The Character Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter

354 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Scarlet letter novel analysis

Hester Prynne's choice to control the meaning of the scarlet letter transforms her from a shameful and evil person to a compassionate woman. Her refusal to stop wearing the letter proves the letter has a different meaning rather than adultery. Hester Prynne transforms the meaning through her good deeds and deserved redemption. After some time, society begins to construe the scarlet letter as ?Able? rather than adulteress. From this process Hester creates a passionate identity. The scarlet letter claims Hester Prynne?s past but only she can determine whether it will benefit or hurt her future.

Hester Prynne sees herself as a strong and independent woman. She realizes that she has committed a sin, and therefore she refuses to remove the A from her chest. She is determined to change her identity and the Puritan community?s views. For example, Hester Prynne does not attend church, nor does she believe in a religion. She sets herself apart from everyone else and chooses to live on the outskirts of town. Hester Prynne does what she feels is right and intends to

wear the A as long as she needs to, to prove she controls the meaning of the scarlet letter and not society.

The Puritan community?s views of Hester Prynne change throughout the novel. The community notices that Hester Prynne is a very responsible woman and a good mother. She singularly raises Pearl and makes her own living. Moreover, she sells things to provide for her?s and Pearl?s living costs. Hester Prynne performs many good deeds, such as feeding the poor. The responsibility, independence, and good deeds help change society?s views of Hester Prynne and

her scarlet letter.

The effects of the scarlet letter lie in the hands of Hester Prynne.

Show More
Related

  • The Strength of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reading the Scarlet Letter reminds me of one of my own experience. When I was a fifth grade elementary student, two of my friends and I agreed to cheat on a geography test. On the day of the test, one of my friends was caught. The teacher found the cheat sheet where it showed the handwriting of the three of us. When he was asked who the other two is, he remained silent. The teacher said that he will be punished, standing in the corner of the classroom for one straight week, and it will be lighter if only he told our name. My friend still did not say a word, so he received the punishment. What he did was similar to what Hester Prynne does. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is portrayed as a woman with remarkable strength of character through direct and indirect characterization.

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne Greed In Scarlet Letter

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    The two of them, after Dimmesdale dies, continue with their plans to go back to England where they hope for a better life. Once in England, the two are able to change their lives around for the better. Pearl is even found to have a family of her own: “Mr. Surveyor Pue, who made investigations a century later, … Pearl was not only alive, but married, and happy, and mindful of her mother; and that she would most joyfully have entertained that sad and lonely mother at her fireside” ( Hawthorne 392). Pearl was able to overcome her old life and create a new one, a better one, one that was just for her. Even though her mother was no longer around she tried her best to kept in touch with her. She also kept her and her mother’s experience in mind never to let herself go back to that life. After spending many years in England, Hester finally returns to New England. When she returns she is full of sorrow and regret; however, she continues to wear her A on upon her chest as a reminder of her pain. With returning to the land of sin, people came to Hester, mostly women, with problems of their own. They hope by talking to someone who has been through so much will help them, or give them insight on what life is like to be on the outside: “And, as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble. Women, more especially,—in the continually recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion,—or with the dreary burden of a heart unyielded, because unvalued and unsought,—came to Hester’s cottage, demanding why they were so wretched, and what the remedy! Hester comforted and counseled them, as best she might” (Hawthorne 392-393). Even though Hester was miserable and thought that no

    Read More

  • The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...and was outside of the country, everybody hated her. Even though she knows that everybody hates her, Hester never gives up to be forgiven by people. Hester Prynne did many great things for people. She decorated people’s clothes and donated her clothes to the poor. She made money and supported her daughter, Pearl. Hester Prynne could have financial difficulties, but she did everything by herself. Hester Prynne is a very courageous brave woman unlike other women in 1850’s. Because of Hester Prynne’s characteristic, the book became a great feminist novel. Not only Nathaniel Hawthrone did not just make up the story throughout the fiction, but he reflected the real society during his time to a novel which is The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne’s role, a strong brave feminist, in the story is one of the best elements that brought The Scarlet Letter to a great novel.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester is being considered as the devil (Bellis 1), which is a sign that the town’s people are slanderous and judgmental. Their judgment has caused her to be isolated. “… A woman who had once been innocent…” is now considered as “…the reality of sin” (Hawthorne 39). They look at her as a threat diminishing their community’s chance for purification because “there was the taint of deepest sin…” (Hawthorne 24). My apprehension of Pearl is that she is the fruit of evil, because she is seen as “immortal” (Hawthorne 11). Because, she has caused a ruckus, her immoral acts have disturbed the nature of their society. They think this is morally correct because, “Political and generational ambivalence has its psychological counterpart…” (Bellis 2), which give them the right to make her an evil outcast.

