The definition of strength by dictionary.com is “the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power. vigor.” Hester shows strength in ways that people can only imagine and becomes almost a idol for this. The definition of strength cant even describe how strong she was. In a time where women were very overlooked, Hester Prynne stood up for her right to be a woman, and did it in a strong. She followed her heart and ended up facing the consequences that came with it. Her child and her lived in a town that shunned her. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a good story of how strong Hester was in what she believed in and choosing to be bold, and help Dimmesdale deal with his problems too. She was truly a model for early women’s …show more content…
When she was forced to stand on the scaffold she held her baby tight as people looked her up and down with disgust. Even though the “A” showed problems for her, she didn’t budge and stood her sentence out despite how embarrassing it must have been. The first thing Pearl noticed when she was born was the scarlet letter on her mother’s chest. She reached up to touch it, and the letter became part of Hester, not only herself. Pearl didn’t actually know that the “A” represented Hester’s sin of adultery, but instead she made a connection with the object. And still Hester leaves it be, and allows it to take its way through her life and the life of her child. Hester is made fun of and stared at with disgust, but still keeps the will power to look away and continue on with her life. Her daughter is also forced to suffer because of her decision. Not only do the older people of the community look down upon Hester and Pearl, so do the children. They have learned from their parents that Hester is a bad woman and that her daughter has also was the same as her. This is extremely painful and very difficult for her to handle but she is a strong woman who will not other people sway her beliefs and morals. She decides to remain in Boston because it is the town where she committed her so called “sin” and if she faces each day with the guilt she had, then …show more content…
Her appearance was not what the others in the town were accustomed to. She was very different and stood out from the ordinary clothes worn by the Puritans. After being kept in the prison for committing adultery, Hester was released to stand out her punishment on the scaffold. The very first thing the people noticed was the weird “A” across her chest. It was lined with gold thread and was emroidied with something that only someone truly skilled could do. It caught the eyes of all the women in the crowd because it was very fashionable, but far beyond what was allowed in her community. The “A”, although it was beautiful, was supposed to be almost a punishment, and because it was so detailed, many thought Hester was making a mockery of the system that punished her. The women called her a “brazen hussy” and felt like she was not taking the sentence seriously. Although her clothes were dirty from sitting in prison all day, they still showed the true colors of her personality. It was made to show her own fancy style, and seemed to show her attitude and her rebel like attitude, by its look. Her work is none other than making art with the needle. Her symbols were found everywhere in town, from the wealthy to the governor himself. However, never once was her work found on a single bride. I think this is because they try to show what is pure and innocent about women, and no one would want
Pearl is an example of the innocent result of sin. All the kids make fun of Pearl and they disclude her from everything. She never did anything wrong, but everyone treats her like she committed the sin also. Pearl acts out against the children that make fun of her and acts like a crazy child. She cannot control the sins that her parents committed.
The two of them, after Dimmesdale dies, continue with their plans to go back to England where they hope for a better life. Once in England, the two are able to change their lives around for the better. Pearl is even found to have a family of her own: “Mr. Surveyor Pue, who made investigations a century later, … Pearl was not only alive, but married, and happy, and mindful of her mother; and that she would most joyfully have entertained that sad and lonely mother at her fireside” ( Hawthorne 392). Pearl was able to overcome her old life and create a new one, a better one, one that was just for her. Even though her mother was no longer around she tried her best to kept in touch with her. She also kept her and her mother’s experience in mind never to let herself go back to that life. After spending many years in England, Hester finally returns to New England. When she returns she is full of sorrow and regret; however, she continues to wear her A on upon her chest as a reminder of her pain. With returning to the land of sin, people came to Hester, mostly women, with problems of their own. They hope by talking to someone who has been through so much will help them, or give them insight on what life is like to be on the outside: “And, as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble. Women, more especially,—in the continually recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion,—or with the dreary burden of a heart unyielded, because unvalued and unsought,—came to Hester’s cottage, demanding why they were so wretched, and what the remedy! Hester comforted and counseled them, as best she might” (Hawthorne 392-393). Even though Hester was miserable and thought that no
Pearl has spent her entire life knowing who her mother is and identifies her with and only with the letter on. “Pearl’s image, crowned, and girdled with flowers, but stamping its foot, wildly gesticulating, and in the midst of all, still pointing its small forefinger at Hester’s bosom!” (Hawthorne 173). In this scene, Hester takes the letter off when she is with Dimmesdale, and Pearl refuses to come near her until she puts the letter back on; she recognizes that the letter is a part of who her mother is. The identity of herself is also uncovered as a result of the letter. Pearl sees how the Puritan society treats her mother and refuses to act likewise. Not only does she stand up to those who judge Hester, but she also practices being kind instead. “Pearl was almost sure, [the bird] had been hit by a pebble and fluttered away with a broken wing. But then the elf-child sighed, and gave up her sport; because it grieved her to have done harm to a little being that was as wild as the sea-breeze, or as wild as Pearl herself” (Hawthorne 147). Pearl cares for the wellbeing of those around her, both human and animal. This has shaped who she is through her kindness and her intelligence; it becomes what her identity is and displays how she identifies her mother, verifying that she was impacted the most by the scarlet
Pearl is a symbol of Hester’s transgressions and even has similar qualities as the sin which she represents. Pearl’s life and behavior directly reflects the unacceptable and abnormal nature of Hester’s adulterous sin. Hester is plagued with more than just a letter “A”; she is given a child from her affair who is just as much a reminder of her sin as the scarlet letter. Ultimately Hester overcomes the shame associated the scarlet letter and creates a sense of family for herself and Pearl. This relationship is integral to the theme of this novel and the development of its characters.
