How Does Hester Prynne Change

Being a woman in a Puritan society, Hester did not have much influence, and her crime as an adulteress made her a public figure of shame. Over time, Hester became accepted and also accepted herself, and this caused her dealings with sin to not be as heavy. In the 13th chapter of the Scarlet Letter, “Another View of Hester”, Hawthorne describes how Hester has found her place. (13-146/147). This quote shows how Hester’s role has changed and how she had developed.

On page 112 it states, “so many people in the community 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.” The symbol of her sin was soon transformed to mean her character's strength and beauty. The townsfolk soon came to realize that Hester is not defined by her sin nor her Scarlet A, but by the contributions she makes in the community to help

Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter for the rest of her life because of the one sin she has committed. As she stands on the scaffold in front of the whole town she is told “... And then and the after for the remained of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom.” (Hawthorne 59). This quote shows that hester is forever going to be guilty for the one sin she has committed with Dimmesdale. Hester will never be treated the same or looked at the same off because of the Scarlet A on her bosom. As the book goes on Hester moves into a cabin that is half in the forest and half in society and raised her daughter Pearl. She made clothes for a living and she decided to start making extra clothes for the poor. Hawthorne then explains how the poor don’t even have respect for Hester because of her scarlet letter “...she give of her little substance to every demand of poverty; even though the bitter-hearted pauper threw back a gibe in requital of the food…” ( Hawthorne 146). This proves that she is still being treated different because if her sin. She is getting treated so wrongly and this sometimes make her feel guilty for committing her sin. Although Hester can leave at anytime she plesases she decides to stay in this town because she believe she should be punished in the same town that she committed her sin. She also stays because of

"On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A...it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony." Hester uses what was originally meant to degrade her character and turns it into a beautiful decoration, that symbolizes her resilience and individualism, on her already not so "appropriate" outfit (at least for the Puritan community). This is outrages to the Puritans, who feel ridiculed by Hester's attitude. Yet later in the chapter, despite her pride, Hester still barely believes the situation she is currently in, this is shown when "She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were

In the beginning of the novel, Hester refuses to let her sin define her, which her subtle, beautiful, yet defiant nature displays. With all eyes on her as she walks out of the jail, the townspeople notice “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” (Hawthorne 46). This embroidered A serves as a punishment of her sin and is supposed to be a disgraceful, ugly reminder to her and everyone around her. If she had succumbed to her punishment and the persona that went with it, then it would be an ugly A, but she makes

Together with the transformation of Hester, the scarlet letter once again symbolizes her identity as pure as an angel. Though she committed adultery and had to suffer a lot from this sin, her soul still remains in an original shape of purity. And the red color of letter A on her bosom, which once was the call of scorn, hate and bitterness towards Hester, now attracted people's warmth, admiration and love as if it were a red burning color deep inside her heart. Hester deserves the highest recognition that the scarlet letter has done for her: a woman with a pure heart and soul of an angel.

In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is more than a literary figure in a classic novel, she is known by some people to be one of the earliest American Hero’s. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester commits adultery and has a child that she must care for all alone. She is forced to wear a powerful, attention grabbing “Scarlet A” on her chest while she must try to make a living to support her and her child, Pearl. Even though she must face all the harsh judgment and stares she does not allow her sin to stop her from living a successful life. She looks past the Letter as a symbol of sin and turns it into a sign of approval. Hester

The Scarlet Letter: Hester Prynne’s Great Transformation The striking scarlet character placed on the chest of Hester Prynne was meant to convert her into an improved human being. Its purpose was to aid her in realizing her sin and to change her for the better, according to the townspeople of Massachusetts. Hester, having gone through a complete transformation, has become a better person. Contrary to the beliefs of her fellow citizens, this change was accomplished through Hester’s own realization of the true meaning of the scarlet letter, not from the physical cloth letter upon her breast.

