Reading Like a Serpent

Many remember The Scarlet Letter as required reading for reluctant sixteen year olds. The unnamed, elusive narrator of Hawthorne''s tale of human frailty and sorrow is--some readers might say maddeningly--indirect, ambiguous, and inconsistent. Readers who hope to arrive at satisfying judgments about the book''s four iconic characters--Hester, Arthur, Roger, and Pearl--are often left to arrive at t...