Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter

When Hester went to Governor Bellingham’s house to discuss Pearl’s ownership, she realizes her need for Pearl since Pearl is the only reason she can withstand all the humiliation and slut shaming from the townspeople. Pearl is her “sole treasure to keep her heart alive” and with Pearl, “she felt that she possessed indefeasible rights against the world, and as ready to defend them to the death” (100). Pearl is the motivation for Hester to become a stronger and better person. In addition, “this badge hath taught me --it daily teaches me-- it is teaching me at this moment-- lessons hereof my child may be the wiser and better, albeit they can profit nothing to myself” (98), reiterates her sole purpose and desire to do the best for her child including to teach her. This depicts Hester as a confident and independent woman who is capable of standing up for what she wants rather than the old Hester who accepted the humiliation without a

Hester is unwilling to be brought down by the humiliation and ridicule of other people, because she will be seen as weak and useless in society. She wants to show everyone that she will endure the punishment she receives for committing adultery, but she will not give up the dignity that she has left, even if it means continuing to stay and suffer in her town.(Wright). Hester doesn't choose to hide her scarlet “A”, she instead uses the attention to highlight her good deeds by being more involved in her town. Hester chooses to give to the poor, she knits clothes for them, she nurses them when they're sick. Despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman.

“She took the baby on her arm, and with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared a letter A. (6) As she walked Hester was ladylike, dignified than ever before. I presume that Hester is not proud of the crime she committed but she is willing to stand tall and accept the consequences. The author described the scarlet letter as a spell on Hester Prynne that set her out of ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself, thus bringing her isolation (7). Hester’s walk of shame was the worse part of wearing the scarlet letter, with crude, stark, callous eyes staring at her knowing she will never be considered a part of their society again; though Hester sustained herself as best as she could. She began reminiscing remembering her old house in England with her mother, father, and a scholar, then she realizes the Scarlet Letter will always target her as an outcast. Which leads into chapter

Thou art no Pearl of mine! Said the mother half playfully; for it was often the case that a sportive impulse came over her, in the midst of her deepest suffering, Tell me, then, what thou art, and who sent you here?” Hester's candid and slightly callous tone shows her characters overwhelming and doubting feelings towards Pearl. Having this tone enables the reader to comprehend the troubles Hester is going through. Those troubles being, raising an elvish-child alone and in exile while dealing with the multitudes of her sin. Using imagery and tone Hawthorne was successful in developing (in particular) the characterization of Hester and showing how her intuitive mind attempts to overcome sin.

The narrator remarks, “The scarlet letter had not done its office,” (Hawthorne 163) while speaking of how the experience of wearing the letter has changed Hester and how the community opinion of her has evolved over seven years. While the letter was supposed to make Hester a social pariah, her charitable nature quickly changed how she was viewed. While she may believe that she is isolated from the rest of society by the letter, the community has chosen to view the letter as standing for “Able,” instead of it’s original “Adulterer.” Mentally, she is punishing herself for her sin, but that is her own decision and not an affect of wearing the letter. In fact, she almost feels empowered by it. She “assumed the freedom of speculation, then common

From the beginning, Hester shows a significant amount of proudness and holding herself in a respectable manner. While walking towards the scaffold she, "...never appeared more ladylike, in the antique interpretation of the term, then as she issued from the prison" (p. 61). This was the time where she should 've felt the most ashamed and guilty since she was to be presented to the whole town as an adulteress. Being a mother to her child was the first priority than to worry about people 's remarks and rude stares. When Chillingworth interviews Hester in an attempt to find out who the other adulterer was, Hester says, "I will keep thy secret, as I have his" (p. 81). She would rather be the center of unwanted attention than to reveal her lover 's name and subsequently ruin his life. The man who impregnated her was someone who had honor behind his name, while she would just have a child to

Hester's loyalty is most revealed when Roger Chillingsworth demands that she tell him her partner's name. Trying to convince her that this unknown man has wronged them both, he asks her for his name so that they may both get revenge upon him. After already enduring all she thought she could handle during her display, this request challenges Hester nearly to the point of conceding,but her sense of loyalty rejuvenates her  moral resistance. She prevails and keeps his secret, forcing her husband to seek the man by himself. Even though her partner is probably destined to be caught, either by the authorities or by Roger Chillingsworth, Hester's loyalty makes her refuse to be responsible for his capture.

