The Scarlet Letter

The works of Nathaniel Hawthorne seem rather dated when one first reads him, but if one can forget about the rather severe, archaic style then there still are gems to be found in some of his novels, especially "The Scarlet Letter". His other large novel, "House of Seven Gables" (1851), I deem obsolete except to his most avid fans. It is about severe hereditary guilt, just as "The Scarlet Letter" is about sexual and nuptial guilt.

Suffering seems to have been the main thread in Nathaniel Hawthorne's life as well as his works. When his father died of yellow ...