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TheScarletLetterisan1850romanticworkoffictioninahistoricalsetting,writtenbyNathanielHawthorne,andisconsideredtobehismagnumopus.Setin17th-centuryPuritanBoston,Massachusettsduringtheyears1642to1649,ittellsthestoryofHesterPrynne,whoconceivesadaughterthroughanaffairandstrugglestocreateanewlifeofrepentanceanddignity.Throughoutthebook,Hawthorneexploresthemesoflegalism,sin,andguilt.ThePuritanswereagroupofEnglishProtestantsinthe16thand17thcenturies,including,butnotlimitedto,EnglishCalvinists.PuritanisminthissensewasfoundedbyJohnCalvinfromtheclergyshortlyaftertheaccessionofElizabethIofEnglandin1558,asanactivistmovementwithintheChurchofEngland.Inmoderntimes,theword'puritan'isoftenusedtomean'againstpleasure'.[1]Historically,thewordwasusedpejorativelytocharacterizetheProtestantgroupasextremists,similartotheCatharsofFranceand,accordingtoThomasFullerinhisChurchHistory,datedbackto1564.ArchbishopMatthewParkerofthattimeuseditand'precisian'withthesenseofthemodern'stickler'.[2]Puritanswereblockedfromchangingtheestablishedchurchfromwithin,andwereseverelyrestrictedinEnglandbylawscontrollingthepracticeofreligion.Theirbeliefs,however,weretransportedbytheemigrationofcongregationstotheNetherlands(andlatertoNewEngland),andbyevangelicalclergytoIreland(andlaterintoWales),andwerespreadintolaysocietyandpartsoftheeducationalsystem,particularlycertaincollegesoftheUniversityofCambridge.Theytookondistinctivebeliefsaboutclericaldressandinoppositiontotheepiscopalsystem,particularlyafterthe1619conclusionsoftheSynodofDorttheywereresistedbytheEnglishbishops.TheylargelyadoptedSabbatarianisminthe17thcentury,andwereinfluencedbymillennialism.Inalliancewiththegrowingcommercialworld,theparliamentaryoppositiontotheroyalprerogative,andinthelate1630swiththeScottishPresbyterianswithwhomtheyhadmuchincommon,thePuritansbecameamajorpoliticalforceinEnglandandcametopowerasaresultoftheFirstEnglishCivilWar(1642–46).AftertheRestorationof1660andthe1662UniformityAct,almostallPuritanclergylefttheChurchofEngland,somebecomingnonconformistministers.ThenatureofthemovementinEnglandchangedradically,althoughitretaineditscharacterforamuchlongerperiodinNewEngland.Puritans,bydefinition,weredissatisfiedwiththelimitedextentoftheEnglishReformation,andtheChurchofEngland'stoleranceofpracticeswhichtheyassociatedwiththeCatholicChurch.Theyformed,andidentifiedwith,variousreligiousgroupsadvocatinggreaterpurityofworshipanddoctrine,aswellaspersonalandgrouppiety.PuritansadoptedaReformedtheologyand,inthatsense,wereCalvinists(asweremanyoftheirearlieropponents),buttheyalsotooknoteofradicalcriticismsofZwingliinZurichandCalvininGeneva.Inchurchpolity,someadvocatedforseparationfromallotherChristians,infavorofautonomousgatheredchurches.TheseseparatistandindependentstrandsofPuritanismbecameprominentinthe1640s,whenthesupportersofaPresbyterianpolityintheWestminsterAssemblywereunabletoforgeanewEnglishnationalchurchNathanielHawthorne(/ˈhɔːˌθɔrn/;bornNathanielHathorne;July4,1804–May19,1864)wasanAmericannovelistandshortstorywriter.Hewasbornin1804inSalem,MassachusettstoNathanielHathorneandtheformerElizabethClarkeManning.HisancestorsincludeJohnHathorne,theonlyjudgeinvolvedintheSalemwitchtrialswhoneverrepentedofhisactions.NathaniellateraddedawtomakehisnameHawthorneinordertohidethisrelation.HeenteredBowdoinCollegein1821,waselectedtoPhiBetaKappain1824,[1]andgraduatedin1825.Hawthornepublishedhisfirstwork,anoveltitledFanshawe,in1828;helatertriedtosuppressit,feelingitwasnotequaltothestandardofhislaterwork.[2]Hepublishedseveralshortstoriesinvariousperiodicalswhichhecollectedin1837asTwice-ToldTales.Thenextyear,hebecameengagedtoSophiaPeabody.HeworkedataCustomHouseandjoinedBrookFarm,atranscendentalistcommunity,beforemarryingPeabodyin1842.ThecouplemovedtoTheOldManseinConcord,Massachusetts,latermovingtoSalem,theBerkshires,thentoTheWaysideinConcord.TheScarletLetterwaspublishedin1850,followedbyasuccessionofothernovels.ApoliticalappointmenttookHawthorneandfamilytoEuropebeforetheirreturntoTheWaysidein1860.HawthornediedonMay19,1864,andwassurvivedbyhiswifeandtheirthreechildren.MuchofHawthorne'swritingcentersonNewEngland,manyworksfeaturingmoralallegorieswithaPuritaninspiration.HisfictionworksareconsideredpartoftheRomanticmovementand,morespecifically,Darkromanticism.Histhemesoftencenterontheinherentevilandsinofhumanity,andhisworksoftenhavemoralmessagesanddeeppsychologicalcomplexity.Hispublishedworksincludenovels,shortstories,andabiographyofhisfriendFranklinPierce.