There are some similarities. First and most important is
the presence of the narrator. It is his voice rather than his identity that is
significant. He is established in the introduction as a man of imagination and
curiosity, and these traits are reflected in the way he tells the the story. As he
relates it, his information having been gleaned from old documents and old tales, his
voice is often ambiguous and filled with qualifications as he offers up one possible
version of events versus another. He asks many questions. His curiosity inspires
curiosity in the reader. The truth of the events he relates is as much a mystery to him
as to the reader.
There are also some similarities between
the narrator and, strangely enough, Hester Prynne. Both live in circumstances where they
really do not belong. The narrator is at heart a writer, trapped in the mundane life of
the Custom House and surrounded by people far different from himself in their values,
behavior, and temperament. He goes about his business, performing his duties, but he
does so without really belonging. He is an outsider who observes those around him while
remaining essentially detached. It is understandable why he would be drawn to Hester,
intrigued by a woman who lived and died in her own difficult circumstances among people
so unlike herself. Like Hester, the narrator is emotional, passionate, and
nonjudgmental, very much aware of the unresolved mysteries in
life.
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