Puritan In Lust: The Infidelity Of The Symbol A In The Scarlet Letter

Abstract

This paper aims to point out the infidelity of Literature-to-film adaptation The Scarlet Letter. We attempt to comprehend the different meaning of symbol "A" that comes up within the film adaptation. We believe that it is influenced by the idea of entertaining a large audience which led the film to show lots of romance scenes which ended with a happy love life. We applied textual and intertextual analysis to explore both novel and film. We employed Peirce 'semiotic theory to analyze how symbol "A" works in both novel and film adaptation to shape its meaning. Our study reveals that on the one hand symbol "A" represents "Adultery"; on the other hand, it represents "Ability". Nonetheless, the film adaptation has its own way in revealing the meaning of symbol "A" becomes "Ardor". Using comparative analysis, we found out that the film is unfaithful and straying away from the novel; lust has dominated the film.