The Scarlet Letter shows many types of sin. Some is only sin in the Puritan eye, some is internally blamed sin and some is sin only defined back in the time period of pre-Romanticism. Three main characters; Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth are the 'sinners' of the Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorn gives each one very different a consequence and remedy for each ones sin. Hester is publicly punished right away, Dimmesdale has to dwell on his sin for years and Chillingworth is punished abruptly when his sin comes to an end. Each punishment is different and holds its own lesson.
Hester was forced into the marriage of a man she did not love, and after being separated for a long amount of time, she became attracted to another man. She then falls into a spell of passion with Reverend Dimmesdale. She then becomes pregnant with Dimmesdale's baby, obviously revealing her 'sin'. She is sent to the Scaffold to be mocked by all and is forced to reveal the father of the child. She refuses and then for her sins, received a scarlet letter, "A" which she had to wear upon her chest for the rest of her life in Boston. She wondered the streets and was given bitter looks from all. This was the Puritan way of punishing her for her then criminal action of adultery.
The Scarlet Letter on her bosom does the exact opposite of that which it was meant for. Eventually, Hester upsets all the odds against here due to her courage, pride and effort. Hester goes beyond the letter of the law and does everything asked of her in order to prove that she is "able"(158).
Hester, even though she was more appreciated by the Puritans, she still was not respected and her life was never the same. This eventually caused so much mental and physical anguish that she eventually questioned why she should live if it weren't for her Pearl. Pearl was a bundle of life sent from god to remind her of her wrong doing each and every moment and as a walking sermon to preach against sin for others. The symbolic Pearl helped Hester overcome her guilt.
Hester becomes a highly respected person in a Puritan society by overcoming one of the harshest punishments, the scarlet letter. After Dimmesdale's passing away, she remains in the small Boston town as payment of her sin and more importantly as an example to other future women of the town.
The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.
Although Hester and Pearl are isolated for a while after their punishment (85), the Puritan society’s view of her changes in chapter 13. In chapter 13, Hester is shown to have become a servant of the community, and, rather than scorning her, the community praises her as holy (134). Even the symbol that embodies her punishment, the scarlet letter A, transforms into a symbol of her holiness, being interpreted by the people as meaning “Able” (134). In chapter 24, the story’s conclusion, Hester mentors young women, furthering the idea that she brings redemption from her sin by using her lessons to help others
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 accost 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. The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason of her change in personality.
Hester feels the hatred that the people of the village have put upon her. At the beginning of the book she walks with "natural dignity and force of character" towards the scaffold as she holds her sin, the baby. She takes her punishment with humility; and does not act out against the people of the village by becoming a witch or creating havoc in the town. Hester works in her little hit making clothes for the rich and the poor. She refuses to hide her letter because she refuses to let it define her, “the scarlet letter has not done its office.” Gradually throughout the book Hester turns cold, suicidal and
Hester Prynne, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, the Scarlet Letter, faces a crucible. She commits adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale and becomes pregnant with a daughter, Pearl. She is isolated from the community and the general public except for when she must stand upon the scaffold for three hours as part of her punishment for her sin. She must also wear a scarlet letter “A” for adultery on her breast. The town looks at her differently because of her sin but Hester stays true to her personality. Hester fairs her life by honoring her punishment and her mistakes, as well as taking care of Pearl and teaching her to be kind.
The scarlet letter A marks sin and inflicts punishment for it. It primarily represents open sin and it consequences, such as public shame, as it is worn upon Hester’s breast to punish her for adultery. The ignominy of the letter devastates Hester. “If she survive, the tenderness will either be crushed out of her, or . . . crushed so deeply into her heart that it can never show itself more” (Chapter 13 p. 148). She is tormented by the anguish of her humiliation. Through this she loses much of her tenderness and passion and reverts to be being cold and numb. The pain of her sin numbs her to her own pain. ...
