A Red-Hot A and a Lusting Divine: Sources for The Scarlet LetterFrederick Newberry
The history of the scarlet letter A is unclear. Some say Nathaniel Hawthorne was influenced by, "Endicott and the Red Cross", but that law was from 1694. The Scarlet Letter takes place earlier sometime during the 1640's. Others say that Hawthorne might have been a little more creative than originally thought. "As if the letter were not of red cloth, but red-hot iron", a quote from the custom house begins to take meaning when we look back into the records. One woman was branded for adultery in October of 1651. That woman was also executed. That woman, named Mary Batcheller had a husband who was also a Reverend. The real life Reverend Stephen Batcheller was quite the opposite of Dimmesdale, and resembled more Chillingsworth.
Newberry, Frederick. "A Red-Hot A and a Lusting Divine: Sources for the Scarlet Letter." The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ed. Leland S. Person. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2005. Print.
The new England Sources of The Scarlet LetterCharles Ryskamp
While in the process of researching, Nathaniel Hawthorne's main source for the New England background during the 1640's was Dr. Caleb H. Snow's History of Boston. Hawthorne used this book for almost every detail he wrote except for the parts he made up. The details that were fiction weren't created because of lack of knowledge but so that his writing would flow better. Nathaniel Hawthorne did so much research that "the Actual and the Imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other" (55)[29]. He also talks about how the audience should be able to realize the reality behind his writing ands that will help the reader understand the passion and guilt behind it. The great detail put into the descriptions and events that Hawthorne writes about is clearly a result of the endless research. Throughout this criticism, Ryskamp compares the dates of actual events to the dates of events in The Scarlet Letter. It is surprising that most of the events that took place are real and the dates described by Nathaniel Hawthorne are also accurate.
Ryskamp, Charles. "The New England Sources of The Scarlet Letter." The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ed. Leland S. Person. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2005. Print.
