Revelation of the Scarlet Letter 1879 - 1889

"Revelation of the Scarlet Letter" is a drawing by American artist Felix Octavius Carr Darley, created between 1879 and 1889, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The drawing depicts a scene from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter," where Hester Prynne stands on a platform, wearing the scarlet "A" on her chest, while a crowd of Puritan villagers looks on. The drawing captures the moment of Hester's public shaming and the stark contrast between her defiance and the Puritan's judgment. Darley's detailed depiction of the scene and the characters' expressions effectively conveys the emotional weight of the moment and the drama of the story. This drawing, a pencil-and-ink illustration of the famous novel, demonstrates Darley's skill in capturing the essence of literary works through his art.