For his
magnum opus, , chose a real historic setting: the years 1642-1649, the
period in which John Winthrop, whose death is represented near the middle of the novel,
established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This Puritan colony had as its intent the
establishment of an ideal community with civil and religious perfection. In order to maintain
this ideal, strict moral regulations were established; in fact, a prison was constructed as a
place of enforcement for the enforcement of these regulations.
Another real
person added as a character to Hawthorne's narrative is , who represents Richard Bellingham, who
came to America from England in 1630, and who was governor of the colony in 1644, 1654, and
1655. Another real character is the governor's sister, , who represents Ann Hibbins, a Puritan
woman executed in 1656 for witchcraft. Still another real character is , an active and strong
figure of Puritan intolerance, who also arrived in America in 1630.
And,
while Hawthorne's discovery of the scarlet letter on the second floor of the Customs House is
fabricated, the author's re-creation of the stigma placed upon a woman such asis lent reality as
similar ways of marking trangressors was certainly done by the Puritans. Certainly, placing
this worn scarlet letter in the real, ancient Customs House where Hawthorne actually worked,
lends a realistic overtone to the letter.
At the same time, however, the
reader should understand that Hawthorne takes authorial liberties with historical events and .
For, his use of different events, while meaningful, is also powerfully symbolic. For instance,
in his first chapter, "The Custom House," Hawthorne recreates for the reader this
ancient building and all that is associated with it in order to lend both authenticity and the
"Puritan guilt" which permeates his narrative. Thus, Hawthorne introduces his
narrative as his moralas well as a retelling of some real events and
people.
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