Unraveling the Scarlet Thread: A Study in The Scarlet Letter and A Study in Scarlet.

This article examines the literary connections between Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel *The Scarlet Letter* and Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 detective novel *A Study in Scarlet*. It highlights how Conan Doyle was influenced by Hawthorne's work, notably in the shared use of "scarlet" symbolism, narrative structures, and thematic elements such as societal judgment, hidden secrets, and personal transgressions. Both stories feature narrators reflecting on past events, use attic imagery as a metaphor for knowledge, and include characters grappling with religious and social ostracism. While *The Scarlet Letter* centers on adultery within a Puritan community, *A Study in Scarlet* incorporates a murder mystery set against the backdrop of Mormon settlement, illustrating Conan Doyle's adaptation of Hawthorne's motifs into a pioneering detective narrative.