What is the author's purpose in The Scarlet Letter?

Question

please help! =) thanks

Answer 1

Take a look at Wikipedia.org.  It's article on The Scarlet Letter is very accurate and insightful.  It'll give you plenty of analytical help.

Answer 2

I have long thought that Hawthorne's purpose in writing The Scarlet Letter was to expose hypocrisy in the Puritan way of life.

The 'letter' is worn by a woman who remains silent because, I think, her feelings about what she did were pure. The man involved remains silent, I think, because his feelings about his role were not pure, and, in fact, hypocritical.

It has been a long time since I've read about Hester and her 'baby,' but this is what I have also felt for a long time: that the 'purpose' of this book is to show that human beings can be very misunderstood on the surface of a rigid society, and can be made to suffer, but strangely the suffering ends out to be felt more by one whose silence is to hide behind a facade than by one whose silence is to show self-esteem,  love, and strength of character.

Puritanism, in what I think is Hawthorne's view, wasn't a good spiritual path to follow, as it led to unjustified outrage and ridiculous punishment, and not always against the right person.  

Answer 3

Many consider it to be a social commentary.

Answer 4

In terms of .. what? Why he wrote it? What he's trying to prove?

Basically, Hawthorne is trying to portray the physical and psychological effects of having a guilty conscience.  

Answer 5

Thats definitely a subjective question.

I believe that Hawthorne wrote it as a commentary on the nature of people to adhere to their beliefs and reject anything they see as foreign. He uses Hester's sin as a catalyst to the wrath of the townspeople as well as the antagonist Chillingsworth. He draws strong criticisms against Puritanism in general.

Answer 6

To show us what life was like back in his day.

Possibly how revenge isn't any better than the person who committed the crime.

And what the girl before me said.