I have chosen to examine one of the latest filmic adaptions of "The Scarlet Letter", made by Roland Joffé and the main distinctions to Hawthorne's version. If you delve deeper into the matter, you recognize that the Hollywood director has placed various personal focuses on different parts of the novel, especially on the most important protagonists.
Furthermore, in large parts he totally rolled up the gist and used different perspectives on certain things. That is why it can be called an extremely free conversion of Hawthorne's historical fiction into a love story with a dramatically romantic background. By using several filmic devices, he finally attempted to turn the three strong main characters into a sinful but "happy family" who are in search of a peaceful life.
The book "The Scarlet Letter" is one of America's most important pieces of literature, written by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne in the year 1850. The story about Puritan life and the subject of settling down in a "new world" has engaged the interest of numerous generations of readers up to now.
However, Hawthorne's classical work has not only caught the attention of normal literature lovers but it has also inspired a lot of artists, like producers and directors to convert the historical content into motion-pictures. What comes out in the end is often very surprising; for some critics the result is more positive, for others it is rather negative and unsatisfactory material. In this case, it always depends on what expectations you have of such a medial remake. Do you intend to get delivered a complete one-to-one transformation or are you open-minded enough to accept a creative and free modification of the original basic script? This could be sometimes a highly controversial question among reviewers.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Roland Joffé and his work
2. The Structure of the story
2.1 Hawthorne’s setup
2.2 Joffé’s setup
3. Historical fiction versus romance
4. The three main characters
4.1 Pearl Prynne
4.2. Arthur Dimmesdale
4.3. Hester Prynne
5. The idea of a sinful but “happy family”
6. Conclusion
List of works cited
Research Objectives & Topics
The academic work examines the filmic adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" by director Roland Joffé. The primary research focus is to analyze how Joffé’s version deviates from the original literary source material through creative modification, specifically in its portrayal of the main characters and the overarching narrative structure to align with Hollywood standards.
- Comparative analysis of literary source and film adaptation
- Character development and narrative restructuring in cinema
- Examination of genre elements: historical fiction versus romance
- The impact of filmic devices on thematic interpretation
- Critical evaluation of the "happy ending" within a Puritan setting
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Hawthorne’s setup
At first, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s setup, the author did not start right away with the central story around this mysterious letter “A”, but by arranging a short introductory narration about a nameless narrator in a custom house, he tried to lead the reader up to the main topic. This is a pretty important point because this first-person narrator finds a fancy red “A”-shaped piece of cloth in The Custom House that feels like a hot iron when holding it close to his chest (Hawthorne 1369). In combination with that, there is a manuscript about personal experiences of a certain woman, called Hester Prynne, an angel-like, gracious person who did a lot of good deeds to others (Hawthorne 1370). As well as Hawthorne, who was a former custom surveyor, too, the raconteur has also always wished to be a writer (Hawthorne 1377). Hence, his perspective, was then used by Hawthorne as an initial point to continue and create a historical fiction, as I would call it.
In my opinion, the story of the written work just starts somewhere in the middle – near a bush of roses in front of the prison (Hawthorne 1378), a symbol indicating that there must be something prickly sweet and fragile behind: Hester and her baby Pearl (Hawthorne 1380). As soon as they are being led to the scaffold in order to get lampooned by the Salem (Hawthorne 1353) community, we are already in the middle of the central topic of adultery, but we do not know how this relationship between Hester Prynne and the priest Arthur
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This section introduces the significance of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel and highlights the author's intent to explore Roland Joffé’s 1995 filmic adaptation.
1. Roland Joffé and his work: This chapter provides biographical context for the director and reviews the critical reception of his 1995 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter.
2. The Structure of the story: This chapter compares the narrative progression of Hawthorne’s original work with the structural choices made by Joffé.
3. Historical fiction versus romance: This chapter discusses the genre classification of the story, analyzing elements of both historical fiction and romantic film tropes.
4. The three main characters: This chapter analyzes how Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Hester Prynne are represented differently in the film compared to the literary text.
5. The idea of a sinful but “happy family”: This chapter examines the director’s choice to shift the ending towards a more optimistic, "happy family" resolution.
6. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the author's perspective on the adaptation, noting its deviation from the original while acknowledging its status as an entertaining piece of cinema.
Keywords
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Roland Joffé, The Scarlet Letter, Film adaptation, Puritan society, Adultery, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl, Hollywood cinema, Narrative structure, Historical fiction, Romance, Literary criticism, Adaptation analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper focuses on the comparative analysis between Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" and its 1995 film adaptation directed by Roland Joffé.
What are the central themes explored?
The central themes include the portrayal of adultery in Puritan society, the transformation of characters for cinematic purposes, and the clash between historical fiction and romantic movie conventions.
What is the primary research question?
The research examines how director Roland Joffé modified the original historical fiction to create a Hollywood-compliant romance, and whether this "free conversion" effectively conveys the essence of the characters.
Which methodology is applied in this research?
The author employs a comparative literary and media studies approach, analyzing narrative structure, character development, and genre elements in both the original text and the film.
What does the main body address?
The main body addresses the structural setup of both works, the specific changes made to the protagonist's personalities, and the controversial choice to provide a "happy ending" in the movie.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include "The Scarlet Letter," "Film adaptation," "Roland Joffé," "Hawthorne," "Puritan society," and "Comparative analysis."
How does the movie’s perspective on Pearl differ from the book?
The movie utilizes an adult Pearl as a narrator, providing a retrospective perspective, whereas in the book, her development is portrayed more as a wild infant struggling with her mother's sin.
Why did the author conclude that the film is an interesting adaptation?
Despite significant differences from the novel, the author finds the film worthy of viewing because it successfully shifts the focus toward the strength of love as a force that can overcome societal cruelty.
- Quote paper
- Julia Schart (Author), 2010, Comparison of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" and Roland Joffé's filmic adaption, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/503419
