Radu Cozmei. Hawthorne and the Cinematic Scarlet Letter.

Living in between and

on Borders Constructions of Gender, Race, Class and Sexuality along the
Centuries. International Conference. Iasi. 21-24 arch 2!!1. Iasi" #ni$ersitas
%%I& 2!!'.
H()*H+R,- (,. *H- CI,-(*IC SCARLET LETTER
Radu Cozmei
(/stract
(fter e0aminin1 the difficulties that a22ear in the 2rocess of translatin1
a literar3 te0t from 2rint to the screen& the 2a2er focuses on the
attem2ts to 2roduce film $ersions of the well-4nown The Scarlet Letter
/3 ,athaniel Hawthorne& 2a3in1 s2ecial attention to the latest
Holl3wood /loc4/uster in this series& directed /3 Roland 5offe and
featurin1 .emi oore& 6ar3 +ldman and Ro/ert .u$all.
o$ies& a ma7or com2onent of the audio-$isual offensi$e that is 1raduall3
diminishin1 the 2resence of the 2rinted matter& re2resent the onl3 2o2ular art form of
our times. (lthou1h literac3 seems to /e on the wane& the old 1ra2heme has a wa3 of
8stri4in1 /ac49& and one of the 2laces where its 8insidious9 2resence can /e felt is the
$er3 domain of the enem3& the feature film itself.
*he 2ur2ose of this 2a2er is to anal3ze the screen ada2tations of Hawthorne9s
The Scarlet Letter. S2ecial attention will /e 2aid to the latest Holl3wood 8translation9
of the /oo4& a film directed /3 Roland 5offe and released in 1::;.
*he /usiness of tellin1 an alread3 2rinted stor3 in an audio-$isual manner
raises two ma7or <uestions"
1. (re the two domains& i.e.& the film and the no$el com2ati/le=
2. #nder what conditions a screen ada2tation can /e successful=
*he o/$ious answer to the first <uestion is that the two communication modes
a <uite different and an3 attem2t to ada2t a literar3 te0t to the screen medium is /ound
to meet with serious difficulties such as findin1 the means to descri/e the internal&
2s3cholo1ical life of the characters& decidin1 how much of the ori1inal stor3 ou1ht to
/e 2reser$ed or identif3in1 the solutions that would allow 3ou to 4ee2 the s2irit of the
/oo4 ali$e in the motion 2icture $ersion.
*he success of the ada2tation is determined /3 the 1enius of the director& who
is e02ected to a22l3 in an incredi/l3 ima1inati$e manner the followin1 /asic rules" 1>
he should not limit his contri/ution to co23in1 dramatic scenes and s4i22in1 the
descri2ti$e 2assa1es? 2> he should sta3 awa3 from the so-called faithful ada2tation&
and '> he should not /e afraid to radicall3 differ in his solutions from his literar3
2rotot32e.
*he unfoldin1 of The Scarlet Letter case /e1an in 1:1! and went throu1h two
sta1es& each consistin1 in a num/er of e2isodes" the silent and the tal4ie. .urin1 the
first sta1e& se$en silent films were made& si0 of which were short while the 1:2@
$ersion& directed /3 Aictor S7ostrom was a full-len1th feature film. *he second sta1e
includes four 2roductions" the 1:'4 motion 2icture directed /3 Ro/ert Ai1nola and
starrin1 Colleen oore? the 1:B' 6erman-lan1ua1e film directed /3 )im )enders
and starrin1 Senta Cer1er? the 1:B: Du/lic Croadcastin1 S3stem four-hour tele$ision
s2ecial directed /3 Ric4 Hauser and starrin1 e1 Eoster& and the 1::; film directed
/3 Roland 5offe and starrin1 .emi oore& 6ar3 +ldman and Ro/ert .u$all.
1
(ccordin1 to Cruce .aniels F1:::" 2> some of these films ha$e successful
moments" 6ish9s melodramatic Hester in the 1:2@ $ersion is 4nown as one of the
most 2assionate 2ortra3als of a silent screen heroine? the Ai1nola tal4ie is almost a
satire of Holl3wood cliches? )enders rearran1es much of the stor3 /ut mana1es to
con$e3 the essence of the 2s3cholo1ical drama? the DCS s2ecial is a tour-de-force of
e0cellence in 2eriod costumin1& scener3& and technical detail. ,e$ertheless& all these
mo$ies fail su/stantiall3 to ca2ture the artistr3 of the no$el and onl3 the 6ish silent
film was 2articularl3 2o2ular at the /o0 office. *he 1:'4 tal4ie seems sill3 toda3?
)enders9 $ersion is too -uro2eanized to a22eal to man3 (mericans? and the DCS
marathon is too lon1 and slow-mo$in1.
