The Scarlet Letter - Carson Childers

By taking part in this WebQuest, you will be able to gain a greater understanding of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, as well as obtain a better knowledge of the Puritan community and its societal rules. 

 Puritans sought both individual and corporate conformity to the teaching of the Bible, with moral purity pursued both down to the smallest detail as well as ecclesiastical purity to the highest level. They believed that man existed for the glory of God; that his first concern in life was to do God's will and so to receive future happiness.

Puritan culture emphasized the need for self-examination and the strict accounting for one�s feelings as well as one�s deeds. This was the center of evangelical experience, which women in turn placed at the heart of their work to sustain family life. The words of the Bible, as they interpreted them, were the origin of many Puritan cultural ideals, especially regarding the roles of men and women in the community. While both sexes carried the stain of original sin, for a girl, original sin suggested more than the roster of Puritan character flaws. Eve's corruption, in Puritan eyes, extended to all women, and justified marginalizing them within churches' hierarchical structures . An example is the different ways that men and women were made to express their conversion experiences. For full membership, the Puritan church insisted not only that its congregants lead godly lives and exhibit a clear understanding of the main tenets of their Christian faith, but they also must demonstrate that they had experienced true evidence of the workings of God�s grace in their souls. Only those who gave a convincing account of such a conversion could be admitted to full church membership. While women were typically not permitted to speak in church, they were allowed to engage in religious discussions outside of it, and they could narrate their conversions.

Authority and obedience characterized the relationship between Puritan parents and their children. Proper love meant proper discipline, the family was the basic unit of supervision. A breakdown in family rule indicated a disregard of God�s order. �Fathers and mothers have �disordered and disobedient children,�� said the Puritan Richard Greenham, �because they have been disobedient children to the Lord and disordered to their parents when they were young.� Because the duty of early childcare fell almost exclusively on women, a woman's salvation necessarily depended upon the observable goodness of her child. Puritans further connected the discipline of a child to later readiness for conversion. Accordingly, parents attempted to check their affectionate feelings toward a disobedient child, at least after the child was about two years old, in order to break his or her will. This suspicious regard of �fondness� and heavy emphasis on obedience placed pressures on the Puritan mother. While Puritans expected mothers to care for their young children tenderly, a mother who doted could be accused of failing to keep God present. A father�s more distant governance should check the mother�s tenderness once a male child reached the age of 6 or 7 so that he could bring the child to God�s authority. 

In modern usage, the word puritan is often used to describe someone who has strict views on sexual morality, disapproves of recreation, and wishes to impose these beliefs on others. This popular image is more accurate as a description of Puritans in colonial America, who were among the most radical Puritans. The first Puritans of New England certainly disapproved of Christmas celebrations, as did some other Protestant churches of the time. Likewise the colonies banned many secular entertainments, such as games of chance, maypoles, and drama, on moral grounds. They were not, however, opposed to drinking alcohol in moderation. Early New England laws banning the sale of alcohol to Native Americans were criticized because it was �not fit to deprive Indians of any lawfull comfort aloweth to all men by the use of wine.� Laws banned the practice of individuals toasting each other: it led to wasting God's gift of beer and wine, as well as being carnal. Bounds were not set on enjoying sexuality within the bounds of marriage, as a gift from God. In fact, spouses (albeit, in practice, mainly females) were disciplined if they did not perform their sexual marital duties, in accordance with 1 Corinthians 7 and other biblical passages. Puritans publicly punished drunkenness and sexual relations outside of marriage.  

After taking a closer look into the society in which Hester resided, it is easier to see why the community reacted the way that they did to her pregnancy.