This document compares and contrasts the novels The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Both novels feature female protagonists who become pregnant out of wedlock due to adulterous relationships. While Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter has an affair, Tess in Tess of the D'Urbervilles is seduced. Both characters are victims of the patriarchal societies in their respective novels. The document analyzes similarities and differences in how the characters and their situations are portrayed.

1. TheScarlet Letter
comparison withTess of
The D'Urbervilles
Name:Vidhya Pandya, Sem – 3
Paper no.10- American literature
Email id:- vidhupandya10497@gmail.com
S B Gardi Department of English, MKBU

2. AboutWriter
Born : 4th July,1804
Died : 19th
May,1864
American Novelist,
Dark romantic &
Short story writer.
Notable works:-
1.Twice-Told
Tales[1837-1842]
2.The Scarlet
Letter[1850]
3.The House of
the Seven
Gables.[1851]

3. About “The
Scarlet Letter”
 “The Scarlet Letter:A
Romance” is a work
of historical fiction
by Nathaniel
Hawthorne.
 Publication
date:1850
 Story of Hester
Prynne.

4. About “Tess of
D’Urbervilles”
 “Tess of d’Urbervilles” is
a novel byThomas
Hardy.
 Full title: Tess of
d’Urbervilles: A Pure
Woman Faithfully
Presented.
 Published:1891
 Major Nighteenth
century English novel &
Hardy’s fictional
Masterpiece.
 Story of Tess.

5. How it begins
Here Pearl is telling a
story.
Here is the third
person narration.

6. Similarities  Both characters are the victim of patriarchal
society.

7. AdulterySin &
“Love”
 Here inThe Scarlet
Letter Hester has an
extra marital affair
with Dimmesdale &
she becomes
pregnant .
 But hereTess
seduced by Alec
d’Urbervilles and
that’s how she
became pregnant.
 Though both are
different in this way.

8. Roger Chillingworth Angle Clare
 On the one hand, Both of them leave their
partner.
 Both of the characters differ from each
other in the another angle that Angle Clare
was feel guilty for what he did whereas
Roger Chillingworth wants to take revenge
or he was angry and frustrated.

9. Pearl
She is alive in the
entire novel.
Sorrow
 Whereas here
Sorrow who died in a
very infant.

10. Society’s Role
 InThe Scarlet Letter Puritan society against to
the women’s love or married women’s love.