Hester

Nat Hathorne is a fictionalized version of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, and much of his characterization is based on Hawthorne’s biographical details. Nat is a love interest to Isobel, though he abandons her when she becomes pregnant with his daughter, Margaret. He is brooding and self-absorbed, spending much of his time fixating on his ancestor, John Hathorne, a judge in the Salem Witch Trials. He imagines Isobel as one of his literary creations, which makes it impossible for him to understand her as a person. However, Nat is hypocritical, as he accuses a pregnant Isobel of bewitching him, of being in control, to alleviate himself of guilt or responsibility. He is dismissive of injustices that do not concern him, such as slavery, and by the end of the novel, Isobel recognizes this and declines his offer to move to Maine. He goes on to write The Scarlet Letter, with protagonist Hester Prynne being based on her. Like Edward, Nat’s toxic masculinity manifests as irresponsibility.

Edward Gamble is Isobel’s husband and antagonist. While he begins the novel as an accomplished apothecary, he becomes a barrier to her economic stability: In Scotland, he accumulates debts to the point of him and Isobel being sentenced to live in a poorhouse, while in Salem, he steals her money to finance his scheme to discover the “elixir of life” by studying African and Native medicine. Edward disappears for much of the novel due to Darling having him arrested in Jamaica after he threatened Darling’s plan to help people who escaped slavery. He returns to Salem to return Mercy’s family to their enslaver to receive reward money. Like Nat, Edward’s toxic masculinity manifests as irresponsibility—and later, violence against Isobel.