Hawthorne Publishes The Scarlet Letter: Sin and Guilt Exposed
Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter, an unflinching examination of Puritan hypocrisy, public shame, and private guilt set in colonial Massachusetts. The novel sold out its first printing in ten days and established Hawthorne as America's foremost literary voice on the tension between individual conscience and communal judgment.
March 16, 1850
176 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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