Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Get everything you can out of your time reading the classics with the Christian Guides to the Classics Series!

Leland Ryken provides a clear pathway to understanding the "Great Works" through this engaging series of short guidebooks. Beginning with "why the classics matter" and "the nature and function of literature," readers will find a helpful path to reading and analyzing influential works in the Western canon.

Each book:

Includes an introduction to the author and work

Explains the cultural context

Incorporates published criticism

Defines key literary terms

Contains discussion questions at the end of each unit of the text

Lists resources for further study

Evaluates the classic text from a Christian worldview.

This guide opens up the signature book of American literature, Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, and unpacks its universal themes of sin, guilt, and redemption.

1. Opening Credits
2. The Nature and Function of Literature
3. Why the Classics Matter
4. How to Read a Story
5. The Scarlet Letter: The Book at a Glance
6. The Author and His Faith
7. Chapter 1: The Prison-Door
8. Chapter 2: The Market-Place
9. Chapter 3: The Recognition
10. Chapter 4: The Interview
11. Chapter 5: Hester at Her Needle
12. Chapter 6: Pearl
13. Chapter 7: The Governor’s Hall
14. Chapter 8: The Elf-Child and the Minister
15. Chapter 9: The Leech
16. Chapter 10: The Leech and His Patient
17. Chapter 11: The Interior of a Heart
18. Chapter 12: The Minister’s Vigil
19. Chapter 13: Another View of Hester
20. Chapter 14: Hester and the Physician
21. Chapter 15: Hester and Pearl
22. Chapter 16: A Forest Walk
23. Chapter 17: The Pastor and His Parishioner
24. Chapter 18: Flood of Sunshine
25. Chapter 19: The Child at the Brook-Side
26. Chapter 20: The Minister in a Maze
27. Chapter 21: The New England Holiday
28. Chapter 22: The Procession
29. Chapter 23: The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter
30. Chapter 24: Conclusion
31. Closing Credits