Despite Hawthorne's reputation as a romancer who preferred to create a “neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land” (1: 36) and seemed intent upon liberating his tales and novels from the everyday world, he paid careful attention to historical settings for most of his literary works. He conducted his research, often reading extensively in historical sources, but he routinely changed facts to suit his imaginative purpose. He often sought historical distance as a way of dealing with volatile contemporary issues, such as slavery or women's rights. Regardless of a work's situation in history, however, readers must deal with a tension between historical moments. The Scarlet Letter offers the best case in point. Set in Puritan Boston between 1642 and 1649 (the years of the English Civil War), the novel owes a great deal to seventeenth-century sources, but the most interesting recent research has emphasized the book's treatment of nineteenth-century issues. A key challenge for readers often means figuring out how Hawthorne's use of early history helps him deal with more contemporary matters.

Puritanism

Puritanism and the history of early Massachusetts settlements – Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Salem – form one important context in which to understand Hawthorne's writing. Hawthorne read widely in seventeenth-century history, both English and American. Scholars such as Charles Ryskamp and Michael Colacurcio have meticulously connected characters and events in The Scarlet Letter and other works to the New England historical record.