Who Is Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter

Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale dealt with their sin in different ways due to their personalities, their positions in society, and their ability to hide their crime. Hester and Dimmesdale’s differing personalities were one reason why they dealt with guilt differently. Hester, like her daughter was rather passionate, bold, and prideful. Hawthorne characterizes Hester through her daughter (6-83). This quote portrays Hester to have a gloom and temper.

Lawrence incorporates a sarcastic tone in his essay to belittle the adulteress because she is not deserving of a high reputation. Hester is degraded because she is shameful to all women. Lawrence sarcastically insists that she be put “upon the scaffold and worship her there” (Lawrence). Since the author does not approve of Hester’s adultery, he uses sarcasm so his readers can envision another side of Hester as a woman who is worthy of anything but praise. Lawrence sarcastically comments that she is being worshipped, which contrasts with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s judgement towards Hester who he believes plays the heroine in the novel. His sarcastic tone enables him to bring more emotion beyond the words’ literal meaning. In addition to Lawrence’s disrespect for Hester regarding the unnecessary worship she receives in the novel, he is also sardonic when he describes her appearance. Hester’s scarlet letter only represents her shameful sin of adultery in Lawrence’s eyes. He speculates that the women will be “envying [Hester’s] sin, and beating [her] because [she’s] stolen an advantage over them” (Lawrence). His sarcastic tone indicates that he has no respect for any woman who commits adultery. Because Lawrence believes that it is the woman, not the man, who is at fault for the development of an unorthodox relationship, he immediately blames Hester for creating such a relationship with Dimmesdale. Lawrence will not change his opinion on Hester no matter what she does in attempt to better her reputation.

Lawrence is therefore mocking Hawthorne’s view of Hester by comparing her to Abel because he believes that Hester is the source of blame for the sin itself, rather than the helpless victim. Lawrence also compares Hester to Adam from the Holy Bible, by calling her “Adama” numerous times throughout the piece (Lawrence). Lawrence is comparing Hester to Adam because he had committed a tremendous sin and was therefore banished from the Garden of Eden and forced to toil in pain and suffering because of his unholy actions. This is the same response that Hester was granted for her sin, she was an outcast in her town and was forced to live with the pain and guilt of her sin for the rest of her

In his work “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence addresses the controversial character of Hester Prynne. He is just one of many critics who have analyzed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional character, where some look to her as a hero and others blatantly shame her for her sin. Lawrence makes up the latter of this crowd, and is able to prove his case in a very meaningful manner. The critic believes that Hawthorne sugarcoats Hester’s image, and tries to make it look as if she is the victim of the tale. Disregarding this sympathy, he addresses the root cause of her sin rather than its consequences. As he writes, he uses a multitude of literary techniques to help convince readers of Hester’s seemingly evil character, using descriptive diction, a

Lawrence’s biblical allusions to Hester provide a comparison to that of other sinners. He uses allusion for the reader to better understand Hester and her actions. Lawrence compares Hester to a remorseful prostitute when he states, “Then when you’ve brought him down, humbly wipe off the mud with your hair, another Magdalene” (Lawrence). He compares Hester to Mary Magdalene as a way of saying that their actions are similar to one another. He implies that just like Mary Magdalene, Hester tainted a pure, innocent soul into her arms, by luring Reverend Dimmesdale to commit a sinful action with her. Lawrence further implies that Hester and Dimmesdale are, “The new Adam

Lawrence utilizes terse syntax throughout his essay to briefly and clearly indicate to the reader that Hester is a wrongful character. When describing Hester’s main goal in the story, he writes that it is “[to] seduce a man. To have everybody know” (Lawrence). He uses abrupt, easily understandable sentences that get his point across to convey his idea about her character and her purpose in the novel, which he argues is to be an adulteress. Furthermore, he makes connections between Hester and others in his concise statements by declaring, “All begins with A. Adultress. Alpha. Abel. Adam. A. America” (Lawrence). By incorporating these choppy one-word sentences into his essay, he is able to make his words come across as bullets that target Hester. The words he uses are meant to describe her sin and relate it to other ideas- such as Abel, because she pretended to be the victim. He attacks Hester’s character for being an adulteress and then attempting to disguise her impurity by

