Лента контента

The Pierpont Morgan Library in New York authenticated 67 pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne's manuscript for The Scarlet Letter, composed in 1849 and extensively revised before publication. The manuscript shows Hawthorne's deliberate construction of moral ambiguity, particularly in the characterization of Hester Prynne. Early manuscript versions present Hester more conventionally sympathetic; Hawthorne's revisions complicate her character, adding passages that emphasize her intellectual ambition and her skepticism toward Puritan moral authority. The Reverend Dimmesdale's psychological anguish is similarly intensified through revision—added passages show Hawthorne exploring the minister's internal moral torture with greater psychological subtlety. Pearl's character undergoes substantial transformation across drafts; she becomes less supernatural and more psychologically complex, her wildness interpreted as response to social ostracism rather than innate depravity. The margins contain Hawthorne's annotations questioning his own moral judgments, particularly regarding female sexuality and social transgression. Several passages were deleted: explicit discussions of adultery, passages that might have offended contemporary readers, and philosophical meditations too overtly skeptical of Puritan doctrine. The manuscript reveals The Scarlet Letter as deliberately crafted moral investigation rather than conventional moral tale. Physical evidence shows the manuscript was revised multiple times, with pages rewritten and extensively edited.