Examples Of Personification In The Scarlet Letter

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Recommended: Critical analysis of the scarlet letter

“…Hester Prynne, whose heart had lost its regular and healthy throb, wandered without a clew in the dark labyrinth of mind: now turned aside by an insurmountable precipice…” What does it mean to exist? The fact or state of living or having objective reality is existence. The viewpoint she created was that women can be independent and shouldn’t be shamed by their communities; there were two people involved in this sin of adultery, so why was she the only one punished for it? Instead of hiding in shame, the existence of women like herself, should be open and embrace who they are. According to the passage from The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne’s viewpoint on her own existence and that of women was represented through imagery, rhetorical devices, and diction. The imagery expressed in Hawthorne’s writing showcased Hester’s viewpoint of her life, as well as …show more content…

In the passage provided, many examples of personification jumps out at the readers. Three examples from the text include: “…the same question rose into her mind…”, “…a fearful doubt strove to possess her soul…”, and “The scarlet letter had not done its office.” The author used these examples of personification to add an effect to the text; personification gives nonliving things lively characteristics. The first quote shows her perspective by talking about what is going on in her mind, and in her thoughts. The second quote mentions the “fearful doubt” she has about her being, which provides us with detail that she is troubled by something. The last quote means that she doesn’t believe her scarlet letter did its job of punishing her for her sin. This also goes back to her viewpoint on her existence; it seems like the author wants the readers to think that Hester sees herself as worthless and ashamed at first. In reality, she’s proud and

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