Puritan Projections In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "The Scarlet Letter" And Stephen King’s "Carrie"

Abstract

It is considered that the Puritans that populated New England in the 17th century left a distinctive mark on the American culture. The article explores some projections of Puritan legacy in two American novels of different periods – Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (1850) and Stephen King’s Carrie (1974). After establishing a connection between the Puritan writings and gothic literature, the two novels are analyzed in terms of some Puritan projections, among which are the problem of guilt and the acceptance of an individual in the society. Some references regarding the idea of the witch and the interpretations it bears, especially in terms of the female identity, are also identified. Despite the different approach of the authors in terms of building their characters, those references are mostly used in a negative way, as an instrument of criticism and exposing inconvenient truths.

Woman and Nature: Ecofeminist Sensibilities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s the Scarlet Letter

“…At the point when he lets Hester alone be on the scaffold and doesn't turn into a symbol of public scorn with her, he has perpetrated a crime within a crime. He is imprisoned in the prison by his shame and enslaved by the pretence of delivering nice sermons (20). Guanghua absolves Dimmesdale of his transgression claiming that what he does is normal human behaviour (21).…”