Topics for Further Study
- Examine the involvement of Hawthorne's ancestor, John Hathorne, in the Salem witch trials and analyze how this impacts your understanding of the novel.
- Read a piece by one of Hawthorne's transcendentalist peers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature or Henry David Thoreau's Walden, and compare their philosophies with Hawthorne's perspective.
- Research the concepts of crime and/or the status of women in colonial New England and contrast your discoveries with Hawthorne's portrayal of Hester. Consider what the Puritans feared that might have justified their specific laws and actions.
- Explore historical accounts of the European revolutions of 1848 and reflect on why these events might have caused Hawthorne concern.
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