Lacuna Rambles/Thoughts/Gif Reacts #3: A Literary Link (Patreon)

[Alternate Text: A gif from the movie "Easy A". It features Emma Stone's Character, Olive, making a mocking kissy face as she walks through the halls of her high school. The shot then cuts to her lace top that has a red 'A' sown onto it, focusing on the addition she's added to make a point.]

I'm curious if any of you have have read the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne? It could have possibly been an assigned reading for you in school or a title you have heard of as a potential 'classic'. It's so old that I don't believe I'm actually spoiling it, but there's a subtle link between it and something in Chapter 7 of Book One. Specifically, what can happen in the Fernweh Diner!

Your drink does taste better than last time. Saying as much is what you intend to do until you notice the small 'A' that is written along the side of the cup. The W placed it on the seam where the cup meets the lid, just below where your lips would rest when sipping from the plastic spout; the positioning seems deliberate…

Secrecy? Insinuation? Subtlety? Intimacy?

They must have a reason for drawing it there; you aren't sure if [RO_Name(s)] saw it or not.

The 'A' that Mal awards the MC is also associated with red due to the diner's color scheme. 👀

This particular link is something I hope you will come back to once learning more about Mal's backstory and after having a chance to make choices about your dynamic with them.

In the novel by Hawthrone, the scarlet letter is a symbol for 'adultery', but it becomes much more than that! It's a shameful and isolating stigma for Hester (the main character), a mark that influences her entire life from that point on. She becomes 'othered' by the town due to having a child out of wedlock and refusing to expose the parentage, although I personally feel it isn't so much the 'indiscretion' of that motivating this treatment as an unspoken, united idea to cast her out. The townsfolk adopt a group mentality rather than being pious. There is also the theme of secrecy and devotion in his book. Hester bears that letter and accepts the town's treatment.

For TFS, there is the surface implication that you might think I'm calling out the MC seeking out Mal while also on another romance route. That's not it, dw! 🙃 But Mal boldly presenting the MC with the next letter of their name in a public setting could make you wonder why? Are they trying to see if they will be your secret? Does Mal know something more and isn't 'sharing' or 'awarding' the MC with this letter, but 'labeling' them with it? Also, I think we're prone to looking at it from R's, B's, etc. perspective; however, how does Mal feel about this potential split interest?

I promise this comes full circle in the series!

The 'A' in Mal's name links to the Scarlet Letter, if it's a warning, a judgement, or just a cute little doodle in their name guessing-game is up to you! 💔😌