*he 1::; e2isode in this series re<uires a s2ecial treatment due to its unusual
situation. *he moti$es to ma4e a new Scarlet Letter film seemed reasona/le enou1h to
in$est more than G@! million in its 2roduction" twent3-fi$e 3ears had ela2sed since the
last attem2t& and an3wa3& none of the mo$ies alread3 made were 1ood enou1h to
intimidate newcomers. Conse<uentl3& a /loc4/uster was masterminded and released
in the autumn of 1::;. *he cast included .emi oore& the hi1hest-2aid actress at that
time& 6ar3 +ldman& a se03& romantic lead& and Ro/ert .u$all& an (cadem3-(ward
winnin1 character actor. *he film a22eared to 2ossess the necessar3 elements that
could ma4e it a success& at least at the /o0 office and with the 2o2ular critics.
Sur2risin1l3& it 2ro$ed to /e a s2ectacular failure. *he mo$ie lost nearl3 G;! million
F.aniels& 1:::"2>. .urin1 the first wee4 of sales& when mo$ies usuall3 1ross half of
their domestic recei2ts& it earned less than G; H million. (t the end of the 3ear& The
Scarlet Letter& after nine wee4s of release& had a domestic 1ross of G1!&''!&@I;. *his
amount is <uite small when com2ared to other 2roductions released a/out the same
time such as Toy Story& which 1rossed GI@&4I'&@''& Ace Ventura& which 1rossed
G::&4!1&1@2& or Pocahontas& which 1rossed G141&':I&41@.
,ot onl3 did the film lose mone3& /ut it also came under a real tsunami of
criticism 1enerated /3 commentators of all 2ersuasions. (ccordin1 to Aariet3& which
2osted notice of fort3-si0 re$iews 2u/lished in ,ew Jor4& Los (n1eles& Chica1o& and
)ashin1ton& fort3 of these were con& four were mi0ed& and two were 2ro
F.aniels& 1:::" '>. Headline writers for se$eral /i1 ma1azines $oiced this attitude in a
fairl3 e02licit wa3. Here are some e0am2les" 89( is for (22allin1 FCommonweal>?
Hester Dr3nne9s *u/ FNewsweek>? ( Scarlet for the #nlettered FTime>? and )orst
of Screen FPeoples Weekly>. *he film was descri/ed as 1litz rather than su/stance
K ichael .unne F1::B"1>? another commercial classic must-see K *onia Steed
F1::;" 1>? ludicrous retellin1 of ,.H.9s 1I;! no$el K Sean eans F1::;" 1>? or
2ossi/l3 one of the fi$e worst mo$ies e$er made K 5ames Cowman F1::;" 2>.
Cecause I sus2ect that at least some of those 2resent are not familiar with this
Holl3wood chef oeu!re& I will $olunteer some data retracin1 the stor3line" Hester
arri$es in Coston& finds a house for herself and her soon-to-arri$e hus/and& meets the
allurin1 Re$. .immesdale& learns of her hus/and9s death in an Indian massacre& and
hits the ha3 with .immesdale. She /ecomes 2re1nant& refuses to re$eal the father9s
identit3& has a /a/3 in 7ail& and is sentenced to wear the famous red ( on her
2rodi1ious /osom. *hen Hester9s hus/and arri$es-not dead /ut turned insane /3 the
Indians who held him hosta1e. He assumes the identit3 of Ro1er Chillin1worth so that
he can find his wife9s lo$er. Erom here on Hawthorne /ecomes a $er3 <uiet and
remote /3stander& and thin1s /e1in to ha22en that are nowhere to /e found in the
/oo4. *hus we ha$e access to witch trials& an attem2ted ra2e on Hester& scenes of the
two lo$ers 1allo2in1 o$er the countr3side& an in-the-nic4-of-time Indian attac4& and of
course& all the turmoil leads to an ine$ita/le ha223 endin1.
2
(2art from switchin1 to a chronolo1ical 2resentation of the facts& which is
accom2anied /3 the insertion of numerous fa/ricated incidents& the film dis2la3s a
lar1e arra3 of com2onents that ha$e nothin1 to do either with Hawthorne9s no$el or
with the histor3 of Duritan ,ew -n1land.
*he issue that was most often discussed /3 the critics was the film9s hea$3-
handed 2olitical correctness. 5offe mana1es to in$ent showcase e0am2les for e$er3
sort of Holl3wood consensus on that matter FCowman& 1::;"2>" 6ood Indians $s. Cad
)hite an? 6ood Indians $s. Cad Colonizers? 6ood (nimists $s. Cad Christians?
Stron1 )omen $s. Cruel and +22ressi$e en? Se0ual Ereedom $s. Sic4 and *wisted
Se0ual Re2ression? .octrinal Ereedom $s. +rthodo03& etc.
