Monday, June 10, 2013

Teaser Tuesday 176: The Scarlet Letter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


I wasn't planning to read this one next, but since it is the June group read for a classics group at Goodreads, and a friend recently uploaded it to her Nook (one of which she leant me--she actually has three), I found myself (re)reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne over the weekend. I first read this and many of his short stories while in college, and enjoyed reacquainting myself with his work.


"Not thy soul," he answered, with another smile. "No, not thine!"

(Chapter 4)

~*~*~*~

It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. Each, in its utmost development, supposes a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent for the food of his affections and spiritual life upon another; each leaves the passionate lover, or the no less passionate hater, forlorn and desolate by the withdrawal of his object.

(Chapter 24)



FROM GOODREADS:

America’s first psychological novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a dark tale of love, crime, and revenge set in colonial New England. It revolves around a single, forbidden act of passion that forever alters the lives of three members of a small Puritan community: Hester Prynne, an ardent and fierce woman who bears the punishment of her sin in humble silence; the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a respected public figure who is inwardly tormented by long-hidden guilt; and the malevolent Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband—a man who seethes with an Ahab-like lust for vengeance.

The landscape of this classic novel is uniquely American, but the themes it explores are universal—the nature of sin, guilt, and penitence, the clash between our private and public selves, and the spiritual and psychological cost of living outside society. Constructed with the elegance of a Greek tragedy, The Scarlet Letter brilliantly illuminates the truth that lies deep within the human heart.



18 comments:

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

It has been a long time since I read this one...but it was definitely memorable. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

Unknown said...

I remember reading this in school and thinking it would be a whole lot more scandalous than it was...
Here's my Teaser Tuesday Bad Rep
Mei @ Diary of a Fair Weather Diver

Book Blather said...

I haven't read this classic yet, but I did enjoy Easy A,. :-)

Heather said...

Laurel-Rain: Definitely memorable, and it had been a long time since I first read it, too.

Heather said...

Mei: It was probably more scandalous in Hawthorne's time. Thanks for visiting!

Heather said...

Annie: Not yet, huh? I hope that means you're considering it...some day. ;)

Kathy Martin said...

I read this one is high school and am glad I had the experience. I don't, however, intend to repeat the experience. Come see my teasers for Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts and The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke. Happy reading!

Heather said...

Kathy M: Believe me, I wasn't planning on repeating the experience myself, but I do like Hawthorne, and am glad I decided to reaquiant myself with it when it was chosen as a group read.

Jessica @ a GREAT read said...

Ooh nice! Can't remember if I read this one in high school or not. Been wayyyyyy too many reads since then!

Thanks for visiting my teaser!

Alice Audrey said...

I hated The Scarlet Letter. Luckily I didn't have to read it for school. I got through the first couple of chapters, skipped around a bit, and called it good. And that was during the time period when I worked hard to finish reading any book I started.

Beth said...

Intriguing teaser! This is one classic I haven't read yet. Here is my teaser for this week.

Heather said...

Jessica: I think if you had read it, you would remember. If not the entirety of the story, the gist of it, at very least. Thanks for visiting! ;)

Heather said...

Alice: Was it the language that turned you off, or the story in general? When we read Hawthorne in a college American Lit course, we started with a few of his short stories, which I think helped ease us into his linguistic style.

Heather said...

Thanks, Beth! Does that "yet" imply that you might get round to it someday? I've been trying to read a few "missed" classics each year, and lately have even revisited a few. Some I've liked more than others, and a few I've even liked much more than I thought I would.

kayerj said...

great choice on the teaser. I read this book not too long ago and liked it quite a bit.

Heather said...

Kelley: Thanks, I'm glad I decided to re-read the book for the group read. ☺

Alice Audrey said...

The correctly portrayed male chauvinism got to me. I love Tanglewood Tales.

Heather said...

Ah...I can understand that. Those Puritan "values" are what's ticking me off with our current government, esp. here in Wisconsin. Have not read Tanglewood Tales -- yet. ;)