Latest news with #TheScarletLetter
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
The New American Scarlet Letter: Andy Byron becomes Hester Prynne in the court of public opinion
Hester Prynne and Andy Byron being publically shamed In the heart of 17th-century Puritan Boston, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter immortalized Hester Prynne's public shaming for her personal life. Nearly 400 years later, in the digital glare of 21st-century New York, Andy Byron , CEO of a tech firm, was thrust into notoriety after a viral moment at a Coldplay concert exposed his private indiscretions. Both stories, though centuries apart, reveal a consistent American tradition: the ruthless spectacle of public shaming and how society polices morality, regardless of era. Hester Prynne: Bearing the mark of sin The society forced Hester Prynne to wear a scarlet 'A' for adultery. It was a punishment designed both to shame her and to warn the community against individuals like 'her'. Over time, Hester's dignity and resilience transformed the meaning of that letter from 'adulteress' to 'able,' but what was the compensation for the untold agony she suffered due to this moral policing? Hester's punishment was a blend of legal and moral judgment, intended to isolate her and reinforce the community's moral code. The ritual of her shaming was not private. She endured the collective scorn and voyeurism of her neighbors. Andy Byron: A victim of public verdict A few days ago, a New York CEO's brief, intimate moment with his company's HR head at a Coldplay concert went viral. With the world watching, Andy Byron was removed from his position, not by a judge, but by social media verdict. The video led to instant public scrutiny, speculation about his marriage, and ultimately his resignation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Purpose of Shame: Byron's actions infringed upon organizational standards, but the swift escalation from workplace investigation to public vilification mirrors the same zeal for moral enforcement. Instead of the town square, the internet became the trial box, amplifying every frame and encouraging worldwide judgment Did Andy Byron deserve to resign? In a trust-driven industry, CEOs are often held to higher standards, even in private matters, because personal choices can affect a company's image, investor confidence, and workplace morale. Was the punishment fair? Arguments vary: Byron's actions risked undermining Astronomer's ethical code and could raise questions about favoritism or workplace boundaries. However, critics argue that one's private life shouldn't destroy a career unless it directly affects job performance. The rapid responsiveness felt less like justice and more like an attempt to preempt public outrage. Was Andy Byron a victim? (Image via X @PopBase & @MAGAgeddon) Byron was 'outed' before he had an opportunity to explain or defend himself; the instantaneous nature of viral media allows no shelter, similar to Hester's public display of penance. Much like the Puritans' need for spectacle, today's public continually demands confessions and consequences—often before all facts surface, and regardless of the line separating personal from professional. Was someone out to get him? There's no evidence that Byron was intentionally 'set up' by Coldplay or others—rather, circumstance, technology, and an eager public did the work. In both cases, individual transgressions were magnified into community drama. Hashtag is the new Scarlet Letter Centuries after Hester Prynne's ordeal, the machinery of public shaming in America shows few signs of evolution. The symbols change-from embroidered letters to trending hashtags, but the collective appetite to watch, judge, and punish remains. Whether in colonial Boston or digital New York, the boundaries of personal responsibility and public condemnation remain perilously blurred. What Andy Byron or Hester Prynne did-whether right or wrong, is far from black and white. Their actions live in a vast, complicated gray area where human flaws, desires, and mistakes often cross paths. Hester's so-called 'sin' was a deeply personal act of love and survival in a rigid, unforgiving society. Andy's moment, caught on a kiss cam, was a private lapse amplified by modern technology and public fascination. Neither act alone should define the entirety of their lives. But what society did to them? That's where the story sharpens into something darker, clearer, and infinitely more troubling. Society didn't just judge Andy or Hester, it weaponized their personal moments as public spectacle. It turned human vulnerability into a form of entertainment, a collective verdict uttered without mercy or context.
