There had been American writers before Hawthorne, and American novels before his, but it was The Scarlet Letter that put America on the literary map. Recognized instantly both here and abroad as a universal masterpiece, it stands now with Moby-Dick as one of the two iconic pillars of American literature. Hawthorne took on a risky subject, adultery, and set it in a precarious New World colony governed by Puritans with severely narrow, patriarchal notions. But out of this constricted world steps forth Hester Prynne, a female character like no other who had ever emerged from the printed page. The book made Hawthorne the most celebrated and respected writer in America, and yet, despite his fame and his happy marriage to Sophia Peabody, he seemed to take little joy in life afterward. In this class we will study and discuss in detail his greatest novel, and also consider the author and his complicated relation with himself.

Reading assignments in The Scarlet Letter (any complete edition):

• Class #1  “The Custom House”
• Class #2  Chaps. 1 – 5
• Class #3  Chaps. 6 – 9
• Class #4  Chaps. 10 – 14
• Class #5  Chaps. 15 – 20
• Class #6  Chaps. 21 - 24

Richard Matturro, a native of Rye, New York, holds a doctorate in English with a specialization in Shakespeare and Greek Mythology. After sixteen years at the Albany Times Union, he taught literature at the University of Albany for fourteen years. He is the author of numerous newspaper articles and eight novels.

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