Hester under Scrutiny

127 Pages·2010·0.97 MB·English

Hester under Scrutiny:
Hawthorne’s Heroine
v/s
Joffe’s Cinematic Representation

By
Boukali Dimitra

A dissertation submitted to the Department of
American Literature and Culture, School of English,
Faculty of Philosophy of Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master.
ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI
DECEMBER 2009

Hester under Scrutiny:
Hawthorne’s Heroine
v/s
Joffe’s Cinematic Representation

By Boukali Dimitra
Has been approved
APPROVED
Smaragda Yemenedzi-Malathouni
Savvas Patsalidis
Michalis Kokkonis
Supervisory Committee
ACCEPTED
Youli Theodosiadou

Department Chairperson
Contents

Acknowledgements………………………………………………...i
Abstract………………………………………………………...…….ii
Introduction……………………………………………….........1 – 8
Puritanism…………………………………………...…………9 – 11

Hester Prynne:

The Symbol of Evilness …………..………………........….11 – 17

The “Poor Woman”…………………………………...…....17 – 20

The “Banished Woman”……………...…………….….....20 – 23

Inner and External Beauty………………....................23 – 38

Feminine Instinct and Intelligence………………......38 – 42

The “Earthly Saint” - Motherhood…………………….42 – 53

Hester on Screen:
Introductory Comments……………………………….....53 – 56
The Symbol of Evilness………….………………………..56 – 64
The “Poor Woman”…………………………………..…….64 – 71

The “Banished Woman”……………….………………….71 – 76

Inner and External Beauty…………………………….76 – 88

Feminine Instinct and Intelligence…………………..88 – 91

The “Earthly Saint” - Motherhood………………...….91 – 96

Conclusion……………………………………………….…..98 – 104

Appendix: Pictures………………………………………105 – 115
Bibliography….............................................................116 – 121
i
Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to thank all of my teachers that have made the
postgraduate program of the Department of American Literature and Culture
worthwhile, namely Professor Youli Theodosiadou, Professor Smatie Yemenetzi-
Malathouni, Professor Tatiani Rapatzikou, Professor Domna Pastourmatzi and
Professor Savas Patsalidis. I have learned so much from them, both at academic and
personal level.
I would also like to thank Professor Michael Kokkonis and Professor Savas
Patsalidis for accepting to contribute to the evaluation of this project.
Moreover, I would specifically like to express my gratitude towards Professor
Smatie Yemenetzi-Malathouni, without whom this project would be unattainable. Her
invaluable guidance, advice and feedback have been a true inspiration. I would also
like to thank her for believing in me and my capacities throughout my postgraduate
years, including the process of conducting this paper. I have learned to believe in
myself, a fact to which her contribution has been enormous.
Finally, I would like to thank my family, including Dr Demetrios Xenides, and
friends for their incessant encouragement and patience.
This paper is dedicated to my parents and my sister, who have always stood by
me, supporting my decisions and efforts and reminding me that they are always by my
side.
A
ii
Abstract

