Scarlet Letter
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The earliest psychological in American history is undoubtedly The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This is the story of how one passionate act can change the lives of a woman, who is humbly branded as a sinner, a self-persecuting respectable public figure, and an implacable husband who lingers on only for absolute vengeance, in a small Puritan community. Temptation is the catalyst which drives us to succumb to our potentially detrimental emotions.
Temptation, in the form of physical desire, can lead people to ardor, which can forever change people's lives. The most fundamental lust which takes place within the story is the act of passion between Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, which does not take place out of simple sexual desire, but out of actual affection between the two involved parties.
" 'Speak, woman!' said another voice, coldly and sternly, proceeding from the crowd about the scaffold. 'Speak; and give your child a father!'
'She will not speak!' "(p...