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Analysis of Hester in The Scarlet Letter
Analysis of Hester in The Scarlet Letter
Analysis of Hester in The Scarlet Letter
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During the 17th century, Puritans believed scripture dictated every aspect of their lives. It appeared evident in the Puritan faith that their defiant actions and inner thoughts were to remain repressed. Puritans felt the urge to resist their impulses because by law, each desire they had, exemplified a tug from the devil. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathanial Hawthorne takes his character, Hester Prynne, who commits acts of infidelity, and turns her against the Puritan community. Although the scarlet “A” objectifies Hester’s humanity and exposes strict Puritan society, it also liberates her as a result of her ultimate transformation. The book reintroduces Hester Prynne in society after her time in prison. Consequently, she remains isolated from the entire community due to her promiscuous actions. When she walks onto the scaffold, many of the town’s elite crowd around to witness Hester’s “agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her” (Hawthorne 49). The townspeople line up to protest against Hester’s release because it appears as an outrage and quite uncommon for such behavior. She lives far out “on the outskirts of town”, assuring the people that “its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marks the habits of the emigrants” (Hawthorne 76). Wherever Hester goes, the community looks down upon her because of what she stands for through the eyes of her entire town. Within Hester’s “intercourse with society”- the little that she has- “there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it” (Hawthorne 79). In other words, Hester’s attempt to find herself in others ends up disastrous and she can’t help but feel so alone. The presence of Hester makes “those whom she came in... ... middle of paper ... ...iefs and principles. Since Hester never actually learns her lesson, “on a field, sable, the letter A, glues” (Hawthorne 247), and will always be with her forever. Despite Hester never fitting the description of what a Puritan actually stands for, she emerges and transforms into a respected young woman of society during her revolution. Even though Hester’s humanity degrades itself based on her imprudent actions that resisted Puritan society, the scarlet “A” transforms her rebellion. Hester creates her own symbol for herself rather than one that masks her all along. In writing the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights the importance of being a nonconformist. Evidently, through the character of Hester Prynne, self-awareness is key in order to achieve happiness. To repress defining characteristics of a human being is to ultimately destroy their individuality.
The central theme in The Scarlet Letter is that manifested sin will ostracize one from society and un-confessed sin will lead to the destruction of the inner spirit. Hawthorne uses the symbol of the scarlet letter to bring out this idea. In the novel, Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter A (the symbol of her sin) because she committed adultery with the clergyman, Dimmesdale. Because the public's knowledge of her sin, Hester is excluded physically, mentally, and socially from the normal society of the Puritan settlement. She lives on the outskirts of town in a small cottage where she makes her living as a seamstress. Though she is known to be a great sewer amongst the people, Hester is still not able to sew certain items, such as a new bride's veil. Hester also has no interaction with others; instead she is taunted, if not completely ignored, by all that pass her by. Despite the ill treatment of the society, Hester's soul is not corrupted. Instead, she flourishes and improves herself in spite of the burden of wearing the scarlet letter and she repeatedly defies the conventional Puritan thoughts and values by showing what appears to us as strength of character. Her good works, such as helping the less fortunate, strengthen her inner spirit, and eventually partially welcome her back to the society that once shunned her.
The character of Hester Prynne changed significantly throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For this harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs. She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no wrong. Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece.
The portrayal of Hester Prynne in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has led to many different opinionated views. Many debate whether or not Hester Prynne should be portrayed in an angelic or sinful light. The author and critic, D.H. Lawrence, focuses on Hester’s sin itself, and focuses on having the reader view an alternate perspective of Hester, seeing her not as the victim, but as the criminal, as she should be viewed based on traditional Puritan values. Lawrence achieves the perspective that Hester should be viewed in a sinful light through his rhythmic and fluid syntax, negative and hateful diction, as well as his sarcastic and critical tone.
The characterization of Hester Prynne demonstrates a contrast to pure society, as writer and critic D.H. Lawrence suggests in his article, “On the Scarlet Letter.” There is a genuine disparity in the methods Lawrence uses to portray Prynne, and the methods used by The Scarlet Letter’s author, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Because of his utilization of impactful syntax, religious allusion, and critical tone, D.H. Lawrence’s claim that Hester Prynne is a contradictory character to pure society is effectively justified when compared to the misleading seductive elements of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing.
