The Scarlet Letter
Read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in Danish and English, a parallel text graded reader with audio. Available in CEFR levels A2, B1, B2, and C2.
About this book
On a summer morning in Puritan Boston, a crowd gathers before the weather-stained prison, where a wild rosebush blooms at the threshold. Hester Prynne steps from the prison door of her own will, refusing the guiding hand, her infant in her arms and a scarlet letter "A" gleaming in gold thread against her gown. She is marched to the scaffold to stand in public shame. The townswomen debate her punishment. The clergy press her to name the father of her child. She will not.
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En stor gruppe mænd med skæg stod sammen.
A large group of men with beards stood together.
De havde mørkt, enkelt tøj på og høje grå hatte, formet som kirketårne.
They wore dark, plain clothes and tall gray hats shaped like church steeples.
Der stod også kvinder blandt dem.
Women stood among them too.
Nogle kvinder havde hætter på, og andre havde slet ikke noget på hovedet.
Some women wore hoods, and others had no head covering at all.
De stod alle foran en bygning af træ.
They all stood in front of a wooden building.
Bygningens dør var lavet af tungt egetræ.
The building’s door was made of heavy oak.
Døren havde jernpigge på sig.
The door had iron spikes on it.
History
- Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in English
- Adapted by Line by Line Publishing in 2026