Zapata 1 History and Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne envisioned The Scarlet Letter as a short story to be published in a collection, but it outgrew that purpose. Most critics accept Hawthorne's definition of it as a romance rather than as a novel. It usually appears with an introductory autobiographical essay, "The Custom House", in which Hawthorne describes working in his ancestral village, Salem, Massachusetts, as a customs officer. Hawthorne describes coming across certain …showed first 75 words of 1904 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1904 total…of redemption and resolution, emphasizes the importance of the emotions in a richly lived and moral life (Kingsley 33). In this way, Zapata 7 Hawthorne seems to bring two opposites together. Pearl, as a younger, virginal version of her mother, neutralizes the threat Hester initially posed. Hawthorne brings the possibility of sensual and feeling feminine character back into the realm of moral life by using important historical similarities and expanding them to fit his characters and theme.