What Is Hester Prynne's Attitude In The Scarlet Letter

One of the romantic and inspiring literature works of Nathaniel Hawthorne is “The Scarlet Letter.” The novel is considered the literary sensation in the US and Great Britain. The story talks about the Puritan time and Romanticism movement period. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the story gives birth to a child by having an affair with a man, committing adultery. Hester stands on the scaffold in front of the public and is shamed. The council leaders ask her to reveal the name of her daughter’s father, but she refuses. For doing the sin and breaking the puritan laws, the leaders ask her to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ meaning adulterer on her bosom. The scarlet letter plays an important role throughout the novel. Later, her husband, Chillingworth

The story reflects Hawthorne’s attitudes towards the Puritans. Hawthorne conveys that the Puritans were strict and unfeeling. For example, before Hester arrives from the prison, groups of women who feel that she deserves a larger punishment than she actually receives are scorning her saying, “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.” (Hawthorne 1380) As we proceed through the story, we realize the lifestyle, culture, emotions, sin, punishment, shame and guilt felt during the Puritan period when one did not follow the laws. The letter was a link to different meanings in the novel. The scarlet letter A signifies shame, harsh punishment, suffering, and later the significance changes for Hester’s

She hears women in town talking evil, taunting, commenting, and starring at her. It is indeed embarrassing when people in town have negative perceptions for breaking the laws. Compared to the modern generation, adultery happens in every part of the world and is become casual status in the society. Nevertheless, there is no harsh punishment as Hester or any other person experienced during the era. She struggles with her recognition of the letter’s symbolism just as people struggle with their moral choices. Today’s reader may consider the punishment something unusual, but during the puritan period, the laws were strict to sentence a person to death for going against them. Hester faced suffering and tortures because of the compassionate love she had towards Arthur Dimmesdale. Therefore, she refuses to take off the embroidered piece of cloth because she was not regretful for what she accomplished. Hester wore the letter A as it also represents the name of her beloved, Arthur Dimmesdale. “She wanted to carry the name of her shared sinner on her bosom, indeed in her heart.”