    Read More

  • The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne, an adulteress, is imprisoned by the laws of Puritan society and instead of running away, struggles to accept her badge of shame as a very real part of who she is. When she is first commanded to wear a scarlet letter A, she sees it as a curse. For the first few years she tries to ignore the ignominy under a mask of indifference. “Hester Prynne, meanwhile, kept her place upon the pedestal of shame, with glazed eyes, and an air or weary indifference,” Hawthorne writes. (page 48) Even so, she cannot hide from what her sin has produced. Every day her daughter Pearl reminds her of her sin. The only way to freedom is to avoid being defined by the society in which she finds herself. It is a gradual process but slowly, due to her compassion for the poor and sick, people start to view Hester's badge as meaning “Able” rather than “Adulteress”. Eventually her badge becomes a blessing as other women come to her for advice and counseling in that,

    Read More

  • The Use Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    The scarlet letter “A” was worn by Hester Prynne daily to show her sin of adultery. While the primary meaning of the “A” was adulterer it later signified able, “People 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” (Hawthorne 152). Hester has overcome her sin and did not let it define her as a woman. Hester being ostracized and tormented for doing what every woman does shaped her into a strong, able woman. The townspeople, at least in private life, do not look at her as the woman she was, but the woman she has

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne Transformation

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite Hester never fitting the description of what a Puritan actually stands for, she emerges and transforms into a respected young woman of society during her revolution. Even though Hester’s humanity degrades itself based on her imprudent actions that resisted Puritan society, the scarlet “A” transforms her rebellion. Hester creates her own symbol for herself rather than one that masks her all along. In writing the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights the importance of being a nonconformist. Evidently, through the character of Hester Prynne, self-awareness is key in order to achieve happiness. To repress defining characteristics of a human being is to ultimately destroy their individuality.

    Read More

  • Symbolism Used in The Scarlet Letter

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, the letter is understood as a label of punishment and sin being publicized. Hester Prynne bears the label of “A” signifining adulterer upon her chest. Because of this scorching red color label she becomes the outcast of her society. She wears this symbol of punishment and it become a burden throughout her life. The letter “produces only a reflection of her scarlet letter; likewise, the townspeople's image of Hester revolves around her sin. The evil associated with Hester's actions and the letter on her chest consume all aspects of her life, concealing her true beauty, mind, and soul” (R. Warfel 421-425). Society pushed blame upon Hester Prynne, and these events lead to the change of her life. The Puritans whom Prynne is surround by view the letter as a symbol from the devil, controversially some individuals look upon the letter, sigh and fell sympathy towards her because they have or are involved in this same situation. Nonetheless the haunting torture Hester Prynne battles daily drags on, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows this torture “of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but...

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...

    Read More

  • The Symbolism of Hester Prynnes Appearance in The Scarlet Letter

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout The Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many literal and figurative items to illustrate the significance of various characters or themes. Coupled with the tangible evidence given, the reader can make many miscellaneous assumptions of the importance of these items to directly and indirectly contribute to the issues of the novel. One cryptic item that symbolizes more than it seems to is the appearance of one of the main characters, Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne's appearance and hair signify the levels of will and determination she possesses at the moment.

    Read More

  • Free College Essays - Symbols of Her Crime in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne, the central character in the Scarlet Letter, realizes and accepts the consequences of the adulterous act she committed against her husband, Roger Chillingworth, as Hawthorne shows in this quotation. Hester, throughout the book, excludes and humbles herself because of her crime, rather than simply running away. At the same time, she advertises her sin through the brilliantly embroidered “A” and through her daughter, Pearl, born out of this sin. Hester realizes that she indeed sinned in committing adultery, and, being the strong individual that she is, accepts the consequences of her actions.

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne's Character Changes In The Scarlet Letter

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    A change is to make or become different. In the Scarlet Letter change is very evident in the main character Hester Prynne. Hester has undergone both physical and emotional changes that have made her more acceptable to the Puritan Society.

    Read More

  • Changes of Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    Through these events, Hester Prynne’s image is transformed throughout the course of the story. As Hester wears the scarlet letter, the reader can feel how much of an outcast Hester becomes. When walking through town, “.she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accept her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter and passed on” (Hawthorne, 127). She believes that she is not worthy of the towns acknowledgments and chooses to ignore them.

    Read More

  • The Range of Emotions in the Novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathanial Hawthorne

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne, the main character of the novel, was a courageous and honorable person; even though, what she had been known for wasn’t such an admirable deed. Hester Prynne was a very strong person in one’s eyes, because even though she had been publically humiliated in front of all of Boston, she still remained confident in herself and her daughter. She was ordered to wear a scarlet colored piece of fabric, with the letter “A” embroidered in gold on it, on her bosom at all times to show that she had committed adultery. She was mocked all the time and constantly looked down upon in society, because of her sin; but instead of running away from her problems, she st...

    Read More

  • How Does Hester Prynne Change Her Identity

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel the Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character Hester Prynne sinned by committing adultery which changes her identity while she wears the Scarlet Letter. “In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity” (Erik Erikson). The way the scarlet letter defines Hester as someone who sinned in her society. The way that her society reacted to her with the scarlet letter, made her question her identity of who she is with the scarlet letter. Hester is forced to change her identity and the society around her looks at her in a different eye than what she was before she received the scarlet letter.

    Read More

More about The Character Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter

Open Document