“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the creative mind of Ivan Turgenev: from reading to explication

Abstract

The paper addresses the problem of Ivan Turgenev’s perception of the literary work of Nathaniel Hawthorne. For the Russian writer, the turn of the 1840s and the 1850s was a time of crisis of artistic manner. During a period of intense creative reflection, the writer came across Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter” with its blend of romantic and realistic traits of the characters. It was the London edition (1852), its pages still bearing nail and pencil marks revealing a sensitive perception and understanding of the romantic world of puritan Boston and the ways of its artistic recreation. The Russian writer discovers the image of Esther and the pictures of nature intended to reveal her character. In addition, Turgenev acquires the author’s complex allegory embracing the images of Pearl and the letter “A.” The marks on the pages of The Scarlet Letter trace a creative perception of the novel manifested when Turgenev worked on “Rudin” (1856). The pages of Turgenev’s first novel provide a picture of Russian reality, with important questions about the social and spiritual life of society being addressed. This prioritization reflects the impact of “The Scarlet Letter”. “Rudin” echoes Hawthorne’s novel, both in the general framing of the moral and philosophical issues and the specificity of the main characters.