In many societies throughout American literature, characters must conform to societal norms. Failing to do so causes one to become a target for harassment and belittled by the others in society. To go against society one needs motivation and or support from those who mean something to them. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the excerpt No Name Women from Maxine Hong Kingston’s novel The Woman Warrior, our protagonists Hester and The No Name Woman become greater than what society expects of them. Society sets expectations for how married women should behave, but Hester and the No Name Woman have grown to take up their own identity. In retaliation for having an identity that conflicts with society's norms for them they get victimized. …show more content…
When Roger Chillingworth comes to visit her in the jail cell their talk helps make up her mind to not fear societies wrath. "We have wronged each other," answered he. "Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into a false and unnatural relation with my decay. Therefore, as a man who has not thought and philosophized in vain, I seek no vengeance, plot no evil against thee. Between thee and me, the scale hangs fairly balanced. But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! (63). In their conversation Roger doesn’t blame her for the sin she committed, and has nothing against her. This gives Hester some relief because she doesn’t have to fear being outed by Chillingworth as his wife. Since no one knows the true identity of the physician, and the belief that her husband might be dead is strong she won’t receive a punishment worse than wearing the scarlet letter and standing on the scaffold in the market place.This gives her strength to not conform form since she has nothing to worry about in terms of greater punishment. Roger proves to be a useful family member when it comes to building Hester up the first few chapters while she’s in the jail cell. Hester breaks down after the first scaffold scene, when she returns to her cell but Roger helps her get to her feet and on the right track,giving her more reason to live after being in jail for three months. "Live, therefore, and bear about thy doom with thee, in the eyes of men and women,--in the eyes of him whom thou didst call thy husband,--in the eyes of yonder child! And, that thou mayest live" (62). Roger is telling her that she should stand strong under the scrutinizing looks on the men and women not letting them see how they affect her. He tells her that, not only should she stay strong to prove a point, she should stay strong for her
As a punishment for her crime of adultery, Hester must wear scarlet letter ?A? for the rest of her life. We can see her strength when she bravely faces humiliation on the scaffold. When Reverend Dimmesdale asks her about the identity of the child?s father, she remains silent, although she was told that her punishment might be lighter if she confesses (Hawthorne 62). One can see that she loves the person so much that she sacrifices her own freedom in exchange of the his. After trying to persuade Hester to talk with no success, Reverend Dimmesdale says ?Wondrous strength and generosity of a woman?s heart! She will not speak!? (63). Hester does show a wondrous generosity in this chapter. Even though she realizes that her punishment will be lighter, and she will have someone to share the punishment with, she still remains silent. One of the townsmen also admired her strength, saying how ?she does not speak, that the magistrates have laid their head in vain? (57). Hester does not speak at all cost. We can see the strength of Hester?s character through the thoughts, words, actions, and what the other?s impressions on her.
Had Hester given a name and condemned her child’s father, she would not have to stand alone. The fact the “[she] will not speak” shows her love for Pearl’s father (68). Hester’s love for this man is her downfall; had she been willing to give him up in an act of selfishness, she wouldn’t have to suffer alone. In addition to this show of weakness, Hester has the opportunity to leave town after she is released from prison, giving her a chance to start a new life and live free from judgement and away from the weight of the eyes of the town. Instead of taking this gift, she “deemed herself connect in a union” with the father of her child, therefore she chooses to bear the town’s judgement for “a joint futurity of endless retribution,” (80). Hester Prynne was married to Roger Chillingworth for convenience, not for love. He had “betrayed [her] budding youth into a false
Neither Hester's love for Authur Dimmesdale nor her need for atonement of her sins were the primary reasons why Hester remained in Boston. However, Hester mainly lived out her punishment to set an example for Pearl of what she should not become. Hester Prynne's life had been a continuous series of disappointments and shame. Because she cared for her daughter, Pearl, Hester treated her punishment more as a means of teaching Pearl a respectable lifestyle than a means of confronting her vices.
As Hester grows throughout The Scarlet Letter so does her strengthen. Despite the feeling of loneliness, Hester has remarkable strength withstand townspeople and the government. The primary offender against her is Roger Chillingsworth, who married Hester before she was old enough to know the needs of her own nature (Abel 304). Hester married Chillingsworth for a fresh start but he is sent to America to live and she must wait for him to return. Hester is surprised to see Chillingsworth he comes to visit her cell...