Hindustan Times
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
This actor's hyper blue eyes were so ‘distracting', producers made her wear contact lenses
Jun 23, 2025 06:16 PM IST Actors are often known and singled out for their unique features. Think of Benedict Cumberbatch, Cillian Murphy, Tilda Swinton—all of them have a special feature in their appearance that distinguishes them from the rest of the lot. But what if we tell you that an actor's unique feature was so distracting that producers wanted her to lower its effect? Such a thing happened with actor Meg Foster. The actor's blue eyes were labelled as a 'distraction' by producers. Actor Meg Foster has been working in Hollywood since the 1970s. During her initial years in the industry, she was known for her striking blue eyes- which were incredibly bright and appealing. In an interview with The Boston Globe in 1979, Meg revealed how her unique eye colour turned into an impediment in her career as an actor. Meg shared that her eyes were seen as a 'distraction', to the extent that some producers wanted her to wear contact lenses to lessen the effect. Reacting to this, Meg had said, 'I'm not aware that my eyes are so distinctive. I don't look at my eyes, I see through them.' In the same interview, Meg also recalled a hilarious encounter with a woman at a grocery store, where the stranger told her that she could spot her blue eyes from 'two aisles' away. Fan reactions This interesting fact about Meg's hyper-blue eyes was shared by a user on Reddit. Several users reacted to this fact with surprise. A user commented, 'I've always just LOVED the way she looks. So witchy and mysterious, but it an absolutely amazing way. Like she has secrets and can tell you your future, but won't lol. It's more than just the eyes, it's the whole face, but the eyes just REALLY amplify that.' A second user said, 'Her eyes were intensely mesmerising.' A comment read, 'Wow I didn't know it was possible to have eye this blue, giving Frank Sinatra a run for his money.' Meg has acted in several films and TV shows, most notably in The Scarlet Letter, Jezebel's Kiss, and Blind Fury, among others.
Buzz Feed
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Readers Reveal Most Overrated Classic Books
When I turned twenty, I set a personal reading goal to read 100 classics by the time I turned thirty. I admit, I still have twelve books to go within nine I like to think that I am relatively well-versed in classic literature. So when Reddit user villagewitch3000 asked, "What's the worst 'classic' you've ever read?" I immediately had to see if everyone agreed with me about The Scarlet Letter being one of the most tedious slogs known to classic literature. (The consensus is IS!) Even though I wholeheartedly disagree with some of these reviews, I thought they were too interesting not to share. So without further ado... "Wuthering Heights. Jesus. Heathcliff, mate, just leave her alone. " "Pride and Prejudice. Long-winded drivel, neither funny nor romantic, and without even the redeeming quality of a worthwhile message." "The Scarlet Letter. I hate how Hawthorne spoon-feeds his readers symbolism. We get it. The scarlet letter is a symbol for shame." "Gone with the Wind. Scarlett O'Hara acts ridiculous and insufferable throughout the entire novel. She doesn't care who she has to hurt, just as long as she gets her way." "To Kill a Mockingbird. I thought it was so boring and I was really disappointed. I picked it up expecting that the racism aspect of the story would have a bigger role, but instead I had to read through pages and pages of this little girl's boring life." "The Great Gatsby. I can't stand Fitzgerald's writing style." "Rebecca. It's like, bitch, I do not care about your problems. The only person in this entire mansion that I can relate to is the maid that I'm supposed to hate." "This will probably get some Catcher in the Rye. I honestly could not connect with Holden Caulfield and found him to be somewhat of a whiny, self-indulgent ne'er-do-well." "Crime and Punishment. I just wanted to punch the main character in the face over and over again. And it honestly had zero to do with the fact that he was a murderer. I just hated his personality." "Lolita, hands down. Gross, perverted, and I dreaded picking it back up every time I did. " "Frankenstein. I think my problem was that I was expecting the book to be really different from what it was." "The Alchemist. Ugh. What utter tripe. If this book changed your life, then you must have had a truly horrific life up to that point." "Les Misérables. Not only is it very long, it has seemingly interminable stretches of boredom." "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It might've been funny or clever when I was 14 and loved Monty Python and thought absurdist British humour was the height of it was awful as an adult." "Anything Tolkien. Reading the man's writing is like trying to ingest a pack of broken light bulbs." "Heart of Darkness is so incredibly boring. I had to read it for three separate classes, and I really tried to like it each time, but I can't stand that book. " "Don Don Quixote." "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Talking about the mechanics of the boat is not fun." "Ulysses. That was work." "Atlas Shrugged. 