    Lawrence employs direct, choppy syntax that quickly pierces Hawthorne’s noble image of Hester before the next aspersion is thrown. He uses this quick-paced style of syntax to maintain the interest of the reader while building up a strong argument to support his thesis. His harsh remarks are thrown together to increase the impact of his words and mock Hester, “The fiery heart. A. Mary of the bleeding heart. Mater Adolerata! A. Capital A. Adulteress! Glittering with gold thread. Abel! Adultery. Admirable!” (Lawrence 24). He combines the phrases ‘fiery heart’ and ‘admirable’ with his own phrases like ‘adulteress’ and ‘abel’. This tears down the image of Hester’s pureness by contrasting what she is idolized for with what she is guilty of.

In his essay “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence criticizes society’s perception of Hester Prynne. Hester is the protagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, and Lawrence regards her relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale as morally inacceptable. Lawrence also condemns those who try to condone her sinful behavior. In order to create an effective criticism of Hester Prynne’s portrayal, D. H. Lawrence uses powerful syntax, an ironic and critical tone, and insightful allusions.

D.H. Lawrence utilizes biblical allusion by forming phrases said by Hawthorne into biblical terms and phrases to make Hester look poorly. This is more used against Hawthorne in the sense that it brings in the Puritan religion. These allusions draw conclusions to the characters by using statements that audience members may recognize or understand better, “it is Arthur Dimmesdale who dies… she lives on and is Abel” (Lawrence 39). This phrase shows that by using the allusion of Hester being Abel, and relates back to why he believes Hester’s character is poor. Lawrence also refers Hester to a demon saying, “Oh, Hester, you are a demon. A man must be pure, just that you can seduce him to fall” (Lawrence 37). This concludes that Hester being a demon, she is completely evil, and has no good in her whatsoever.

Lawrence utilizes biblical allusion by forming phrases said by Hawthorne in biblical terms to make Hester’s sin seem less of what it actually is. This is used more against Hawthorne in the sense that it brings in the Puritan religion by using relative characters that correlate with the events that occur. Moreover, these allusions draw conclusions to the characters while using statements that audience members may recognize or understand better, “it is Arthur Dimmesdale who dies… she lives on and is Abel” (Lawrence

In D.H. Lawrence’s critical essay, “On the Scarlet Letter”, Lawrence believes that Hester Prynne is a character who does not deserve praise because she committed adultery. He explains the methods Hester used to seduce men, and how her actions are not heroic. Lawrence uses repetition, brief syntax, and sarcastic tone to convey that Hester Prynne is no heroine. D.H. Lawrence uses repetition to represent that Hester is guilty of sin. Lawrence uses his words in a repetitive way to clearly show his opinion of her when he states, “The great Alpha.

" Hawthorne makes note of the various meanings of the letter "A" in the novel; at first it stands for "Adulterer," then at various times "Angel" and "Able." Hester was able to effect this heroic transformation by accepting the consequences of her actions, unlike Dimmesdale, and she ultimately triumphs over them. Hester Prynne is seen as “among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature. She’s the embodiment of deep contradictions: bad and beautiful, holy and sinful, conventional and radical… [she] can be seen as Hawthorne’s literary contemplation of what happens when women break cultural bounds and gain personal power.”

Lawrence makes references to many great works ranging from works of Edgar Allan Poe to the Bible in order to prove Hester’s malice when compared to other characters of these books. Lawrence proceeds to rant about how Hawthorne depicts Hester as the “great alpha. Alpha! Adulteress! The new Adam and Adama!

In his essay On The Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence contradicts Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne respects Hester and portrays her as a victim, whereas Lawrence argues that she is one of the main sinners in the novel. D.H. Lawrence establishes and supports his claim that Hester Prynne is unworthy of Hawthorne’s praise by effectively utilizing concise syntax, frequent repetition, and strong biblical allusions.

Hester Prynne, a character within The Scarlet Letter, is a prime example of Hawthorne's common transformation of individuals within his books. These mutations involve the qualities and attributes of her physical appearance, feminine emotions, and reputation among the townspeople. Throughout the novel, the mentioned elements of Hester's character develop and change several times, providing the reader with better understanding of the influence that the scarlet letter and other characters have on her.