The Unchanged Character of Hester in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The Unchanged Character of Hester in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

In the course of most stories, at least one of the main characters changes in one way or another. In The Scarlet Letter, one of the main characters we see a change in is Hester. Through the course of the novel, it appears that Hester changes from an arrogant, unremorseful woman to a much kinder and helpful, repentant woman. Although it appears that Hester has learned a lesson from her sin and consequential punishment, has she really changed her sinful ways? If she has, why, then, is she going to leave for Europe with Arthur Dimmesdale?

In the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, we see Hester being punished publicly for the sin she has committed with Arthur Dimmesdale. In chapter two, Hawthorne writes, "he [the town-beadle] laid his right hand 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, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free-will." Two paragraphs later, Hawthorne writes, "And never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, in the antique interpretation of the term, than as she issued from the prison. Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped." At this first appearance to the townspeople, Hester acts as if nothing is wrong, as if she has chosen to appear before the people, rather than take it as a punishment. Hester’s haughty appearance does not accurately reflect the way she is feeling on the i...

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...ir marriage. By running off with Arthur, she would be committing adultery again. Some people would argue that Roger and Hester were never married and, therefore, they didn’t commit adultery. In that case, they may not have committed adultery, but Hester still would have committed fornication, also a sin in God’s sight (Mark 7:21, Acts 15:20, among others).

At one point in the story, Hawthorne explains that Hester has learned much from the letter (ch 18 – "The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, —stern and wild ones, —and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss."). Although Hester has changed in some ways, the change that was supposed to be brought about by the scarlet letter never happened. In the end, Hester was still planning to commit adultery again.