“The Custom House” from

The Scarlet Letterby

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Puritan Culture• Hawthorne is the first American novelist

to make an impact in Europe

• In 1630 hundreds of newly arrived Puritans established a number of settlements in Massachusetts.

• The Puritan movement began in the 1500s among people who believed that the Church of England was too influenced by the Crown and the Catholic Church.

Puritan Culture• Rejected belief that divine authority is

channeled through any one person

• Believed that the only way to salvation was through the Bible; Kings and Queens of England did not agree

• America equaled religious freedom

• Residents of Boston in the mid-1600s were much as Hawthorne depicts them— hardworking and devoted to their way of life.

Puritan Culture• Their society had been carved out for them

by John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts and a resident of Boston.

• As a leader of the first residents of the colony, he established a government based on a combination of religious and civil ideals.

• The colony was intended to be an ideal Christian community.

Puritanism, Defined Further

• Puritanism can be seen as a form of covenant theology, or a contract with God

• A covenant of works: Adam and Eve broke the contract (original sin)

• A covenant of grace: Abraham establishes religion, elects few to follow

• Deals in the idea of total depravity, where man cannot obtain salvation on his own

Puritanism, Defined Further

• God is omnipotent (all knowing); man is evil inherently and prone to evil

• Man is predestined, or has his destiny predetermined

• God saves who he wants with no regards to faith or works

• Belief in Divine Providence, where all things happen and will happen from God

Puritanism, Defined Further

• Belief in Sin of Presumption, where no one can know what God’s plan is; however, there are symbols and signs that can be read

• Bible is the literal word of God; governs all human behavior, functions as a typology, or guide to living

• Very anti-Catholic: goal is to purify the Church of England

Puritanism, Defined Further

• Puritans felt they were on a mission from God to show the world they were right

• The new world (America) was a place of trial, or grounds for them to prove themselves

• Nature served as the Devil’s playground with the Indians serving as his children

• America: a place of profit with the freedom to rule themselves without interference

Notes on the Introduction

• Though the piece is highly autobiographical, the narrator for The Scarlet Letter, “The Custom House” included, is not Hawthorne; the narrator writes in the third person omniscient point of view. He analyzes and depicts the characters in a way that shows he knows more about them they know about themselves; however, he is subjective, being that he offers his own opinions of these characters.

Ironic Point of ViewThe lines “But, as thoughts are frozen and

utterance benumbed, unless the speaker stand in

some true relation with his audience, it may

pardonable to imagine that a friend, a friend and

apprehensive, though not the closest friend, is

listening to our talk; and then a native reserve

being thawed by this genial consciousness, we

may prate of the circumstances that lie around

us, and even of ourself, but still keep the inmost

Ironic Point of View

me behind its veil. To this extent, and within

these limits, an author, methinks, may be

autobiographical, without violating either the

reader’s rights or his own” lends itself to irony:

Hawthorne is having a Surveyor (like Hawthorne

was) narrate the story, who speaks about an

author using a fictional narrator so that one could

be autobiographical.

The Custom-House, Modern Day

Annotations

• Customs are duties, or a type of tax due to the state and levied by law; a tax on certain items purchased abroad

• Custom house also controlled the flow of goods in and out of the country

Annotations

• Hawthorne was appointed surveyor in 1846 by president James K. Polk

• As surveyor, Hawthorne’s job was to inspect and report on all cargo and happenings on and at the port

• Hawthorne’s writing of The Scarlet Letter serves an ironic purpose: he acts as a surveyor of customs, which in this case, means the customs, or habitual practices, of his New England town

Annotations

The Old Manse: on their wedding day,

Sophia and Nate moved into the Old Manse

in Concord, Massachusetts. The house had

been built by the grandfather of Ralph

Waldo Emerson. The Hawthorne’s lived

there until the fall of 1845, when they

moved in with Hawthorne’s mother and

sisters in Salem.

Annotations

P. P. Clark of this Parish: a satire by

Alexander Pope about people who write

contemporary memoirs.

King Derby: Elias Haskett Derby, Salem

merchant and ship owner.

“...last war with England”: The War of 1812

Annotations

“...like Matthew...were Custom-House

officers.”: Reference to Matthew 9:9: “And

as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a

man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt

of the custom: and he saith unto him,

Follow me. And he arose, and followed

him.”

Annotations

“...other wharf-rats as haunt the Whapping

seaport.”: Whapping is a suburb of East

London on the river Thames, and provided

the main entrance to the London docks.

Slop-sellers could refer to several things,

including inexpensive clothes.

Annotations

“...Locofoco Surveyor.”: a reform minded

faction of the Democratic party in New

York, called the Equal rights party.

Locofoco refers to a type of friction match

that party members used for illumination

when conservative Democrats turn out the

lights on Tammany Hall before one of their

meetings.