*hus& Hester loo4s li4e a 1::!s 1al actin1 in the manner of a confrontational
feminist who in7ects 1ender into nearl3 e$er3 scene. (lso& her aero/icall3 scul2ted
/od3 is shown off at e$er3 o22ortunit3 and once a1ain she 2resents the Aanit3 Eair
co$er shot of her famous 2re1nant /ell3.
)hile Indians 2la3ed almost no role in Hawthorne9s ori1inal& in the film the3
seem almost u/i<uitous and the3 2la3 the 2art of innocent $ictims decei$ed /3 land-
hun1r3 reli1ious h32ocrites. Runnin1 short of other solutions the3 ha$e their re$en1e
/3 re$ertin1 to a cow/o3s and Indians scri2t from the old da3s and sta1e a
/loodthirst3 raid on Coston& 7ust in time to sa$e Hester from /ein1 han1ed.
In order to ma4e 2eo2le thin4 the3 are seein1 a historicall3 honest de2iction of
se$enteenth-centur3 Duritan ,ew -n1land& 5offe ta4es e$er3 reco1niza/le detail of
Duritanism and throws it on the screen. Eor e0am2le& .immesdale is translatin1 the
Ci/le into (l1on<uin much li4e the historical fi1ure of Ro1er )illiams& and (nne
Hutchinson9s ad$ocac3 of women9s ri1hts is associated with Hester& /3 2lacin1 the
latter in the middle of the witch trials F.aniels& 1:::" B>.
*he Duritans are 2ortra3ed as censorious& 2oliticall3 re2ressi$e& miso13nistic
/i1ots and h32ocrites whom colonists and citizens of the new (merican re2u/lic ha$e
had to esca2e from. *his 2oint of $iew feeds a lon1-standin1 animosit3 toward
Duritanism that scholars ha$e /een tr3in1 to o$ercome for most of the twentieth-
centur3. *he film shows that Duritanism was /ad and Hester& .immesdale and Dearl
had to flee to ,orth Carolina to 2ut some distance /etween them and its /rutishness&
7ust as (mericans had to flee from it to esta/lish a democratic nation. )hile
Hawthorne re7ected the 1rimmer as2ects of colonial ,ew -n1land9s reli1ious culture&
he res2ected its rich intellectualit3 and s2iritualit3 and 1a$e am2le e$idence of his
fascination with colonial histor3 and with his own Duritan ancestors.
*r3in1 to sum thin1s u2& it is 2ossi/le to sa3 that althou1h 5offe o/ser$ed the
second and the third rules to /e used in the 2rocess of 2roducin1 a screen ada2tation
of a no$el& as well as those im2osed /3 Holl3wood success reci2es& the result of his
endea$or was mostl3 disa22ointin1. ( ma7or mista4e that contri/uted to the ad$erse
reaction of the audiences was the clearl3 stu2id idea of callin1 the film The Scarlet
Letter& thus tr3in1 to lin4 it to the fate of the famous no$el. *he am/i1uit3 and the
multi2le la3ers of meanin1 that lie at the heart of Hawthorne9s 1reatness are remo$ed
and re2laced with a series of clearl3 delineated situations in$ol$in1 1ood or /ad
2eo2le in a what 3ou see is what 3ou 1et melodrama.
Still& two <uestions need to /e considered once more data /ecome a$aila/le.
Eirstl3& is it 2ossi/le to translate the no$el9s 2o2ularit3 from 2rint to the screen=
Secondl3& is Hawthorne9s re2utation too solid for Holl3wood to dem3tholo1ize it and
turn it into mass culture=
References
'
Cowman& 5ames. Eriendl3 Dersuasion. Re$. of The Scarlet Letter" dir. Roland
5offe. The American Spectator Aol. 2I F.ecem/er 1::;>. )ilsonSelectDlus. Internet.
21.11.2!!!.
.aniels& Cruce. Cad o$ieL)orse Histor3" the 1::; #nma4in1 of The
Scarlet Letter. Re$. of The Scarlet Letter" dir. Roland 5offe. #ournal of Popular
Culture Aol.'2 ,o.4 FS2rin1 1:::>. )ilsonSelectDlus. Internet. 1;.11.2!!!.
.unne& ichael. The Scarlet Letter on Eilm" ,inet3 Jears of Re$isionin1.
Literature$%ilm &uarterly Aol.2; Issue 1& F1::B>. -CSC+.Internet. 2!.!B.2!!!.
eans& Sean. HawthorneM I )ant a Rewrite. Re$. of The Scarlet Letter" dir.
Roland 5offe. Eilm.com. #RL" htt2"LLwww.film.comLfilm-
re$iewL1::;L:'@:L2BLdefault-re$iew.html 12.!2.2!!1.
Steed& *onia. Su2erdud. Re$. of The Scarlet Letter& dir. Roland 5offe. Eilm.
Com. #RL" htt2"LLwww.film.comLfilm-re$iewL1::;L:'@:L:;Ldefault-re$iew.html
12.!2.2!!1.
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