The Biblical Archetypes In The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne's masterpiece, as the mature embodiment of his literary thoughts and the art he consciously developed, has aroused much attention and received criticism in literary circle ever since its publication in 1850. Scholars of criticism, such as those of formalism, psychoanalysis, feminism and archetypal criticism have given a variety of readings to it. The author of this thesis, adopting archetypal criticism, attempts to have a detailed and close examination of the Biblical archetypes wrapped in the novel from the perspective of its characterization, structure and plot.