The narrator notes her change in morals and beliefs: “She had wandered… much amiss” (180). This passage describes Hester’s state of mind and morals after seven years with the scarlet letter. Compared to Dimmesdale, Hester is much wilder, yet also much better adjusted to the weight of her guilt. She has accepted what happened and uses that acknowledgment to shape her views. She has become stronger, more untamed, and more removed from society. Not only does society reject her, but her crime forces her to question morals and dive into her wilder nature. Religion and law no longer work as simple guidelines for her life. Her act is considered a sin, but out of it she got freedom, love, and Pearl. After being cast out, she now looks at society and its rules—the things most people conform to—from a more negative, outsider perspective. The letter gives her a chance to be independent and find what she believes in as opposed to what she's been told to believe in. She rejects society through both these rebellious views, and also through her actions upon coming back to the community. She helps women in the community by offering support and counselling. In such a male dominated society, this is an important step both towards feminism and away from the
After Hester received the scarlet letter she was left to be objectified between the feelings of two men; her former husband and her lover. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, seeked revenge for the affair that occurred between Hester and her lover Dimmesdale, while Dimmesdale seeked punishment for his sin and for leaving Hester alone to raise their child. Hester was in between both situations, but not physically involved in the feelings of these men. Like said in the earlier quote she was the vessel of the feelings around her , only objectifying her place in the community even
Throughout the course of history, the concept of women being subordinate to men has always existed. However, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a woman named Hester Prynne tries to break prejudicial notions against women in a patriarchal society. In the story, Hester commits the crime of adultery and is sentenced by the government to wear a scarlet letter as it symbolizes ignominy. Since she lives in Puritan New England, the people do not value women a lot, her actions becomes a sight of public scrutiny. Yet, with her strength as a woman, she is able to not only survive the situation, but also reverse as she later becomes an important member of their community. In a feminist perspective of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter,
When someone makes a mistake there are two options, own it and move on with life, or push it to the back of your mind and let it haunt you for the rest of your life. Hester Prynne chose to own it and move on with life, which was the best choice. Many people would have chosen to force it to the back of their minds, which in turn would cause much more suffering than choosing to deal with their mistake. Hester is able to face her troubles head on and that makes her a real hero. It shows that she has realized her mistake and accepted it. Facing her trials head on makes Hester able to move on with her life instead of being stuck in the past.
Even though both women are adulators, Hester is a truthful woman who never lies. She only lies one time to her daughter when approached by the question of what the scarlet letter stands for. Hester also never lies when approached by ministers to confess whom the accomplice were. She just says, “I will not speak'; (Hawthorne 64).
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is virtually banished from the Puritan society because of her crime. She was guilty for adultery with the town’s minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. However, the reader is kept in the dark that Dimmesdale is the child’s father until latter part of the novel. Although Hawthorne’s novel accurately depicts the consequences that Hester and Dimmesdale suffer from their sin, the novel does not accomplish the task of reflecting upon the 17th century Puritan gender roles in Hester and Dimmesdale. For one, the mental and physical states of Hester and Dimmesdale are switched. Hester takes on the more courageous role throughout the novel whereas Dimmesdale takes on the more sensitive role. In addition, Hester is examined in accordance to the gender roles set for today’s American women. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is written in a manner that accurately depicts 17th century Puritan society, but does not accurately show gender roles.
One of Hester’s greatest qualities is her unrelenting selflessness. Despite her constant mental anguish due to her sin, the constant stares and rude comments, and the
See, if Hester had just accepted her sin and not boasted about as if the letter had no effect on her, or as if she hadn’t done anything wrong, she may have been more accepted by the people of the town. She might even have saved herself from unnecessary pain and suffering, whether or not she really believed the act she pulled for the town.
In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, both Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth are both very strong willed, in more ways than one. Throughout the story, and especially the first few chapters, Hester’s loyalty to her lover shows as her most strongest feature and is as bold as the scarlet letter sitting upon her bosom. Although it sets her back way more than it did her any good (keeping in mind the magistrate said that her lover should stand on the scaffold with her), Hester stood her ground for the one she loves, or did love at one point in time. Going on to Roger Chillingworth, he was not one to give up easily. For one, after many many years of being away at sea, he still managed to make it back to see his wife. However, though, this is pretty much as far as the similarities go. Hester is more of a hot, in the moment kind of person. Roger is detached and cold, strong will and determination probably the only two characteristics making him human.
Hester’s principal qualities of strength and honesty are revealed throughout the novel. Her strength is seen in her actions after her sin is revealed. Foremost, she thinks of her adultery as an act committed out of passion and denies the belief that man’s nature is corrupt
Hester was very trustworthy, she kept in secrets that could have possibly changed her and her daughter