During the 1800's, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote many novels illustrating romanticism. One of his most famous is The Scarlet Letter. In this unforgettable tragedy Hester Prynne is condemned to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her breast and to live with her daughter, Pearl: the proof of her adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne depicts romanticism by using super naturals, mysteries, and intuitions.
Hawthorne uses many elements of the supernatural to add to the romanticism of the story. While Hester is in her isolated house on the shore, she sees faces of others of the town in the gleaming fire. Upon this, she is given an unexplained power that allows her to see the sin that other people hide. Whenever she faces these people she feels she can detect a certain reaction to the sight of the Scarlet Letter that betrays a sense of guilt. Feeling such guilt as this, Arthur Dimmesdale goes to stand in shame on the platform one night. In the gloomy night sky a "meteor shower in the shape of an A" mysteriously appears. This supernatural phenomenon gives Arthur a sense of doom for his unlawful act with Hester Prynne that eats away at him daily. These supernatural events that occur clearly add romanticism to this tragedy. .
Hawthorne also uses mysteries to betray romanticism. Roger Chillingworth begs Hester for the identity of her partner in crime; however, she swears his secrecy. She replies, "Never! Ye cannot take it off. And would I that I might endure his agony as well as mine!" This adds a strange query of who the father of this illegitimate child really is. Another mystery stirs when Roger finds a shocking discovery on Arthur's chest. What he sees is never revealed though out the entire story. Everyone is left wondering in puzzlement if what he saw was the letter "A" engraved in his chest or not . These incidents are used to create a mysterious atmosphere through the story.
Finally, intuition is also used to add romanticism to this tragic novel.