Annotations

“...and a view of the alms-house at the

other...”: Gallows Hill, at the southern edge

of Salem, is the area where nineteen

witches were hanged in the summer of

1692.

“...which has since become a city.”:

Hawthorne’s great-great-great grandfather,

William Hathorne became a notable figure

in Salem and settled there in 1636.

Annotations

“He was likewise a bitter prosecuter...”:

William Hathorne ordered a Quaker

woman, Ann Coleman, to be whipped

through the streets of Salem. Hawthorne

added the “w” to the family name when he

was in his twenties.”

Annotations

“From father to son...”: Hawthorne’s father,

Nathaniel Hathorne, was a sea-captain who

died of yellow fever in Surnam when

Hawthorne was not quite four.

“On emerging from the Old Manse...have

gone somewhere else.”: Hawthorne was

appointed surveyor by president James K.

Polk. He was fired by president Zachary

Taylor under the spoils system.

Annotations“General Miller...”: fought in the War of

1812 and served as governor of Arkansas;

held the position of collector at the Port of

Salem while Hawthorne was there.

“...Whigs.”: The Democrats and Whigs

were the two major political parties in the

middle of the nineteenth century: The

abolitionist northern Democrats formed the

Republican party in the 1850’s. Lincoln

was their first president.

Annotations“...the new Surveyor was not a

politician...”: Hawthorne has very little

interest in politics; however, did lobby

when he lost his job that he was apolitical.

The Whig party felt, claimed with some

truth, that he was more politically active

than he said.

Annotations“...Boreas...”: god of the north wind in

Greek mythology.

“...was a certain permanent inspector.”:

William Lee served as Inspector. Lee’s

daughters never forgave Hawthorne for his

“trivializing” sketch. Hawthorne later

regretted writing disparagingly about him.

“...days of the elder Adams...”: John

Adams, second president.

Annotations“...like Ticonderoga...”: one of the first

major battles of the Revolutionary War; was

a successful attack on British troops in what

is now upstate New York.

“...on Chippewa or Fort Erie...”: important

victories for American in the War of 1812.

General Miller fought at the Battle of

Chippewa; Hawthorne was 10.

Annotations“...I’ll Try, Sir!...”: what General Miller said

when General Winfielf Scott commanded

General Miller to take the battery at

Lundy’s Lane.

“There was one man...gave me a new idea

of talent.”: Zachariah Burchmore, Secretary

of the Democratic Party in Salem; served as

Custom-House clerk and was an ally of

Hawthorne’s in his effort to retain his job.

Annotations“...bretheren of Brook Farm...”: George

Ripley founded the utopian community in

1841 in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Hawthorne lived at the farm for a few

months, but grew to dislike it.

“...who had known Alcott.”: Hawthorne

knew many intellectuals, including

Emerson, Thoreau, Longfellow, and the

prominent, eccentric, and intellectual

Bronson Alcott.

Annotations“...Burns or of Chaucer...”: poet Robert

Burns and Geoffrey Chaucer held similar

jobs. Hawthorne’s appointment was

definitely one of patronage.

“The Custom-House marker imprinted

it...through the office.”: refers to the seal

that labeled each box, “/Salem/ N

Hawthorne/ Sur /1847.” Anatto is a small

evergreen tree whose seeds are used to

produce and orange-red dye.

Annotations“...old Billy Gray---old Simon Forrester...”:

William Gray was a wealthy merchant

elected lieutenant governor of

Massachusetts; Simon Forrester was a

wealthy merchant and ship owner, and

brother-in-law to Hawthorne.

Annotations“...the Protectorate...”: name given to the

English government under Oliver

Cromwell. Monarchy was restored with its

end.

“...now on ‘Change...”: Merchants

Exchange in Boston.

“...seal of Governor Shirley...” William

Shirley was royal governor of

Massachusetts from 1741-1756; Surveyor

Jonathan Pue was appointed in 1752.

Annotations“She had flourished...close of the

seventeenth century.”: Hester Prynne must

have arrived in Boston in 1640 where she

has been in residence for two years when

the novel opens in 1642. Roughly

speaking, her life encompassed the period

between 1620, the year the Pilgrims

emigrated in Plymouth, and the Salem

Witch Trials in 1692.

AnnotationsThere is no evidence that the scarlet letter

or these papers ever existed outside of

Hawthorne’s imagination.

“...with a little pile of glittering coin...”:

Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in

California in January, 1848; first wave of

gold seekers arrive in 1849.

“If the guillotine...”: Zachary Taylor’s

political appointments in 1849 were

reported as “beheadings” of Democrats.

Vocabulary Activity 10/20/10

Scan the chapter “The Custom House” from The Scarlet Letter for at least 10 words you donot know. Next, look those words up in thedictionary and define them. Then, write a storyusing at least 10 of those words correctly. Yourstory should be a minimum of 100 words in length.