🙄😴😴😴😴😴" "Moby Dick is one of the most inconsistent books I've ever read. It starts out as a first-person narrative by Ishmael, occasionally interrupted by lengthy speeches and occasional chapters on the anatomy of the sperm whale, and by the end, it shifts to the third person. Then there is maybe a paragraph tacked onto the very end when Melville realizes this was Ishmael's story, so he kinda reverts back to the first person to explain how he could have survived to tell the tale." "The Picture of Dorian Gray. Udder nonsense dressed in off-putting, overly flowery dribble." "Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck just REALLY likes describing scenery, and sometimes I'm just not down to read through ten pages about hills. " "The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. The great depression... pretty much sums how I felt reading it." "One Hundred Years of Solitude. I recall reading it, and I ended up saying, 'That was it? What was all the fuss about?'" "Pretty much anything by Charles Dickens. He came from a time when authors were paid by installment, and it shows." "Brave New World. Didn't find it compelling at all. 1984 on the other hand scared the shit out of me." "The Turn of the Screw. It is supposed to be ambiguous, but I really only see the governess as a loon. " "The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer seems to think the only things that are funny are farts." "I read Slaughterhouse-Five and I don't remember a damn thing about it. " "I hated The Giver. The ending was just deus ex machina wish fulfillment. " "Walden was my 'I can't stand this' book. It almost destroyed my love of reading." "I get why Uncle Tom's Cabin is important, but hoooo boy, that book is a hot mess. Most of the classics I've slogged through are at least objectively well written, but not this one. " "Vanity Fair. I've read it about four times, and I still can't keep up with who is who and what the main character's motive is." "The Yellow Wallpaper. Yeah, I get it. Patriarchy bad. " "The Count of Monte Cristo. It builds up to this lacklustre ending that could've happened chapters ago. I felt I would have been better off watching a Hollywood adaptation loosely based on the original novel." "The Bell Jar. Took it from my university read it." "Toni Morrison's Beloved. Starts off boring, progresses slowly, and tries to be meaningful in places, but it just felt contrived. Then out of nowhere, a supernatural ending that would be more at home in a Sci-fi original movie." Since The Great Gatsby is my favourite book of all time, I am personally offended by those who tell me that Fitzgerald is nothing special. I want to scream, "You try writing such colourful and poetic prose!" So please don't let me down in the comments. Instead, in the comments, tell me the classic literature titles that you could barely get through, and which of the above titles are WRONG to be listed as a "bad classic." And make sure you follow BuzzFeed Canada on TikTok and Instagram for more!
Indianapolis Star
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
'Great Gatsby' and 'Scarlet Letter' are on Civic Theatre's new season
Classic literature and drama form the backbone of Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre's new season. Kicking off the season in October is "Something Rotten" — a musical comedy that plays on connections to William Shakespeare's work and even makes the iconic playwright himself a cause of action. In early 2026, the theater, which is a resident company at Carmel's Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts, will perform stage adaptations of "The Great Gatsby" and "The Scarlet Letter." Beloved classics "A Christmas Story" and "Fiddler on the Roof" will round out the season. Subscriptions are on sale now via or by contacting the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts box office at 317-843-3800 or tickets@ Single tickets will go on sale July 24. All shows take place in the Tarkington theater unless otherwise noted. Here's the Civic Theatre season lineup. Oct. 3-18 In this musical comedy set in 1590, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are struggling to write a hit play and finding it impossible to compete with a famed playwright known as "The Bard." After a soothsayer predicts that theater's future combines singing, drama and dancing, the duo begins to write the first-ever musical. Summer plans: 100+ free live concerts around central Indiana in 2025 Dec. 5-27 Growing up in fictional Hohman, Indiana, in the 1940s, 9-year-old Ralphie Parker exhausts all possible avenues to obtain his dream Christmas gift: an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot Range Model air rifle. Feb. 6-21, 2026 in the Studio Theater Long Island newcomer Nick Carraway chronicles the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire who pursues the love of his life, the already-married Daisy Buchanan, against the decadent backdrop of Jazz Age New York. The IndianapoLIST newsletter has the best shows, art and eats — and the stories behind them March 13-28, 2026 in the Studio Theater In this reimagining of the classic novel, Hester Prynne raises her daughter in a Massachusetts Bay society where women are punished for asserting independence and colonists deal with violence, superstition and repression that will wind their way into the soon-to-be-formed America. April 24-May 9, 2026 In the small village of Anatevka, a milkman's family deals with the clash between tradition and changing times as they face antisemitism in Czarist Russia.
