Book name: The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Presenter: Jedidiah Chen
Period: 5

Essential Question. It belongs to the category of literary.

An omniscient narrator is a narrative perspective used in storytelling where the narrator has complete knowledge and insight into the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and experiences of all the characters in the story.

The article, “Sustainability in the Face of Adversity - In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter” by Migara. K. Jayasinghe (or M.K. Jay), argues that Hester Prynne is able to endure hardships and show her tenacity in an unforgiving Bostonian Puritanical society. This article belongs to the category of “Journal of Humanities and Sciences.” In this article, the author points out the Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of omniscient third-person perspective intensify character’s internal conflicts.

Omniscient narrator helps readers to know what the characters in the story are struggling with. Jayasinghe states that “the novel being a deep expression of the passion of the main characters caught in a love triangle, this mode of narration is very appropriate to show all facets of the characters”(Jay). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne demonstrates the internal struggles and changes of Hester, which enabling readers to see Hester’s stoicism and resilience in the adverse experiences she encounters in her life.

The narrator also frequently adds commentaries about characters and their actions, which we called a “subjective narrator”, and it gradually shapes the reader’s perspectives toward the characters. For instance, in the story Hawthorne laments how Dimmesdale cannot overcome his fears and doubts, making readers to see Dimmesdale as a weak and ineffective character. Hence, readers can feel about the deep internal conflicts in characters by the omniscient description by the narrator.

Personally, I find Hawthorne's employment of this omniscient narrative perspective is truly a masterstroke, since it immerses readers in the characters' internal struggles, making their life journeys more painful. When we navigate the puritanical world of Boston alongside Hester, Dimmesdale, and other characters, we can see and ponder their moral dilemmas and the profound impact of societal judgments.

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