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charity_royall_331 's review for:
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Also 1 October 1995 (4 stars)
I liked this less 20 years later: it seemed overwrought. Hawthorne makes much of Hester's suffering and isolation, but to me, she seemed content to live privately with Pearl, and despite the supposed shame of her "crime," I thought her fellow townspeople showed her more respect than scorn. Dimmesdale is just an idiot, not a martyr or the hypocrite he reproaches himself for being. Not worthy of a woman like Hester, who seems very self-possessed. Pearl steals the whole book. Too bad there was no sequel; it's fun to imagine what becomes of such a high-spirited kid in a repressive age.
I liked this less 20 years later: it seemed overwrought. Hawthorne makes much of Hester's suffering and isolation, but to me, she seemed content to live privately with Pearl, and despite the supposed shame of her "crime," I thought her fellow townspeople showed her more respect than scorn. Dimmesdale is just an idiot, not a martyr or the hypocrite he reproaches himself for being. Not worthy of a woman like Hester, who seems very self-possessed. Pearl steals the whole book. Too bad there was no sequel; it's fun to imagine what becomes of such a high-spirited kid in a repressive age.