Wearing the scarlet letter was done to please society, but it also maintained her individuality. She respected the rules placed, but she didn’t let it dictate her life entirely. Hester’s strength roots from her indifference with society’s opinion. Resulting from her punishment of her scarlet letter arose the purity of her new independent moral code. With the scarlet letter, Hester became much more independent, and began to follow her own morals, not those of others. the scarlet letter may have consumed her exterior, but inside she was stronger than anyone could imagine. She made her own choices, and by doing so she knew for herself what was right and what
Throughout many years of her life, Hester was considered an outcast by the people of her town. These repercussions are felt by her daughter, Pearl, as well, because she has no friends. They don't associate with others and some instances occurred when Puritan children would throw rocks at the two. During this time, Hester refuses to make publicly known the name of her child's father. To bear the weight of her punishment all alone made her even stronger. As her life progressed, Hester became less of an outcast in the public eye. She was gifted at embroidery and was charitable to those less fortunate than she. (Although Hester was a talented seamstress, she did not make as much money as she could have because she was not allowed to sew wedding dresses. This is obviously because she had committed sins that were supposed to be confined to the sanctity of marriage.)
Hester Prynne, the protagonist in the book The Scarlet Letter, has committed the sin of adultery, but learned to use that mistake as a form of strength. Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, sent her to America and was supposed to follow her, but never arrived in Boston. While Hester was waiting on Chillingworth, she had an affair with the town minister, Dimmesdale. As a result, Hester gave birth to a beautiful daughter and was forced to wear the scarlet
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...
...efers to her being a blessing to Hester. Pearl gives Hester a reason to live, and helps to keep Hester's spirits strong.
Hester acts as the protagonist, Pearl as the symbol of sin, Dimmesdale as the victim, and Chillingworth as the antagonist. In the puritanical society of Boston, Hester is publically humiliated, and Dimmesdale struggles with internal guilt. Chillingworth attempts to afflict Dimmesdale as means to seek revenge. In contrast, Pearl guides Hester and Dimmesdale to the acceptance of their sin. Nathaniel Hawthorne characterizes Hester, Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth through their mien, disposition, and function in order to mold the storyline of The Scarlet
Hester Prynne’s sin was adultery. This sin was regarded very seriously by the Puritans, and was often punished by death. Hester’s punishment was to endure a public shaming on a scaffold for three hours and wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life in the town. Although Hawthorne does not pardon Hester’s sin, he considers it less serious than those of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Hester’s sin was a sin of passion. This sin was openly acknowledged as she wore the "A" on her chest. Hester did not commit the greatest sin of the novel. She did not deliberately mean to commit her sin or mean to hurt others.
Hester’s shame and guilt make her unable to express herself freely because she feels trapped by having to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her chest. "Hester Prynne might have repaid them all with a bitter and disdainful smile. But under the leaden infliction which it was her doom to endure, she felt at moments as if she must need to shriek." (Hawthorne 52-53). She wants revenge on everyone that has judged her for her sinful mistakes. Hester is slowly being isolated from the world and she can not express her anger or hatred for the townspeople. Hester is forced to act kind to others to avoid confrontations, which shows that she is afraid of the guilt and she is actually trying to hide from it. Guilt is still the consequence that causes Hester to become isolated from the world around her. Dimmesdale is guilty for committing adultery with Hester, his secret lover. His greatest fear is that the townspeople will find out about his sin. Dimmesdale does not confess his sin to the public because he believes that a reverend must act holy and can never sin. Therefore, he suffers through the guilt of his sin that he has to live with. He endures pain from Roger Chillingworth who tortures him. While Hester endured the public shame of the scarlet letter “A” on her chest, Dimmesdale goes through a much more painful experience. Dimmesdale’s guilt is an internal struggle and is much
Hester Prynne was a young woman living in a Puritan community in the "New World." Her husband, Roger Chillingworth was said to be lost at sea, and Hester assumed his death. Upon this basis, young Hester committed a crime of adultery with her fellow Minister Arthur Dimmesdale. The result of this extra marital affair was the birth of young Pearl, an "elf-like" child. When the townspeople become aware of what Hester has done, they forced her to wear an ultimate sign of punishment, the scarlet letter. This letter "A" for adultery had to be worn on Hester's bosom at all times.