Hester’s confidence and individuality exemplifies how not letting other people's opinions define her life allows her to live a more happy and carefree life. She wore the scarlet letter without hiding it, showing that she did not strive to look perfect to the town. Although people still so talk about Hester, she does not let her reputation affect her in any way. The strong main character maintained her self confidence and did not let judgemental civilization dictate her life. As years pass after she has been living viewed as a criminal, she even chose to return to the place where she had a bad reputation because that does not matter to her at all: “she returned and resumed of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that period would have imposed it” (Hawthorne 234).

During this scene, Hester begins to realize she is now only recognized as the scarlet letter, therefore the town no longer views her as an equal part. Thus making her agnise that she is no longer a part of the Puritan society like she once was. Another example, is when standing upon the scaffolding in the marketplace at the beginning of the novel, Hester “turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that… the shame were real” (12). In other words, this shows that she has been set as an outcast, forcing her to move to the outskirts of town and wear the scarlet letter upon her chest as people whispered, stared, and pointed as the human hidden behind the scarlet letter strode by. These occurrences irked her, as she knew that the people of the society who were judging her were not sin free themselves, they had all committed a wrongdoing and were hypocritical and far from pure, they were merely keeping their sins a secret.

Society’s critical opinion of Hester due to her “red-hot” mark of shame deteriorates her inner

Hester’s battle with herself can only be understood by taking a glimpse into her daily life with her beloved daughter, Pearl. Pearl is the physical manifestation of her sin, of the adultery that Hester committed with her secret lover; with every waking hour, Pearl is always alongside Hester, constantly reminding Hester of her transgression. Whenever Hester sees Pearl, she sees a young and energetic girl, who also possesses the same attributes that she loathes about herself, the difficult and wild side of herself that would never give up. Hawthorne writes that Pearl, “lacked reference and adaptation to the world into which she was born. [Pearl] could not be made amenable to rules” (Hawthorne

Envisage living in a community where one could only be intimate with their husband. Sounds insane, right? Though being sexually active with more than one partner in a lifetime is moderately common in today’s society, it was severely looked down upon in the 1800s. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathanial Hawthorne communicates the story of Hester Prynne, an adulteress. Hester Prynne lived in a Puritan Society in which women were held to high, difficult, and unjust standards by men. Evidently, she undergoes unusual punishments for her infidelities against her estranged husband. She forcibly wears an embroidered, scarlet letter A on her breast for the remainder of her life. Though physically benign, its call of attention to Hester’s transgression is emotionally straining. As a man or woman, adultery must always be perceived as improper and unlawful. However, the author exhibits transcendentalist values when one can conclude that Hawthorne’s words were not demeaning Hester, but more so commending her. His execution of rhetorical devices applauds Hester’s individuality in a conforming society. Through the author’s implementation of diction to illuminate Hester and debase the rest of society, manipulation of symbolism to compliment Hester’s individuality, and application of irony to manifest Hester’s gained dignity from rebelling, Hawthorne illustrates Hester’s journey in a culture against change as one of dauntlessness, and conveys his purpose that individuality is precious.

The scarlet letter has affected Hester in many ways. One of the biggest ways it has affected her is in the way of feeling very guilty and shameful. She thinks she “would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman’s sinful passion” (Hawthorne, 76). Hester believes that her sin will serve as a walking example to the whole community and that people will always remember her for her adulterous act. Likewise, when she made the decision to still live in her town, on the outskirts that is, she feels that by facing her sin head-on and cope with the people who will continue to gossip about her, it is her only way to make herself pure again. When she enters

Throughout her story Hester evolves from her guilt stricken life into an independent woman. The offense committed by Hester was the sin of adultery. Knowing that she was wrong she longed to be-rid her guilt to seek forgiveness in her community. Hester fulfills her goal by engaging herself in many acts of charity and her work as a seamstress to help the community. By the end of the novel her sin was forgiven as the community saw her as able, as shown when the narrator says, “ The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, so much power to do, and power to sympathize, that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength” (158). Even with this new meaning Roger Chillingworth still said that the Puritan community would allow Hester to remove her scarlet letter, thus removing a reminder of her sin meant to isolate and build upon her guilt. Having to deal with suffering and guilt alone can lead to terrible practices, but Hester evolved and illuminated her

Woman, previously put down by society, have not had the ability to rise from their lower states until recent events in history. Women make great strides in societal change, such as Anne Hutchinson, who turns into the fictional character Hester Prynne in the Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne bears a “scarlet letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 41). In the 18th Century, dark romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the power of a woman through a feminist lens. Hawthorne’s Hester employs adulterous behaviors and antinomianism to provoke