The Concept of Adultery in Selected American Novels

Adultery is regarded as one of the greatest sins in all religions which saw it as vicious and forbidden act. Generally, sociologists argued that adultery, whether committed by women or men, is a social threat for both the individual and society. This paper presents the concept of adultery as it was reflected in Nathaniel Hawthorne‟s The Scarlet Letter (1850) and Francis Scott Fitzgerald‟s The Great Gatsby (1925) during the seventeenth and twentieth centuries respectively. The aim of this paper is to give attention to the definition of adultery as a dangerous act that affects the people‟s behaviour towards adulterer or adulteress. It also shows adultery, a major theme in the history of American literature, as an outlet from an oppressive marriage. In addition, it scrutinises the causes and effects of such a scandalous act.