The Scarlet Letter…Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850…According to many critics, Hawthorne should have been less friendly toward Hester Prynne (in fairness, so should have Minister Dimmesdale). Unsurprisingly the bk caused moralist outrage in 1852. 140 yrs later, the bk is still being banned due to its conflicts with community values and sinful nature (wink, wink). Parents in one school district called the book “pornographic and obscene” in 1977. Clearly this was before the days of the Internet.
