James A. “History.org: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Official History and Citizenship
Website.” Colonial Crimes and Punishments : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History &
Citizenship Site. Colonial Williamsburg, Winter 2002. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.
Reuben, Paul P. “PAL: American Puritanism: A Brief Introduction.” PAL: American Puritanism: A Brief
Introduction. N.p., 19 June 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
The Scarlet Reader 