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East Tennessee State University

Completing the Circle: A Study of the Archetypal Male and Female in Nathaniel Hawthorne's <em>The Scarlet Letter</em>.

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This thesis examines the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the archetypal images therein. The Scarlet Letter is discussed extensively with references made to The Blithedale Romance. Characters in the following short stories are referred to: “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Birthmark.” An overall analysis of feminine repression in both male and female characters is explored. Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl are the subjects of lengthy discussion. Journeys, both inward and outward are explored in the characters. The context is nineteenth-century culture of which Hawthorne is a product. The characters in The Scarlet Letter search for a complete existence, an integration of the unconscious and the conscious. Through a mythological study of Hawthorne’s work, we draw closer to understanding this complex example of nineteenth-century literature.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
MA (Master of Arts)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis - unrestricted
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
English
Year dc:date.issued
2002

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Hallenbeck, Kathy H.

Subjects

dc:subject × 8

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright by the authors.

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/652
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-1809

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
East Tennessee State University
Base URL
dc.etsu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Hallenbeck, Kathy H.. Completing the Circle: A Study of the Archetypal Male and Female in Nathaniel Hawthorne's <em>The Scarlet Letter</em>.. Thesis - unrestricted thesis, 2002. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/652