Nov 18, 2008

The Scarlet Letter | Literary Precedents

The principal precedents for Hawthorne's stories lie in two areas: the tragedies of classical and Renaissance literature and the romances of the Gothic period of the late eighteenth century. From the latter Hawthorne borrows the technique of the discovered manuscript, found by the narrator in the Custom House section of the book, a long introduction to the principal story. The gloomy forest scenes, the hidden secrets which torment the hero and heroine, and the presence of an evil villain are all staples of Gothic tradition. Hawthorne's characterizations are based more closely on the intense...