From social rebellion to ambiguous conformism: a study of reform and history in The Scarlet Letter

Abstract

One of the central questions Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) endeavors to address in his major novels is how social reform can be informed by historical consciousness. In view of this consistent subject in Hawthorne’s works, this essay attempts to explore the inextricable relationship between Hawthorne’s reformist impulse and his strong awareness of the past in his major novel, The Scarlet Letter. By focusing on both the necessity of reform and the exigency of the historical sense in Hawthorne’s works, this essay argues that the significance of his contribution to American literature is better understood if special emphasis is placed on how his political and historical concerns interact in his major novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s return signifies a transformation from social rebel to conformist, which is designed to illustrate a revised and democratic relationship between self and community, although it fails to lead to full reconciliation between the two. I argue that the dialectical connection between Hawthorne’s reformist impulses and historical consciousness resolves the acute conflicts between self and society in this novel.