Bay Street Theater: The Scarlet Letter

Few stories have the distinction of titles so memorable and descriptive that they enter the vernacular as everyday expressions. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel “The Scarlet Letter” is deservedly one such.

Set in the 1600s in a Puritan village, THE SCARLET LETTER is an account of the life of Hester Prynne, a married woman who becomes a social outcast, when after an adulterous affair she conceives a daughter during her husband's long absence. She is required to wear the letter "A" for adultery on the breast of her gown. Refusing to name the father, Hester is forced to live a life set apart from nearly everyone she knows. Thanks to the intervention of the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester and her daughter Pearl are permitted to stay together. When Hester's missing husband, posing as a doctor, secretly returns as Roger Chillingworth, the stage is set for a story of sin, tragedy, and redemption. This show explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.