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The Scarlet Letter: Nature vs. Nurture

Year 2014, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 267 - 284, 01.12.2014

Abstract

The article focuses on the importance of place and how it informs the narrative in The Scarlet
Letter. Each major place is considered: the town, the governor’s mansion, and the forest. Examining the
characters of the novel and their response to nature and culture shows how they identify and react to their
moral identity. The juxtaposition of characters like Pearl, Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale, Mr. Wilson, and
their varied surroundings offers unique critical study. By looking at how we respond to place, we can come
to a greater understanding of the contrast and comparison of nature versus culture and ultimately how we
define each.

References

  • Alpen, James L., “Yeat’s Bird-Soul Symbolism,” Twentieth Century Literature, 6/3 (October 1960), pp.117-22. Alpers, Paul, “What is Pastoral?,” Critical Inquiry, 8/3 (Spring 1982), pp.437-60. Banfield, Ann, “The Moral Landscape of Mansfield Park,” Ninteenth-Century Fiction, 26/1 (June 1971), pp.1-24. Bercovitch, Sacvan, The Office of The Scarlet Letter (Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 1992) Blair, Sara, “Cultural Geography and the Place of the Literary,” American Literary History, 10/3 (Autumn 1998), pp.544-67. Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation, Book I, Ch. 9 (written 1630-50; first published 1856; reprinted in Sculley Bradley et al., eds., The American Tradition in Literature, Vol. I, 3rd edition; New York: Norton, 1967). Briggs, K. M., “The English Fairie,” Folkore, 68/1 (March 1957), pp.270-87. Byerly, Alison, “The Uses of Landscape: The Picturesque Aesthetic and The National Park System,” N. pag. Rpt. in The Ecocristicism Reader: Landmarks In Literary Ecology. Ed. Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm. (Athens: The University of Georgia, 1996) Campbell, Joseph, Power of Myth (New York: Anchor Books, 1991) Cohen, H. Hirsch, “David and Batsheba,” Journal of Bible and Religion, 33/2 (April 1965), pp.142-48. Colacurcio, Michael J., “Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson: The Context of The Scarlet Letter,” ELH, 39/3 (1972), pp.459-94. Culter, Hugh C. and Thomas W. Whitaker, “History and Distribution of The Cultivated Cucurbits In The Americas,” American Antiquity, 26/4 (1961), pp.469-85. Foster, Charles H., “Hawthorne’s Literary Theory,” PMLA, 57/1 (1942),pp.241-54. Godwin, David, Godwin’s Cabalistic Encyclopedia A Complete Guide To Cabalistic Magick (St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications) 1994. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, The Scarlet Letter (Signet Classics) (New York: Signet Classics, 1999) Levack, Brian, Gender and Witchcraft (New Perspectives on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology, Volume 4). (New York: Routledge, 2001) McNamara, Anne Marie, “The Character of Flame: The Function of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter,” American Literature, 27/4 (January 1956), pp.537-53. Murray, W. A., “What Was the Soul of the Apple?,” Review of English Studies, 10/38 (May 1959), pp.141-55. Ryan, J. S., “German Mythology Applied: The Extension of the Literary Folk Memory.” Folklore, 77/1 (Spring 1966), pp.45-59. Ryken, Leland, Worldly Saints (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990) Ryskamp, Charles, “The New England Sources of The Scarlet Letter,” American Literature, 31/3 (1959), pp.257-72. Shreve, Gregory M., “Nature and Language: A Semiotic Study of Cucurbits in Literature.” Rev. of Book. American Anthropologist March 1983: 200. Print. Standen, Edith A., “The Tapestries,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 18/3 (November 1959), pp.96-111. Stubbs, John C., “The Scarlet Letter”: The Theory of Romance,” PMLA 83/5 (October 1968), pp.1439-447. Turner, Frederick, “The Art of Nature,” Lapham’s Quarterly (November 2015), http://www.laphamsquarterly. org/book-nature/art-nature. Zimbardo, Philip, The Lucifer Effect Understanding How Good People Turn Evil (New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008).

