A masterpiece of American literature and a classic moral study, The Scarlet Letter is a work whose intensity remains undiminished by time or changing values. In this program, Nina Baym, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Lawrence Buell, of Harvard University; Carol Karlsen, of the University of Michigan; and Charles Hambrick-Stowe, of the Lancaster Theological Seminary, explore the secret places of the heart in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale of private truths and public appearances. Background on Hawthorne and colonial New England is also included, as are dramatizations of pivotal scenes from the story. A Discovery University Production. (48 minutes)