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
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne condemns the Puritan’s outdated stance on the female gender by contrasting their ideas of women with Hester Prynne’s desirable intrepidness and self-sufficiency. To begin, through highlighting Hester Prynne’s intrepid character, Hawthorne rebukes the Puritan’s inferior view of women. Reverend Wilson, a minister in Hester Prynne’s town, demands Hester to confess to the colony the father of her baby. Standing upon the town’s scaffold in ignominy in front of the entire colony, Hester boldly refuses to disclose the name her baby’s father (40). Her fearless refusal to Reverend Wilson’s appeal demonstrates a sought-after female defiance to male authority. Hawthorne designs Hester Prynne’s intrepidness and the defiance to Wilson to appeal with the modern readers of Hawthorne’s time causing the readers to denounce the
In the beginning, it was a symbol of shame, ignominy, and guilt. Although Hester openly accepts her sin, she will not let it define who she is as a person. Through her human nature and personality, “the symbol of her calling… They said it was meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” Through her struggles and perseverance, Hester changes the meaning of the scarlet letter and is recognized by the Puritan community as more than just a sinner. Hester’s experience with the scarlet letter has given her a chance to grow and see the world in a whole new way. She is able to sympathize with other women who are also harboring a sin. As a result, “people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel” (180). In the end, Hester Prynne’s own ideal enabled her to help the women of her times and shape the way for modern
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.
“The point which drew all eyes, and, as it were, transfigured the wearer,––so that both men and women, who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time––, was that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 37). The extravagant and skillfully made “A” is one of many indications of Hester’s rebellious attitude. Despite the letter representing Hester’s scandalous sin, she wears it proudly. She continues to mimic her own actions by dressing her daughter, Pearl, in the same prominent way as the letter. Hester decides that even with her newly altered life, she continues to live it day by day, and provides for her and her daughter despite their situation.
As punishment, Hester Prynne is faced with wearing a scarlet letter “A,” for adultery, on her chest for the rest of her life. She had a chance to leave the town and start a new life somewhere else, but instead she decided to stay and accept her sin rather than
The portrayal of Hester Prynne in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has been highly criticized, and many debate upon the angelic or sinful light that Hester Prynne represents. The author and critic, D.H. Lawrence, focuses on Hester’s sin in his critical essay, where Lawrence targets her, not as the victim, but as an ultimate sinner as she should be viewed, based on traditional Puritan values. Lawrence achieves his purpose that Hester should be viewed in a sinful light through his bullet-like syntax, negative and hateful diction, and his critical and disapproving tone.
“The Scarlet Letter”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, records a struggled life about two adultery lovers. This story was marked by the most successful work back in 1850s and also become to a big part of Hawthorne’s writing career. Through the eyes of his main character Hester Prynne, the readers seem to see a woman’s helpless under a brutal and traditional society, which was ruled by Puritan people. After his book had been published one after another, no one can deny Hawthorne’s irreplaceable talent and unremitting effort. Nathaniel Hawthorne expressed his own feelings about the dark Puritan society through many successful works, which helped him become more and more popular after he died in 1864.
Hester Prynne, the main character of the novel, was a courageous and honorable person; even though, what she had been known for wasn’t such an admirable deed. Hester Prynne was a very strong person in one’s eyes, because even though she had been publically humiliated in front of all of Boston, she still remained confident in herself and her daughter. She was ordered to wear a scarlet colored piece of fabric, with the letter “A” embroidered in gold on it, on her bosom at all times to show that she had committed adultery. She was mocked all the time and constantly looked down upon in society, because of her sin; but instead of running away from her problems, she st...
Due to committing adultery, Hester Prynne is rejected from society. She wears the scarlet letter “A” to constantly remind her of the sin and crime she has committed. Hester’s individualism helps her stand out from the crowd, even though she is looked down upon by others around her. Hester disregards the society’s opinion about her and continues to help out the community. Eventually, the society oversees Hester’s sin, and the significance of the “A” changes due to her magnanimity and helpfulness. The society viewed her helpfulness so powerful that “many people refuse to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original signification. They said it meant “Able”, so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 148). Because of her generosity in society, the “original signification” was forgotten, and soon the letter “became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence, too” (Hawthorne 238 - 239). Hester wears the letter because it is an important part of herself and identity. Due to her strength and persistence of wearing the letter, it changes
The Scarlet Letter is a fictional novel that begins with an introductory passage titled ‘The Custom-House’. This passage gives a historical background of the novel and conveys the narrator’s purpose for writing about the legend of Hester Prynne even though the narrator envisions his ancestors criticizing him and calling him a “degenerate” because his career was not “glorifying God”, which is very typical of the strict, moralistic Puritans. Also, although Hawthorne is a Romantic writer, he incorporates properties of Realism into his novel by not idealizing the characters and by representing them in a more authentic manner. He does this by using very formal dialogue common to the harsh Puritan society of the seventeenth century and reflecting their ideals through this dialogue. The Puritans held somewhat similar views as the Transcendentalists in that they believed in the unity of God and the world and saw signs and symbols in human events, such as when the citizens related the meteo...