Readers' Review: "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-03-31/readers-review-scarlet-letter-nathaniel-hawthorne
"The Scarlet Letter" tells the story of a passionate young woman, her cowardly lover and her aging, vengeful husband. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote it in the 19th century but set it in the Puritan community of 17th-century Boston. Its depiction of the struggle between heart and mind remains timeless.
Guests
Megan Marshall
assistant professor, Emerson College
author of "The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism"
Carolyn Hax
Washington Post columnist
author of "Tell Me About It: Lying, Sulking, Getting Fat... and 56 Other Things Not to Do While Looking for Love"
Kermit Moyer
author of "The Chester Chronicles",
professor emeritus of literature, American University
Comments
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We were assigned to read The Scarlet Letter back in the 1960s when we were just 7th-graders. I hated the book and was highly insulted that the teacher somehow felt that we were ready to read about sex (which I wasn't). To this day, when I hear the title of that book I roll my eyes—maybe now that I'm in my 50s I'll get around to actually reading it ... :)
I love listening to your program. Could you please tell me the name of the book you'll be commenting upon and the date in April that the program will be aired. THanks
Lydia Calise
I also read the Scarlett letter in tenth grade, before any "life experience" which is why the story made such a huge and wonderful impact on me. My virgin mind absorbed the complexities of sin, the motivations that lead us into relationships and the vulgarity of society. I was able to understand Hester with compassion. The book functioned as a road map for understanding human behaviour as opposed to an explanation of things I'd already seen in my life.
I have listened to your show for years. First time to your website and you are very beautiful. Regarding your show today about the tea parties. I am a registered Democrat and have never voted Republican.
I seem to be more middle of the road now and I can tell you there are a lot of frightened people out there who do NOT go to tea parties or speak out. Many of them are afraid of future retributions. Many are afraid we could be heading for a military state.
Freedom of speech and the freedom to gather in protest is what generations past and present have fought for.
Now when that is done the 'race' card is pulled and it's all about white people being mad that a black president was elected.
White people put him in office. Without the white vote he would not have been elected.
People need to stop blaming everything on race. It's getting very old very quickly.
It's the ISSUES that have people afraid.
Bush started all the financial problems with his blind rush to war and Obama has increased these problems with his blind rush into health care reform.
Everyone believes in health care for all. The problem is the hidden agenda within the plan and the big rush to pass anything no matter how many problems.
People wanted health care to be addressed with more caution and one step at a time. That's all. The people's desires were ignored.
What happened to a government by the people and for the people.
I also read the Scarlet Letter in high school--I don't think I enjoyed it then. But hearing about it reminds me of how much I enjoyed reading books with a teacher to guide us and make us think.
It would really be fun to get back together with all those people from our 1970s English class, and discuss this book again, now that we have more "life experience" ourselves. I sympathized with Hester Prynne at the time, but now I think the only one I can identify with and support is Pearl...