The unnamed narrator is inspired to write The Scarlet Letter after discovering the scarlet letter and fragments of its story in an attic of the Custom House. He describes the novel as a tale of "human frailty and sorrow" and encourages the reader to heed its moral. Throughout the novel, the narrator favors Hester against the Puritans who persecute her. His writing often reads as if he's pained to have to tell such a sad story that involves the downfall of innocent victims at the hands of an oppressive society.
The Narrator Quotes in The Scarlet Letter
The The Scarlet Letter quotes below are all either spoken by The Narrator or refer to The Narrator. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Custom House
Quotes
It is a good lesson - though it may often be a hard one - for a man... to step aside out of the narrow circle in which his claims are recognized, and to find how utterly devoid of significance, beyond that circle, is all that he achieves, and all he aims at.
Related Characters:
The Narrator (speaker)
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 1
Quotes
The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison.
Related Characters:
The Narrator (speaker)
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Narrator Character Timeline in The Scarlet Letter
The timeline below shows where the character The Narrator appears in The Scarlet Letter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Custom House
A nameless narrator (who has a similar biography to Hawthorne) describes his job as chief executive officer of...
(full context)
One rainy day, the narrator discovered a peculiar package in the upstairs storage area of the Custom House. The package...
(full context)
The narrator mentions that he's since lost his job at the Custom House. He draws a distinction...
(full context)
Chapter 1
A crowd of men and women assembles near a dilapidated wooden prison. The narrator remarks that the founders of every new settlement have always sought first to build a...
(full context)
Chapter 6
The narrator describes Pearl as the human manifestation of Hester's sin: Pearl is filled with a sense...
(full context)
Chapter 21
The narrator remarks that the Puritan style of celebration lacks the grandness and gaiety that events like...
(full context)
Chapter 24
The narrator says the story he's told has one moral: be true, and show the world your...
(full context)
