The Scarlet Letter (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism Series) » (2nd Edition)

"Words -- so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them," Nathaniel Hawthorne once reflected. Hawthorne's own words indeed had an undeniable power. Author of The Scarlet Letter and originator of the American short story, Hawthorne left an indelible impression on literature that would influence his fellow writers into the next century.

This volume presents the authoritative Centenary Edition text of Hawthorne's classic 1851 novel, along with critical essays that read The Scarlet Letter from contemporary reader-response, psychoanalytic, feminist, and new historicist perspectives. Three brief additional essays demonstrate how several critical perspectives can be combined. As in the first edition, the text and essays are complemented by biographical and critical introductions, bibliographies, and a glossary of critical and theoretical terms. Five of the seven essays are new to the second edition, as is a selection of cultural documents and illustrations.

PART I. THE SCARLET LETTER: THE COMPLETE TEXT

Biographical and Historical Contexts
The Complete Text [Centenary Edition]
*Cultural Documents and Illustrations

PART II. THE SCARLET LETTER: A CASE STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM

Reader Response Criticism
*Stephen Railton
Psychoanalytic Criticism
Joanne Feit Diehl
Feminist Criticism
Shari Benstock
New Historicism
*Brook Thomas
Combining Perspectives
*Lora Romero

Glossary of Literary and Critical Terms

* new to this edition