National Geographic
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
How to plan a literary road trip through the Berkshires
Strolling past The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar, an independent bookshop tucked away in the town of Lenox, you may not realise that an unlikely hero stands behind its red brick facade. Matthew Tannenbaum, an eccentric bibliophile with a tumble of grey curls framing a friendly face, was thrust into the spotlight in 2022 with the cinematic release of the documentary Hello, Bookstore. It highlighted his plucky David-versus-Goliath mission to keep the doors of his cherished Berkshires bookshop open, against a backdrop of the pandemic and in an era of online retail. Stepping inside the cult book emporium, I find Matthew, dressed in faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, sitting behind a scuffed wooden desk at the entrance to his shop. He's been found in this exact spot most days for almost 50 years, since coming to the Berkshires on a whim and snapping up the store. Matthew has since turned the space into a thriving hub for literature fans, with regular poetry readings and signings by authors, both homegrown and international. Dotted throughout the store's nooks and crannies are cosy armchairs that invite bookworms to recline and thumb through a classic, perhaps while sipping a glass of wine from the on-site bar. A handwritten sign beside Matthew's desk reads 'bibliographic consultations available today', a tongue-in-cheek nod to the owner's passion for helping customers find their dream novel. 'I wanted to be a writer myself and had some friends already living in the Berkshires, who told me this was a great place to be a creative,' Matthew recalls of his move to Lenox, with bebop jazz tinkling in the background. 'The region has this rich literary heritage. Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick not far from here and Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, spent time here.' He adds, 'There are contemporary writers such as Ana Reyes, author of The House in the Pines, who are affiliated with the area, too.' He points a finger towards shelves stocked with books by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, poets who also sought inspiration in these mountains. Made up of rural highlands, glistening lakes and undulating fields, the Berkshires has inspired some of America's greatest writers. Situated in western Massachusetts, 130 miles from Boston, the Berkshires region is made up of mountainous highlands, thick forests, shimmering lakes and rolling hills. Encompassing a segment of the fabled Appalachian Trail, this rural idyll has long attracted outdoor adventurers, alongside city-slickers wanting a dose of culture with their country escape. Each summer, the Tanglewood Music Center near Lenox is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, welcoming around 350,000 visitors to live performances and seminars, while galleries such as the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown keep those with an interest in visuals arts engaged. I'm visiting this pastoral retreat for its book scene, which alongside temples to prose such as The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar, includes the homes of several eminent writers. Two miles from downtown Lenox is the Mount, Edith Wharton's imposing mansion, and now a museum. New York-born Edith became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921, for The Age of Innocence, a saga later made into a film by the director Martin Scorsese. Fleeing the bright lights of the city to relocate to the Berkshires in her 40s, Edith created an aristocratic hideaway on a 113-acre estate. She soon waxed lyrical about the Mount, writing to novelist and friend Henry James that 'the truth is, I am in love with the place — climate, scenery, life and all'. It's easy to see how living at the 35-room landmark, modelled on a 17th-century European stately home, might get the creative juices flowing. Likely helping things was the abundance of servants tending to the chores, while Edith worked on her 15 novels and 85 short stories and entertained visiting literary greats. Out on the terrace, overlooking a maze of manicured formal gardens, I find Anne Undeland seeking shade from the unrelenting sun under a parasol. The actor and playwright, who lives close by, became a frequent visitor to the Mount while working on a script about the life of Edith Wharton. 'This is a place that's always been hospitable to the arts, particularly for female creatives,' Anne says, as we walk through a library lined with 1,500 musty-smelling leather-bound books and make our way upstairs to Edith's bedroom. Female writers who've also called the Berkshires home include Catharine Sedgwick, a leading figure in early 19th-century literary circles who set her celebrated novel, Hope Leslie, in a Massachusetts Puritan colony, and novelist and short-story writer Patricia Highsmith, author of the 1955 tome The Talented Mr Ripley. Since writing a script about the life of Edith Wharton, actor and playwright Anne Undeland has become a frequent visitor at the Mount. Throughout the 19th century, Concord's Main Street was a meeting point for authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. 