The short list of great American novels is often topped by Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel The Scarlet Letter, a primary example of the genre of Dark Romanticism. In this story, the consequences of Hester Prynne's adulterous affair with the reverend Arthur Dimmesdale are borne out as she gives birth to their child and is forced to wear a Scarlet Letter A. Hawthorne is at his best as he treats with the complexities of sin and redemption as the story progresses and carries Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Pearl toward their respective destinies.
The novel is classified under the Romantic genre and further classified under "Dark Romanticism." I urge readers to study rather than skip over the two introductory chapters; "Preface to the Second Edition" and "The Custom-House." Those two works do not appear alongside the novel by accident, and I believe an appreciation of Hawthorne's experience at the Customs House is the key to a deeper understanding of the novel itself.