This project is a comparison between Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The
Scarlet Letter and its film adaptation by Roland Joffe, focusing on the character of
Hester Prynne. One of its aims is to show how Hawthorne indirectly expresses, via his
heroine, Hester Prynne, his disapproval of the Puritan ways in 1600 Massachusetts,
Boston, although he actually lived in the Puritan society in question. This project will
lay bare that the writer holds a positive attitude towards Prynne, who has committed
adultery, and it will demonstrate his implied compassion and sympathy for her and the
ordeals she is submitted to by the Puritan people, due to her sin. Another aim of this
paper is to highlight the similarities and differences of Hester’s presentation between
the film adaptation and the novel, delving into miscellaneous, but specific, aspects of
the heroine in question; it will be shown that although the director of the film respects
Hawthorne’s narrative and viewpoint about Puritans and Hester, creating himself
sympathy for her, as well, he adjusts the story to his own era, adapting it to the
twentieth century mentality, adding rather daring scenes and presenting the heroine to
correspond to the feminine role-model of the time.
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Introduction
In this paper I attempt a comparison between Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The
Scarlet Letter and its 1995 film adaptation by Roland Joffe, highlighting similarities
and differences between particular issues. To be more specific, I will delve into the
way the character of the protagonist, Hester Prynne, is represented in both works.
There might be some references to other characters as well, but only to serve the
purpose of Prynne’s better presentation. The heroine will be approached from several
different perspectives, as I will explore specific themes concerning her character.
After saying a few words about Puritanism, its laws and mentality, which are
considered essential for a better understanding of the community the heroine lives in,
I will explore how Hester is inextricably connected with evilness by the Puritan
society in Boston. Then, I will elaborate on the way the writer and the director present
Prynne’s ordeal, creating sympathy towards her, which comes in opposition to the
Puritan community’s cruel attitude. After that, I will describe how Prynne is
represented to be secluded and isolated from the rest of the community and I will go
on shedding light on the way her femininity and womanhood are portrayed.
Moreover, I will discuss how Hester’s intelligence and strong intuition are implied in
both works. Finally, Prynne’s connection with religion, along with her maternal side,
will be looked into.
What I will be arguing is that in both works, Prynne is presented to be
inextricably connected with evil by the Puritan society she lives in, responding to
patriarchal stereotypes that want women to be linked with wickedness, evilness and
impiety. However, I argue that both the author and the director insist on emphasizing
the benign nature of the heroine. Joffe seems to follow Hawthorne’s depiction, which
comes in contrast to the views and attitude of the Puritan mentality, while both the
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director and the writer manage to awaken feelings of compassion and admiration
towards the heroine. More specifically, I argue that Hawthorne holds a positive
attitude towards his female protagonist, Hester Prynne, revealing, as hesitantly as he
may, his sympathy for her that is opposed to the way the Puritan society treats her in
the novel, implying his criticism against the Puritan mentality, as well. In fact, I detect
the writer’s own admiration and sympathy towards the heroine, while he presents her
to have male traits, alluding to a subversion of gender roles, as she is depicted to
possess the strength, the courage, the boldness and the dynamism of a man.
Furthermore, I argue that Hester Prynne is presented to be much more dynamic,
educated and strong woman in the film than in the novel, alluding to the later rise of
women’s revolution and emancipation and to the effect the book may have had on
Joffe’s interpretation of the heroine. Additionally, I detect an intense subversion of
gender roles in the film, which is not emphasized in the book, as the character of
Prynne is presented to have male characteristics in her behavior, a fact that makes her
act like a man in the film, too. I maintain that the director of the film does what
Hawthorne did not dare do, because of the era he lived in, presenting a much more
daring and liberated, unconventional version of the story.
During the nineteenth century, an outstanding flowering in literature took
place both in England and in America. To be more specific, the year 1850 was the
center of a span of six or seven years, standing out as one of the eminent ages in the
history of the novel and fictional achievement in America (Brodhead 1). According to
Brodhead, this wonderful, and even fearful, welling up of creative energy signaled a
revolution in America, whose most important figure was the so-called “obscurest man
of letters” of the continent, namely Nathaniel Hawthorne (2).
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After having written short stories for several years, Hawthorne decided at least
writing a novel around the period in question. He resolved in producing, as he,
himself stated, a “large and serious work that should evolve some deep lesson, and
should possess physical substance enough to stand alone” (Brodhead 2). This hopeful
resolution of Hawthorne’s turned out not only to stand as “the bright dawn” of his
creative life as a novelist, but it also inaugurated the two years of the greatest literary
prosperity in America, which were initiated by the release of The Scarlet Letter in
1850 (Brodhead 3).
At this point, a few words ought to be said about a particularly important
writer of the time, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, given his enormous success and
numerous achievements in the domain of American fiction that have made him one of
the most significant representatives of American literature. From his early childhood,
Hawthorne displayed a distinctive playful and imaginative personality, which was
characterized during his mature years by independence of mind, thought and action,
and an unshakeable reliance on his own convictions (Turner 23). The writer’s
distinctive quality of mind and his intellectual and artistic integrity, along with his
demand for perfection are definitely notable. As Ellery Channing puts it, Hawthorne’s
“wide comprehension and awful insight” are indisputable (Turner 163). Hence, the
author displays his “remarkable mind,” sharpness and “power of observation” in his
outstanding and moving work (Mayo 263). His romance is of great “tragic interest
and tragic power,” while it appears to be “deep in thought” and “condensed in style”
(Whipple 240). The writer interweaves miscellaneous themes, such as “the
universality of sin,” the impact of concealed sin, the unavoidable consequences of all
actions and choices, the origins and effects of seclusion, witchcraft and additional
manifestations of evil (Turner 202). Hawthorne’s narrative boils down to being a story
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about “passion and authority,” as Nina Baym states (Colacurcio 319). However, the
novel’s major subject matter is no other than “the relation of the sexes and the
organization of society” during an era when Puritan patriarchy prevails (Mayo 269).
The combination of the abovementioned major themes, along with Hawthorne’s own
genius that is evident in his brilliant story, which is narrated in the “most masterly
manner” with a naturalness and continuous flow of expression, giving magic power in
the narrative’s style, makes The Scarlet Letter truly delightful to read (Levine 278). In
fact, I embrace Abbott’s view that one cannot willingly lay his novel down until one
has finished it (248).
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s own conviction that he would never make a
“distinguished figure” in the world seems to have been proven wrong by his own
brilliance (Turner 46). “Our honest author,” as Anne W. Abbott calls him, finished
writing his controversial novel in February 1849 (Ryskamp 302). The Scarlet Letter
was eventually published on March 16, 1850, making a huge success in sales, since its
first edition sold more than two thousand copies in ten days, while its second one sold
about three thousand copies (Turner 193).
The story of the novel is set in 1600’s Boston, Massachusetts, and more
specifically in the years 1642-1649. It has been described as a “psychological
romance” and “a tale of remorse” (Duyckinck 237). Bearing in mind that the novel is
set in a period when the strict patriarchal and puritan mentality dominated, it is
understandable why The Scarlet Letter is considered to be a “thrilling story,” since in
nineteenth century when Hawthorne wrote it, Puritanism had already become a
tradition (Levine 289). It is also worth noting that Hawthorne was in a particular state
of mind when he was writing the book; to be more specific, his mother had died in
July 1849, a fact that cost him a lot (Turner 188). Furthermore, he had been dismissed