Have you ever been caught in a situation where you want to do something but someone or something was preventing you? This was the state of Hester Prynne
’s and Arthur Dimmesdale
’s separate though related conundrums in the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Throughout the novel Hester and Arthur had to deal with the conflict between unbridled personal freedom and the restraint of law, both religious and civic. The results of their choices were what significantly changed their lives. Hester Prynne primarily has to deal with the restraint of being legally married to Roger Chillingworth
. She then committed adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale even though Chillingworth was still alive. There was many repercussions of Hester’s choice. Having broken the civil law of marriage, she was forced to wear a scarlet letter A over her heart. The letter, of course, symbolizes adultery and was a warning and reminder to the other people in the community of her crime. Arthur Dimmesdale
, a puritan preacher, was not a personally pure preacher. After partnering in crime with Hester, he was stuck with the burden of being the only one in the world besides Hester who knows of his crime. Having broken the religious
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Hester, now left alone, lived in the woods till the end of her days doing small jobs of embroidering and sewing. In Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter Hester and Arthur have to deal with the many repercussions of their choices when faced with difficult situations. Hester and Arthur are good examples of the fact that, even in America, they still couldn’t avoid the simple civil and religious laws that prevent them from doing everything that what they wanted. This could have been avoided if they had not rushed their original choices of vocations, I think that one of the primary lessons to be learned from this book is that you should always think things through especially well before committing to big important life-long
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempted to expose the varying ways in which different people deal with lingering guilt from sins they have perpetrated. The contrasting characters of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale ideally exemplified the differences in thought and behavior people have for guilt. Although they were both guilty of committing the same crime, these two individuals differed in that one punished themselves with physical and mental torture and the other chose to continue on with their life, devoting it to those less fortunate than they.
Hester Prynne is a character who gave up everything, even love, for her child. Hester Prynne sacrificed her peace, her beauty, her entire being for her child and this shows her determination and profound understanding of the world. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s piece, “The Scarlet Letter” shows the other side of the sinner’s story and not as a villain, but a victim.
Hester is indeed a sinner, adultery is no light matter, even today. On the other hand, her sin has brought her not evil, but good. Her charity to the poor, her comfort to the broken-hearted, her unquestionable presence in times of trouble are all direct results of her quest for repe...
When Hester Prynne becomes pregnant without her husband, she is severely punished by having to endure public humiliation and shame for her adulterous actions. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet “A”on her breast for the rest of her life. (1.) She lives as an outcast. At first, Hester displays a defiant attitude by boldly march from prison towards the pillory. However, as time goes on, the public humiliation of her sin weighs heavily upon her soul. “An accustomed eye had likewise it’s own aguish to inflict. It’s cool stare of familiarity was intolerable. From first to last, in short, Hester Prynne had always th...
“To the untrue man, the whole universe is false,--it is impalpable,--it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself, in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow, or, indeed, ceases to exist.” (Hawthorne 115) Throughout the hostile novel The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne used contrasting settings to represent opposed ideas that were central to the meaning of the work. Some have argued that when it came to the theme that secrets have a destructive effect on the secret-keeper and truth, by contrast, was natural, a character evaluation would best advocate these differences. However, two settings, Dimmesdale’s house and the secrets that lie within, and the scaffold representing the truth, better embody the adverse ideas posed by the point at issue.
Through Hester and the symbol of the scarlet letter, Hawthorne reveals how sin can be utilized to change a person for the better, in allowing for responsibility, forgiveness, and a renewed sense of pride. In a Puritan society that strongly condemns adultery one would expect Hester to leave society and never to return again, but that does not happen. Instead, Hester says, “Here…had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom.” Hes...
The story discusses a sin, which is adultery, and how viewing it differs from society and the sinner. Society views Hester's sin as shameful and disgraceful. Th...
The Scarlet Letter, a classic American novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains a plot that follows the controversial life of Hester Prynne, the main protagonist of the story. Set in the mid 1600’s in Boston, Massachusetts, it represented the Puritan society and its ideals at that time. Its rich plot has enticed and enraptured readers for many years, while Historical elements have allowed readers to analyze and understand the content better. The Scarlet Letter is a piece of historical fiction that contains a real representation of the period in which it is set in and is mostly historically accurate, barring a few minor inaccuracies.
In fact, much of the suffering incurred from Hester’s sin results from her own actions. She, by her own choice, wears humble, dismal clothes; she moves to the outskirts of her town, but refuses to run away to a place where no one knows of her crime; she excludes herself from society, while society does not always exclude her. Instead of escaping her crime, Hester embraces it. She declares, “It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge... Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport,” realizing the crime she committed and the fairness of her punishment—the scarlet letter (163).
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well known novel, The Scarlet Letter, extensive diction and intense imagery are used to portray the overall tone of the characters. In particular, Hester Prynne, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter, receives plentiful positive characterization throughout the novel. Hester’s character most notably develops through the town’s peoples ever-changing views on the scarlet letter, the copious mentions of her bravery, and her ability to take care of herself, Pearl, and others, even when she reaches the point where most would give up and wallow in their suffering.
But this isolation is not without its unseen advantages, in Hester’s case, her isolation is her “badge of shame". The Scarlet letter distances her from others, but it contributes to her moral and mental growth. She “transcends her separation from society by good deeds and the companionship of miserable people". With all of this isolation that Hawthorne creates there is good because in the end she frees herself from her past. She frees herself from her past by redeeming herself by coming back into town many years after her and Pearl fled that dreadful day on the scaffold. She redeems herself by returning to her charitable work and never asks for anything in return. When she dies she goes down as a legend and people totally forget that the A on her chest ever stood for adulter. Personally I think that this was a fitting way for Hester to die because it is a quaint way to spend her live and the fact that she dedicates her life to helping those her persecuted her for all of it is very noble of
Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale in the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, struggle to go about life. The characters Hester and Dimmesdale both are ostracized in the story and run into complications with the puritan society and how its morals affect them. The literary elements symbolism, imagery, and setting emphasize the motivations and reactions with the conflict of individual vs. society.
...eril of death and infamy, and the inscrutable machinations of an enemy; that, finally, to this poor pilgrim, on his dreary and desert path, faint, sick, miserable, there appeared a glimpse of human affection and sympathy, a new life, and a true one, in exchange for the heavy doom which he was now expiating.
The "human tenderness" Hester exerts shows how she did not care what the Puritans thought and acted. Her sin is also an example of her independence; Hester acted on her feelings and didn’t allow the Puritan’s views to interfere with her emotions.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel. Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel. In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects. Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters. The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way. Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.