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The Scarlet Letter · English Literature

In the introductory essay 'The Custom-House', how does the narrator claim to have discovered the story of Hester Prynne?

  1. He finds a scarlet cloth 'A' and old parchment papers on the unused second floor.
  2. He finds a family diary beneath the floorboards of his ancestral home in Salem.
  3. He translates a Latin manuscript brought from England by Governor Winthrop.
  4. He interviews an elderly woman who claimed to be a direct descendant of Pearl.
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Correct answer: He finds a scarlet cloth 'A' and old parchment papers on the unused second floor.

In 'The Custom-House' essay, Nathaniel Hawthorne creates a fictional framing device where the narrator discovers a rag of scarlet cloth shaped like the letter 'A' along with documents written by a past surveyor, Jonathan Pue. This device establishes an artistic blend of historical fact and romance. It sets up the novel's investigation into the psychological weight of ancestral pasts and institutional guilt.

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