Although she removes the scarlet letter much later in the novel, it will always be a part of her. Thus, Hester becomes a figure of strength, compassion, and acceptance. I believe that Hester has developed this way because she doesn’t want anyone else to feel the humiliation and loneliness that she experiences. Moreover, she feels the need to impress the Puritans because they look down upon her. In the novel, Hester does a lot of charitable deeds such as providing solace to poor, sick, and mourning people. Furthermore, the reason she does this is because she wants to compensate for her sin of adultery. By doing these good deeds, she evens out the bad with the good. Therefore, her moral actions ultimately proves her

In the novel, Hester is the character with the scarlet letter. She believes the scarlet letter is apart of her, that is why when she gets humiliated and shamed for it, she takes it with strength. Hester is so close to the letter ‘A’ that even when she has a chance to take it off she refuses. Hester does not want to take off the letter, but what she pleases to do is transform the meaning behind the letter with her actions. For instance, when she helps around the town she transforms into something majestical “ She was self-ordained a Sister of Mercy or, we may rather say, the world’s heavy hand so ordained her, when neither the world nor she looked forward to this result. The letter was a symbol of her calling.” (Hawthorne 158) Hester becomes somewhat of a nurse, but both the world and she do not see her this way. This is

Symbolism has many different meanings, and the Scarlet ‘A’ in “The Scarlet Letter” has many different meanings as well. Hester Prynne is the main character who is forced to wear the scarlet letter as remembrance for the crime and the sin that she has committed. This letter completely ruined her reputation in her community. How could a small piece of fabric do so much harm? This letter was a representation of something much greater than the letter ‘A’. This letter was originally made to stand for adulteress, as physical reminder of her sins. The vibrant scarlet red is meant to shame Hester, to make her feel sorry for her mistakes. Most importantly it was a symbol for change and an emblem of identity. In short, the scarlet letter meant much more than a letter of shame, it was simply a piece of fabric with meaning that could easily change.

From the beginning, we see that Hester Prynne is a young and beautiful woman who has brought a child into the world with an unknown father. She is punished by Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of her dress and standing on the scaffold for three hours. The scaffold is a painful task to bear; the townspeople gathered around to gossip and stare at Hester and her

As the novel progresses the meaning of the symbolism of the letter “A” starts ti blossom into a new meaning. Toward the climax of the novel Hester Prynne’s appearance is altered to where she is no longer viewed as a sinner. The meaning on the symbol changes from of the devil to a some what vague symbol, as if it has lost its initial connotation. Society now views her a symbol that differs whom she really is, she is viewed as a strong woman through all the torment that is put in a unfortunate situation. At this point Hester has already learned how to dealt with the burden of the scarlet letter. Withstanding the pressures of society boiling down waiting patiently for Hester Prynne to crack, she does not, she grows into a stronger woman. A woman that has gone through hell and back and continues to thrive in her society even under the circumstances she lives in. The scarlet letter “A” meaning has changed, “ hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love, unless the change be impeded by a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility” (Hawthorne 147). Slowly Hester’s hard feelings toward the letter, and to the situation itself, begins to diminish. However, it is

The townspeople have begun to regard Hester with a certain amount of respect. She has been pure in heart and deed ever since her public fall from graces, and she is charitable to the poor. Hester earns her money by doing stitch-work for local dignitaries, but she often spends her time helping the poor and sick. In fact, her suffering makes her kinder toward others. She knows how to offer grace, because she had been denied it herself. People begin to suggest that the A stands for Able. Some suggest that the scarlet letter connotes holiness. For Hester, however, the symbol has hardened her against ever feeling passion of affection again. She has ceased, in short, to be a

The scarlet letter could also be looked as a quality of Hester's character. This quality defined the views of the townspeople regarding Hester, and in time also changed in meaning. It was at the beginning of the book that the letter embroidered on her bosom only stood for adultery, and the common consensus of the people, in respects to Hester's actions, was "this woman has shamed us all and ought to die" (50). In time, and through the actions of Hester Prynne, the letter 'A' upon her chest was understood to be something different, and "many people refused to interpret the