The Scarlet Letter: Nature vs. Nurture

Year 2014, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 267 - 284, 01.12.2014

Abstract

References

  • Alpen, James L., “Yeat’s Bird-Soul Symbolism,” Twentieth Century Literature, 6/3 (October 1960), pp.117-22. Alpers, Paul, “What is Pastoral?,” Critical Inquiry, 8/3 (Spring 1982), pp.437-60. Banfield, Ann, “The Moral Landscape of Mansfield Park,” Ninteenth-Century Fiction, 26/1 (June 1971), pp.1-24. Bercovitch, Sacvan, The Office of The Scarlet Letter (Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 1992) Blair, Sara, “Cultural Geography and the Place of the Literary,” American Literary History, 10/3 (Autumn 1998), pp.544-67. Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation, Book I, Ch. 9 (written 1630-50; first published 1856; reprinted in Sculley Bradley et al., eds., The American Tradition in Literature, Vol. I, 3rd edition; New York: Norton, 1967). Briggs, K. M., “The English Fairie,” Folkore, 68/1 (March 1957), pp.270-87. Byerly, Alison, “The Uses of Landscape: The Picturesque Aesthetic and The National Park System,” N. pag. Rpt. in The Ecocristicism Reader: Landmarks In Literary Ecology. Ed. Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm. (Athens: The University of Georgia, 1996) Campbell, Joseph, Power of Myth (New York: Anchor Books, 1991) Cohen, H. Hirsch, “David and Batsheba,” Journal of Bible and Religion, 33/2 (April 1965), pp.142-48. Colacurcio, Michael J., “Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson: The Context of The Scarlet Letter,” ELH, 39/3 (1972), pp.459-94. Culter, Hugh C. and Thomas W. Whitaker, “History and Distribution of The Cultivated Cucurbits In The Americas,” American Antiquity, 26/4 (1961), pp.469-85. Foster, Charles H., “Hawthorne’s Literary Theory,” PMLA, 57/1 (1942),pp.241-54. Godwin, David, Godwin’s Cabalistic Encyclopedia A Complete Guide To Cabalistic Magick (St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications) 1994. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, The Scarlet Letter (Signet Classics) (New York: Signet Classics, 1999) Levack, Brian, Gender and Witchcraft (New Perspectives on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology, Volume 4). (New York: Routledge, 2001) McNamara, Anne Marie, “The Character of Flame: The Function of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter,” American Literature, 27/4 (January 1956), pp.537-53. Murray, W. A., “What Was the Soul of the Apple?,” Review of English Studies, 10/38 (May 1959), pp.141-55. Ryan, J. S., “German Mythology Applied: The Extension of the Literary Folk Memory.” Folklore, 77/1 (Spring 1966), pp.45-59. Ryken, Leland, Worldly Saints (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990) Ryskamp, Charles, “The New England Sources of The Scarlet Letter,” American Literature, 31/3 (1959), pp.257-72. Shreve, Gregory M., “Nature and Language: A Semiotic Study of Cucurbits in Literature.” Rev. of Book. American Anthropologist March 1983: 200. Print. Standen, Edith A., “The Tapestries,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 18/3 (November 1959), pp.96-111. Stubbs, John C., “The Scarlet Letter”: The Theory of Romance,” PMLA 83/5 (October 1968), pp.1439-447. Turner, Frederick, “The Art of Nature,” Lapham’s Quarterly (November 2015), http://www.laphamsquarterly. org/book-nature/art-nature. Zimbardo, Philip, The Lucifer Effect Understanding How Good People Turn Evil (New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008).
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Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Trenton Mckay Judson This is me

Publication Date December 1, 2014
Published in Issue Year 2014 Volume: 11 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Judson, T. M. (2014). The Scarlet Letter: Nature vs. Nurture. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(2), 267-284.

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