However, Puritans paid much attention to their education. They thought that only those who were able to read the Bible would find religious truth. The Bible was read and interpreted very accurately and strictly. And this truth, that was to be found by accurate interpretation, was synonymous with a good life. Although the Puritans have been very strict in religious way, on the other hand they could be quite tolerant. The grade of tolerance was dependent to the extent of the appropriate thing. For example they condemned the drunkard, but not the consumption of alcohol itself. And they did not taboo sexuality, as long as it was sexuality between husband and wife and not extramarital sexuality. But the strict Puritan code was far from tolerant. Relationship between men and women was very constrained and that are what made adultery such a bad sin in the eyes of everyone who in the community believed that their fate was controlled by God. Public discipline and punishment were used to discourage everyone else from committing the same crime or sin as the offending criminal did. The community was to follow the belief of God and to do their duties the best they could, yet were there to criticize and punish all who disobeyed the religion or laws.

Church was the cornerstone of the 17th century life in New England. Everything was very strict and everyone was expected to follow the laws. It was against the law not to attend church—where men and women sat on opposite sides through long services. The Puritan lifestyle was restrained and rigid: People were expected to work hard and repress their emotions or opinions. Individual differences were frowned upon. Even the dark, somber Puritan dress was dictated by the church.

D.    Hawthorn’s family background

As one of the most influential Romantic novelists in America in the 19th century, “Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works mostly describe the people’s mental attitude, thought contradiction and life tragedy under Calvinistic pressure by the cruel clericalism domination in the colonial period. Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem, his hometown, has ever been the place where Puritanism forces are rampant and several generations of his ancestors are fanatic Puritans; therefore, the rich Puritanism thought from his family has deep-rooted effect on Hawthorne. Because Puritanism itself owns the complicated state that positivism and negativism are coexistent, Hawthorne has doubtful or religious attitude to Puritanism. Hawthorne is inclined to conservation in political thought, and holds pessimism for future. On one hand, he assails Puritan criminal behaviors such as religious fanaticism and impermissibility to heresy; on the other hand, he takes the religious basic creed as the criterion to cognition and judgment.” [2](P65) The contradictive mentality is typically and deeply represented in his masterpiece “The Scarlet Letter”. His family was of Puritan belief for generations and had been prominent in the area since colonial times. Hawthorne knew Bible very well and went to church frequently. When he was four, his father died on a voyage, but maternal relatives recognized his literary talent and financed his education. As a boy he went to the East Salem Church, which was described as “on the verge of Unitarism”. During his study in the Bowdin College, among his classmates were many of the important literary and political figures of the day: writer Horatio Bridge, future Senator Jonathan Ciley, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and future President Franklin Pierce. These p

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