Scarlet Letter Isolation Quotes

Hester Prynne from Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, is marginalized by society for having committed a sin. She too is given a stereotype by those around her, similar to Elle Woods. In the beginning, no one dares to speak or even look at Hester because of the “A” she wears on her chest. Hester feels as if she needs to change the meaning of this “A” that is stuck to her, so she sets out to do so. Every little action that she does,

What is the significance of the scarlet letter A which is embroidered on Hester’s gown?

Set in seventeenth-century Boston, “The Scarlett Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story of principal human values and the consequences if said values are replaced with deceit and falsehood. Sincerity and honesty are indirectly pinned as requisites by Hawthorne in order to be a genuine and sane person in society. This is best expressed in the line, "No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.” Hawthorne continued his claim by recounting the stories of Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth who all went about deceit differently or not at all.

‘The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance.” and “She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it through off the sunshine…” (4). While managing to face her realities, Hester accepts her “sin” and fate with dignity.

"Here on this wild outskirt of earth, I shall pitch my tent for, elsewhere a wanderer, and isolated from human interests, I find here a woman, a man, a child, amongst whom and myself there exist the closest ligaments." - Chapter 4, paragraph 26

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

The sin of adultery she once made doesn't exist in the letter A any more. It has transformed from "adultery" into "able", "acceptable", and off course it's made Hester the woman of pride, kindness, and respect. Hester did such an outstanding evolution that no woman in her times can: expressing self-identity, proving woman strength by showing her self-reliance and independence, revealing her goodness and kindness for people, and earning respect and pride.

“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.” (Romans 12:17) Vengeance can create,humiliation and violent,revenge against those who you seek closure. However the one feeling this way can loose their way, become someone crude and not liked. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Roger Chillingworth becomes consumed by revenge. Through the character Chillingworth the theme of vengeance is dominate.

“On one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him." Chapter 1, pg. 46

There has been a constant dispute over whether people should be governed by determinism or free will. Determinism is the idea that our actions and fate are predetermined and every occurrence can be explained or has a reason for happening; free will, in contrast, is the idea that we have the ability to act independently of external restraints. In the 17th century, Puritan society arose in New England as one that was governed by its religious views, and thus was a deterministic one. Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates this in his novel The Scarlet Letter, in which the characters Hester, Dimmesdale, Pearl, and Chillingworth are alienated by society. Although

He finds out it was Dimmesdale and then set out to torture him. “[Chillingworth] never set him free again until he has done all it’s bidding. He now dug into the poor clergyman’s heart” (Hawthorne 117). Hester tells Chillingworth to stop, but Chillingworth does not. He wants to get revenge on Dimmesdale. Because of this revenge, he loses Hester forever. Chillingworth tortures him in his own best interest. He is selfish. He wants Hester, even though Hester no longer loves him. Even after he has the chance to learn his lesson, Chillingworth still acts in his own interest. He learns that Dimmesdale and Hester are going to leave on a boat, and he books a ticket on the same boat, causing more problems for Hester and Dimmesdale. Chillingworth wants only what was in his own best interest, not what is better for others.

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

First, Hester’s punishment could be compared to a spectacle. Indeed, after having committed adultery in a Puritan society, the town government decides to punish Hester by exposing her on a scaffold for several months and by making her wear the “A” letter on her breast to be able to identify her as an adulterer. During this time, she faces endless mockeries and insults but she never gives up; she grows stronger and doesn’t let the town judgement affect her.

     In the beginning of the story, Hester is being punished for adultery, and is forced to wear the letter A on her bosom. It is shown so that people will know her as an

The Scarlet letter sheds much light on the theme of isolation strait from the top when Hester Prynne gives birth to her daughter, Pearl, in prison. Pearl is the result of Pre-Marital Sex, and while the father is unknown at this point, it later is revealed that Arthur Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father. Forced to wear a large “A” on her chest for the rest of her days as a reminder of her sin of fornication in the Puritan Society, Hester Prynne becomes outcast by her peers. “ Measured by the Prisoner’s experience, however, it might be reckoned a journey of some length; for, haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon.” Even though Hester is surrounded by people, she is all alone. She is being paraded through the streets, as an example for others to not follow her ways. Hester’s isolation encourages her to stand up and not be ashamed of her actions, but to take pride in them.