'We also have these amazing mansions built during the Gilded Age,' Anne adds, referring to the prosperous era in the late 19th century when America's wealthiest families created increasingly lavish estates. In Lenox, alongside the Mount, these homes include Elm Court and Ventfort Hall Mansion. Although Edith was fond of staging publicity photos of herself scribing away in a formal study, in reality, she actually wrote from a bed strewn with letters and books, an ink pot perilously balanced on one knee and a shaggy dog at her elbow. In the centre of her cornflower-blue room, today is that same bed, draped in a lace throw and surrounded by scrawled pages. 'Edith would throw the sheets of paper on the floor when she was done, for the maids to pick up and reorder. It was a flamboyant gesture, which I think says much about the class differences at play,' Anne observes with a wry smile. New life That evening, I retire to the nearby Life House Berkshires, a former roadside lodge that recently began a new chapter. Transformed into a hip 65-room hotel in the summer of 2022, it also doubles as a contemporary literary salon, regularly hosting writers' retreats. To find out more, I meet the director of cultural programming, Alex Chevalier, in the palm-fringed lobby, where he stands before a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. As well as hosting artists in residence, including writers who stay at the hotel for a period of time and give public talks and workshops, Alex says they also 'do fun things like a writing cocktail hour at the bar. We'll have a special themed drink and a group will congregate to sit down and write together.' He adds that the lobby has become a relaxed spot for local book clubs to meet, too. As I watch a guest pull a paperback from the library in the lobby, settling under a woven blanket to study it beside a flickering firepit, Alex says that it's the leafy surroundings that draw in wordsmiths. 'The Berkshires has a simple, organic beauty that inspires people to be creative,' he reasons. The following morning, I drive a couple of hours eastwards to the town of Concord. In the mid-19th century, the American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson gathered together Concord's anthology of authors, an inner circle that included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. Known as the Transcendentalists, the group would meet in Ralph's front parlour to discuss progressive ideas of social reform, spiritual truth and literary innovation. They are now collectively laid to rest in Author's Ridge in a corner of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, a dappled graveyard where devoted fans come to place pencils at their heroes' crumbling headstones. The Berkshires is home to an abundance of independent bookshops such as Barrow Bookstore in Concord, specialising in the history of Concord and its authors. As an epilogue to my own literary trip, I call in at Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House nearby, an impressive clapboard farmhouse bordered by a colourful cottage garden. A rare example of a house existing in both fiction and reality, Orchard House is where Louisa wrote and set her seminal coming-of-age novel Little Women in 1868. It's now a house museum offering guided tours, with visitor numbers trebling since Greta Gerwig's Academy Award-nominated movie adaptation hit the big screen in 2019. 'We're seeing more multi-generational groups,' assistant director Maria Powers says, leading me up to the perfectly preserved bedroom where Louisa drafted her epic novel, sat at a little table that her father built, looking out at the verdant trees. 'We've also just started renting this room out — it attracts a fascinating array of people, including plenty of poets and authors,' she enthuses, pointing out a replica of Louisa's writing cap, a jaunty Wee Willie Winkie hat finished with a red bobble, slung over the back of her chair. 'Imagine sitting here and looking at the very same view that inspired Louisa May Alcott to write one of the world's best-loved books. Writers still come here to be infused by her creative energy,' Maria says. On my way out, I pass a mother and her teenage daughter pausing for a selfie beside Louisa's writing desk. Perhaps, like me, they've come to travel Massachusetts' literary trail — a storied route that reads like a love letter to American literature. Plan your trip America As You Like It offers a seven-night fly-drive holiday to Massachusetts from £1,415 per person. It includes return flights from London to Boston with British Airways, three nights at the Harborside Inn in Boston, two nights at Concord's Colonial Inn and two nights at the Life House Berkshires in Lenox, plus five days' car hire. For more information, visit This paid content article was created for The Massachusetts Tourism Board. It does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic, National Geographic Traveller (UK) or their editorial staffs. To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
