Hester Prynne Essay

The Attack on Hester Prynne D.H. Lawrence’s essay On the Scarlet Letter addresses Hester Prynne’s treatment by the Puritan community of Boston. Adultery is a horrible sin in Puritan society and Hester Prynne gets away with it and becomes heroic. Lawrence uses a sarcastic tone, biblical allusions and alliteration of the letter “A” to prove that Hester Prynne is not a heroic figure. Lawrence uses a sarcastic tone in order to disprove any belief that Hester Prynne is heroic. Using sarcasm, Lawrence says to “put her on the scaffold and worship her there”(Lawrence). The caustic tone mocks the way that the Puritans see Hester as able, and draws attention to the irony of the situation and how the respect that she is given is undeserved. The

He compares women like Hester to the, “Sodom apple of sin”(Lawrence). The apple is what tempted Adam and Eve to sin and is a biblical allusion to show Hester’s inclination to sin. This allusion helps Lawrence prove that Hester is not heroic by showing that she is just like the first sinners in the world and not someone who is virtuous. He uses allusion to contrast the image of Hester and these sinners and to show that they are really just the same. He uses this to prove that God would not approve of her actions so she can’t be considered heroic. He uses sarcasm within biblical allusions by contrasting Hester with “the sacred image of motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world”(Lawrence). Lawrence uses the biblical allusion to contrast Hester with Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus, and this is used to show that she is missing the qualities of someone who is considered a hero in Puritan society. The allusion allow for Hester's image to be brought down because when compared to a real hero it becomes obvious that she couldn’t have been considered one. The uses of allusion in his work is able to show why Hester should not be seen as a hero, and to show that she is just like other sinners such as Adam and