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The scarlet letter narrative
The scarlet letter narrative
The scarlet letter narrative
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In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne analyzes Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. In the story, Hester is the main character of the story and was called Mistress Prynne (Hawthorne 70). Dimmesdale, in the story was referred to as Reverend Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 90). Chillingworth was originally named, Roger Prynne but later in the story he changed his name to Roger Chillingworth. In the story, Hester committed adultery with Dimmesdale against Chillingworth and in the beginning she got punished and sent to prison and later she got to get out of prison but with the exception of having to wear the letter A on her breast every time she went out in to town. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester is the main character. Hester is referred to as “Mistress Prynne” (Hawthorne 70). The Scarlet Letter also mentions she is holding her three month old baby, Pearl, in her arms who winked and turned her head by the sun’s rays (Hawthorne 71). She is described as having an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread “letter A” on the breast of her gown (Hawthorne 71). Hester was also a tall woman (Hawthorne 72). Her hair was dark and abundant her hair shined while the sunshine gleamed off her hair (Hawthorne 72). Hester had a marked brow and dark black eyes (Hawthorne 72). Hester Prynne is often described as a lady-like person (Hawthorne 72). Hester’s role in the story is described as sleeping with a priest and got accused of committing adultery and got punished by having to wear a scarlet letter “A” on the breast of her gown (Hawthorne 71). Hester Prynne’s punishment is to go to prison and then with her child, Pearl, go and stand out on the platform in front of everybody wearing her scarlet letter on the breast of her gown (Howells). Hester... ... middle of paper ... ...1. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. Reid, Bethany. "Narrative of the Captivity and Redemption of Roger Prynne: Rereading The Scarlet Letter." Studies in the Novel 33.3 (Fall 2001): 247-267. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 158. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. Symons, Arthur. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." Studies in Prose and Verse. E. P. Dutton & Co., 1904. 52-62. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. Tamkang Review. "John Updike's S." Tamkang Review 25.3-4 (Spring-Summer 1995): 379-405. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 126. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.
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 Prynne, the protagonist in the book The Scarlet Letter, has committed the sin of adultery, but learned to use that mistake as a form of strength. Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, sent her to America and was supposed to follow her, but never arrived in Boston. While Hester was waiting on Chillingworth, she had an affair with the town minister, Dimmesdale. As a result, Hester gave birth to a beautiful daughter and was forced to wear the scarlet
Hester Prynne is the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, which is set in seventeenth-century Puritan New England. As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Roger Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live but never followed. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. Found guilty of adultery (through the absence of her husband and the birth of Pearl), Hester is punished by being forced to wear a scarlet lette...
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon.
Hester Prynne was the main character in the Scarlet Letter. Hester sin was committing adultery with minister Arthur Dimmsdale. Birthing a child named Pearl of pure sin. By committing her sin they punished her. “‘If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!" (98 ) The community made her stand on the scaffold for public humiliation. Wearing the letter “A” on her garments meaning Adultery as another punishment. The community shunned Hester and Pearl looking at them as satans work. Hester believes that she should remain in Boston since that were her crime of adultery was committed making it as a reminder to herself what shes have done. Also staying to protect Dimmesdale from Chillingworth.
As Hester grows throughout The Scarlet Letter so does her strengthen. Despite the feeling of loneliness, Hester has remarkable strength withstand townspeople and the government. The primary offender against her is Roger Chillingsworth, who married Hester before she was old enough to know the needs of her own nature (Abel 304). Hester married Chillingsworth for a fresh start but he is sent to America to live and she must wait for him to return. Hester is surprised to see Chillingsworth he comes to visit her cell...
Hester Prynne, from the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne, is the one of the main characters as well as a central focus throughout the story. She is convicted for her crime of adultery after the birth of her daughter, Pearl, but does not reveal the identity of the father out of respect for him and his pride as well as to help him avoid the harsh accusations and scrutiny of their provincial Puritan town. Hester demonstrates absolute empathy as well as strength of character and humility as the story progresses and as she actively works to make amends for her sin against society. She finds herself at the scaffold three times, each for a different reason. In each instance, her growth of character
...Chrie, D., (ed.), Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1986. Vo. 13, pp. 53-111.
Letter while discovering that a hidden lie left to fester causes more grief and pain than he
Hester Prynne was a young woman living in a Puritan community in the "New World." Her husband, Roger Chillingworth was said to be lost at sea, and Hester assumed his death. Upon this basis, young Hester committed a crime of adultery with her fellow Minister Arthur Dimmesdale. The result of this extra marital affair was the birth of young Pearl, an "elf-like" child. When the townspeople become aware of what Hester has done, they forced her to wear an ultimate sign of punishment, the scarlet letter. This letter "A" for adultery had to be worn on Hester's bosom at all times.
After having committed adultery and had a child with an anonymous man, whom she refused to reveal, she was forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life. Hester’s main antagonist throughout the novel is the Puritan society around her which tries to keep her down at all times for her sinful act. Hester exhibits her characteristic bravery when she must be taken from the prison into the marketplace for humiliation, where she dons her scarlet letter. She had felt a sense of insecurity prior to exiting the prison, which is seen when she covers the letter with her child, but finally faces her fear when she displays the letter that she embroidered with her exceptional talent in sewing. She had turned her symbol of shame into a symbol of dignity, astonishing her enemies. Hester faces yet another antagonist with the novel when she is visited in prison by her husband who has recent arrived in the village and took on the identity of a man named Roger Chillingworth. Disappointed in Hester that she would betray him, he makes it certain to Hester that she will find who the anonymous man was and exact his revenge. His sinister demeanor causes her to fear that he will ruin her life. Hester Prynne’s conflict with her fellow villagers and her husband also serves as an example that helps support the truth of the
Forum 19.4 (Winter 1985): 160-162. Rpt. inTwentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 192. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
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 character Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one who is criticized by literary critic D.H. Lawrence. He underscores her flaws and sinful nature, denouncing Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester as a heroine. In his essay, “On The Scarlet Letter,” Lawrence critiques the way Hester Prynne is depicted through terse syntax, biblical allusions, and a satirical tone.
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.