Is The Scarlet Letter's Hester Patterned after Anne Hutchinson?
Four Works Cited There are some things that could have happened to Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter if she had followed the footsteps of Anne Hutchinson. Anne Hutchinson believed differently from most Puritans in the 1640's. She held these beliefs with all her heart. People did not like her for that so they banished her. Hester Prynne commits adultery, but she handles it differently than Anne. She does not believe with all her heart that it was the right thing to do, so she is not punished as severely as Anne was. Hester begins by doing something against the authorities but she handles it differently than Anne did.
In chapter one of The Scarlet Letter, Anne Hutchinson is considered a heroine because of her imprisonment. The chapter describes a rosebush that grew from where Anne had stepped into the prison. Rose bushes are usually associated with passion (beauty plus pain) or the church (as in Dante). Anne had a passion about her beliefs about the church and is a heroine. This rose bush grew in memory of her.
Hester Prynne herself walks into this prison for almost the same reason as Anne Hutchinson. Hester had a passion symbolized by the rose also. She had a different kind of passion, though. It was not for her beliefs, but for a man of the church, Rev. Dimmesdale. This passion was in the church (the rose) but people in the church opposed this passion, just as they opposed Anne Hutchinson. The rose symbolizes what happened to both women.
Right away Anne was considered a threat to authority because of her growing number of followers. People said her meetings were disorderly, but she said she was following God. Mostly because she was being more than a wife and mother and going above her place as a woman, the church banished her. The church leadership was getting upset because she had said that certain pastors were wrong and that people should live only under a "Covenant of Grace," not works, something which sounded like antinomianism. They figured that getting rid of her was the only answer.
Hester had really done something wrong and deserved punishment according to the law. She had to wear a scarlet letter A. The way she handles the punishment is very different from Anne Hutchison. She knows she has done wrong. In a way, she, too, is banished because people basically ignore her. As time passes, people begin to see her as a kind person who is also very strong, and they see the letter that she wears to mean Able, not Adulteress.
Anne Hutchinson was warned by Rev. John Cotton to "hold her tongue." (Buckingham) She takes his advice for a short while to become a church member, but then she began once again to express her strong beliefs. She held meetings and openly spoke what she believed. Women were not supposed to speak like that. All people were to respect church authority. But Anne did not care. Both Anne and Hester did wrong, but they handled it differently. Anne was later viewed as a heroine because she was so unlike most women and spoke out freely.
Hester did not fight back like Anne Hutchinson. She submitted and took her punishment. After a while her reputation got better. Anne rebelled and was punished. Not many people respected her; she lost her reputation. Once she died, people respected her more because of the passion she fought with for what she believed.
Hester had the same chance as Anne did to fight back and become a heroine like Anne Hutchinson. Chapter 13 of The Scarlet Letter mentions that she might have been a prophetess or have been killed because of her passion. To be an example to her daughter, she did not do that. The book suggests that if Pearl had not been born, Hester might have gone down in history with Anne Hutchinson.
Instead, Hester is just remembered as a woman who loved. She is not remembered for going against the law as much as Anne Hutchinson is. They are both remembered for being mothers. Anne is known for her passion in standing up for what she believed. She is often remembered as a heroine. Hester's passion is also remembered, but she acknowledged that what she had done was wrong. The Scarlet Letter mentions Anne Hutchinson in a couple of places. First it shows how she was like Hester, but the second time it shows how they ended differently. They both had passion, but they handled it in very different ways.
Works Cited
Buckingham, Rachel. "Anne Hutchinson: American Jezebel or Woman of Courage?"
