Nathaniel Hawthorne

a cura di I. Bruschi
 
 Set in the 17th century Puritan Boston, it is a classic of American literature.
 Hester Prynne has preceded her husband to Massachusetts, and has had a daughter from an illicit love affair. She is sentenced to wear a scarlet A (adultery) forever. She refuses to reveal her lover’s name but her husband will find out who he is. The ending is rich in dramatic turns of events.
 The Scarlet Letter is a psychological novel which faces themes such as love and hatred, guilt and punishment, rebellion and double-dealing.
 Stimulating inserts about the period and the themes of the novel enrich the book. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Key to Summing-up Activities.
 
 È un classico della letteratura statunitense, ambientato nella Boston puritana del XVII secolo. Hester Prynne ha preceduto nel Massachusetts l’anziano marito, e ha avuto una figlia da una relazione illegittima. È condannata a portare sul petto la lettera A (adultera). Si rifiuta di rivelare il nome dell’amante, ma il marito riuscirà a scoprirlo. Romanzo psicologico ricco di colpi di scena e personaggi dalle forti tinte.

Chapter 1 – The Punishment

Chapter 2 – Hester and Pearl

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Extension: The Puritans’ Way of Life

Chapter 3 – The Leech and His Patient

Chapter 4 – Hester and the Doctor

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Extension: The native Americans in Puritan New England

Chapter 5 – A Forest Walk

Chapter 6 – Conclusion

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Extension: Superstition and Witchcraft in Puritan New England

Summing-up activities

Glossary

1  The Punishment Chapter BEFORE READING 1 What do you think  The Scarlet Letter  in the title is? Choose from the alternatives below.   The first letter of the protagonist s name   A letter connected to a magic ritual   The mark of an event on which the story is based 2 The story you are going to read is set in the Puritan Age (17th century). The picture on the right shows the typical clothing of the Puritans. Match the words in the box with the appropriate item. a. b. c. d. e. f. 3 steeple-crowned hat collar coif apron cloak boots The picture below shows three kinds of punishment inflicted in the Puritan Age. Match each picture with one of the words in the box. pillory   whipping post   gallows ................................................... .......................................... 6 ....................................................... 

The TheScarlet Letter Punishment Chapter 1 O On a certain summer morning, not less than two centuries ago, a crowd of men in sad-coloured clothes and grey, steeplecrowned hats, stood in front of the ugly, wooden building of the prison. The eyes of the inhabitants of Boston   then a little colonial town   were fixed on the closed door. Who or what were these severe Puritans waiting to see? Some noted culprit1 to be put to death? An insolent servant or a naughty child that had to be punished at the whipping-post? A Quaker, or an Indian who had drunk too much white man s fire-water2? Might it be a witch3, like old Mistress Hibbins, the bitter-tempered widow of the magistrate, going to die upon the gallows? In the crowd, there were several women who appeared to take a peculiar interest in the punishment that was going to take place.  Good wives,  said a well-built lady of fifty,  if we women judged such sinners as this Hester Prynne, she would be punished more severely!   People say,  said another,  that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her good pastor, is extremely saddened by the scandal she has thrown upon his congregation.   The magistrates have been too merciful,  added a third matron.  They should have put the brand4 of a hot iron on Hester Prynne s forehead, instead of putting the mark of shame on her dress!   This woman has brought shame upon us all and should die,  cried another female, the ugliest as well as the most pitiless of these self-styled judges.  Mercy on us, good wife,  exclaimed a man in the crowd,  Be silent now, the lock is turning in the prison-door, and here comes Mistress Prynne herself.  1. culprit: one who is guilty of a crime. 2. fire-water: alcoholic drink. 3. witch: a woman practising magic. 4. brand: mark. 7 

Esplora il classico della letteratura statunitense "La lettera scarlatta" con Hester Prynne condannata per adulterio nella Boston puritana delXVII sec

The Scarlet Letter Collana RAINBOWS

Level B1 • Pre-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

The Scarlet Letter

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