The Time of the Scarlet Letter: The Puritans
Puritan society in America originated in the early 1600's through a group of protestants who came over from England to escape the Church of England. Puritan society was very strict and conservative due to its highly religious beliefs. Church attendance was mandatory, and if an individual did not attend church regularly he or she was charged a fine. Everybody was expected to do God's work on a constant basis, and if one did not read the bible then he or she was suspected to worship satan; the Puritans were always quick to judge. As reading the bible was a huge part of Puritan society, literacy rates were very high and education was seen as a necessity to do God's work. The Puritan society was characterized by male supremacy. Women were rarely, if ever, allowed to voice their opinion. For the most part they were simply expected to attend church, do God's work, bare and raise children, cook for the family, and clean. Overall, the puritan people drank minimally and singing and dancing was often looked down upon because people were expected to utalize all and any free time they had doing God's work; the duty to do his work was never ending. There are some key differences in the Puritan lifestyle of the early 1600's , however, and that of the mid 1800's, the time in which The Scarlet Letter was written. The Puritans originally believed in basic necesities such as clothing, food, and a house. They did not adorn their clothing in any way and did not believe in luxury or excess decoration. By 1850, however, decoration and luxury was more common. Drinking and having celebrations was also a more common occurance. By the 1850's Puritan society was stuck between the traditions of the past and the acceptance of the ever changing and developing ways of the 1800's.
Even though this is not an exact representation of a witch trial, it does show the strict clothing that was worn in the late 1600's and even the drawing is black and white which depicts the idea of Puritans as not the celebration type.
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The Apostle's CreedI believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.[1] The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [2] church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. The Apostle's Creed was and still is a mandatory speech that the church members must remember. This is also the basis for the Puritan's belief and faith.
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Hawthorne: A Chip on His Shoulder
Hawthorne was part of the Puritan society of the early to mid 1800's, the literary and artisitc time period of the Romantics. The American Romantics movement was characterized by the beliefs of imagination, individualism, emotion, and freedom from boundaries, rules, and societal structure as well as a very new idea of logic and reasoning. All of these ideas challenged religion and religious morals. The time period also embraced the idea that the natural world was naturally good, while human society was filled with corruption. Almost every aspect of the Romantics period countered the strict beliefs and values of the Puritans. Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter was directly influenced by this time period because the story challenges the ideas of societal structure, religious morals, and individualism, all of which are strong characteristics of the Puritan society. As Hawthorne was a literary artist during the Romantics time period, his writing was influenced not only by Romanticism but also by his strong dislike towards the Puritans. Hawthorne's greatgrandfather, Judge Hathorne, was one of the judges from the salem witch trials. He was the only one of which did not ask for forgiveness and confess to his sins of sentencing so many people to death. Hawthorne disliked his association with his grandfather and the Puritans so much that he added a 'W' into his last name to alleviate any association he had with his grandfather. Growing up in the Puritan society during the Romatics time period, Hawthorne developed grievances towards the Puritan's such as a dislike towards their hypocracy and constant judgement. Because of these grievances, Hawthorne wroteThe Scarlet Letter, challenging the Puritan lifestyle.
Works Cited
Wikipedia.org
Images:
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/craftscourt.jpg
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/people/jhathorngrv.jpg
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/people/jhathlong1.jpg
http://www.apuritansmind.com/creeds-and-confessions/the-apostles-creed
Wikipedia.org
Images:
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/craftscourt.jpg
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/people/jhathorngrv.jpg
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/people/jhathlong1.jpg
http://www.apuritansmind.com/creeds-and-confessions/the-apostles-creed