Hester is a youthful, beautiful, proud woman who has committed an awful sin and a scandal that changes her life in a major way. She commits adultery with a man known as Arthur Dimmesdale, leader of the local Puritan church and Hester’s minister. The adultery committed results in a baby girl named Pearl. This child she clutches to her chest is the proof of her sin. This behavior is unacceptable. Hester is sent to prison and then punished. Hester is the only one who gets punished for this horrendous act, because no one knows who the man is that Hester has this scandalous affair with. Hester’s sin is confessed, and she lives with two constant reminders of that sin: the scarlet letter itself, and Pearl, the child conceived with Dimmesdale. Her punishment is that she must stand upon a scaffold receiving public humiliation for several hours each day, wearing the scarlet letter “A” on her chest, represe...
Through explaining her resilience, he shares that “her sudden revelation that through years of loneliness she has not consented to let her soul be killed” (Van Doren). It is evident that Hester does not think of her punishment as the end of her life as she continues to live and try to make the most of what she has. This proves to the audience that Hester must, at the very least, obtain the characteristic of perseverance, a quality worthy of respect. Van Doren praises Hester for her valor and believes that “Hester’s life has not been hollow, nor has her great nature been wasted” (Van Doren). His tone is so obviously reflected throughout his piece of criticism that his belief is etched into the readers’ minds, and they, too, begin to believe Hester Prynne is a hero. This quote is effective because it creates a picture for the reader that Hester is resilient and should be admired, as she continues to live her best life with what she
...and was outside of the country, everybody hated her. Even though she knows that everybody hates her, Hester never gives up to be forgiven by people. Hester Prynne did many great things for people. She decorated people’s clothes and donated her clothes to the poor. She made money and supported her daughter, Pearl. Hester Prynne could have financial difficulties, but she did everything by herself. Hester Prynne is a very courageous brave woman unlike other women in 1850’s. Because of Hester Prynne’s characteristic, the book became a great feminist novel. Not only Nathaniel Hawthrone did not just make up the story throughout the fiction, but he reflected the real society during his time to a novel which is The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne’s role, a strong brave feminist, in the story is one of the best elements that brought The Scarlet Letter to a great novel.
One of Hester’s greatest qualities is her unrelenting selflessness. Despite her constant mental anguish due to her sin, the constant stares and rude comments, and the
Not only has Hester changed physically but she has also changed emotionally and cognitively. In chapter two, we are introduced to defiant Hester, standing on the scaffold as punishment for her sins. Hawthorne states “…he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman whom he thus drew forward, until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character…” (9). Hawthorne describes Hester’s actions as natural dignity and forceful to convey her defiance and reluctance to the Puritan society and culture. In contrast, Hester, after seven years of suffering and loneliness with her humanity stripped from
Hester’s principal qualities of strength and honesty are revealed throughout the novel. Her strength is seen in her actions after her sin is revealed. Foremost, she thinks of her adultery as an act committed out of passion and denies the belief that man’s nature is corrupt
As a living reminder of Hester’s extreme sin, Pearl is her constant companion. From the beginning Pearl has always been considered as an evil child. For Hester to take care of such a demanding child, put lots of stress onto her life. Hester at times was in a state of uncontrollable pressure. “Gazing at Pearl, Hester Prynne often dropped her work upon her knees, and cried out with an agony which she would fain have hidden, but which made utterance for itself, betwixt speech and a groan, ‘O Father in heaven- if Thou art still my Father- what is this being which I have brought into the world!’” (Hawthorne, 77).
Initially Pearl is the symbol of Hesters public punishment for her adultery. As the novel progresses and Pearl matures she symbolizes the deteriation of Hester's like by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter "A". Pearl in a sense wants her mother to live up to her sin and, she achieves this by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter. Another peice of evidence that shows how Pearl symbolizes the sin Hester has committed, is when the town government wants to take Pearl away from her Revrend Dimmsdale convinces the government that Pearl is a living reminder of her sin. This is essentialy true, Hester without Pearl is like having Hester without sin.
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...
By being with Hester, Pearl got to experience a different manner in life which enabled her to see an outside perspective of Puritan life and learn moral lessons from it. Pearl was not born into the typica...
Throughout all the sinful things Hester Prynne has done, she still managed to obtain good qualities. Hester was an adulterer from the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester was looked down upon by the citizens of Boston because of the sin she and another person committed, but no one knew who her partner in crime was because she refused to release his name. Towards the very end of the story Hester’s accomplice confessed and left Hester and Pearl feeling joyous, because now they didn’t have to keep in a secret. Hester is a trustworthy, helpful, and brave woman throughout The Scarlet Letter.