Analysis Of Hester Prynne: A Symbol Of Strength

Hester Prynne: A Symbol of Strength

The Scarlet Letter is the story of a single mother, Hester Prynne, who is stigmatized because of her affair with a man that is originally unknown to the reader. Her punishment is to wear a scarlet ‘A’ on her chest for the rest of her life. She raises her daughter Pearl in an isolated cabin and makes and repairs clothing to provide for her daughter. Hester Prynne grows throughout the novel by beginning to overcome the stigma of the letter, accepting that while her sin is public, revealing the father of her child is not her place, and by questioning the perceptions of women in a patriarchal society. Hester’s scarlet letter means that those around her are aware of her sin, but she is not the only sinner in Boston. Her sin is publicly known because of both the letter and her child. The sin of the father is private because he is

When Dimmesdale’s affair with Prynne was revealed, Dimmesdale didn’t face the judgement Hester did. But Hester’s growth over the novel and later role as a counselor for those in need, contrasted the belief that woman are inferior. Hester defied the outcast role society wanted her to have and turned an object meant for shame into one of strength. Ann Hutchinson, a Puritan woman banished for heresy, challenged the status quo of Puritan culture. Colacurcio argues that “Like Ann Hutchinson, Hester Prynne is an extraordinary woman who falls afoul of a theocratic and male dominated society” (Colacurcio, 306). Hester might not have publicly discussed her views against the patriarchal society of the Puritans, but she saw a brighter future for women. Hester saw a future for America without strict legalism and hypocrisy as she comforted woman in need with a prophecy of a time “When the truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness.” (Hawthorne