THE SCARLET LETTER Nathaniel Hawthorne's background influenced him to write the bold novel The Scarlet Letter. One important influence on the story is money. Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his first daughter added to the financial burden. He received a job at the Salem Customhouse only to lose it three years later and be forced to write again to support his family. Consequently, The Scarlet Letter was published a year later. It was only intended to be a long short story, but the extra money a novel would bring in was needed. Hawthorne then wrote an introduction section titled "The Custom House" t