The Well by Elizabeth Jolley and Relationship of Hester and Katherine
Hester Harper is a lonely, single lady in The Well. It was her
loneliness, lack of love and need for companionship that made her
bring Katherine home. She did not have a life of her own. Katherine
was an unloved child, who had already been rejected by people in her
country until she luckily met with Hester. Katherine formed a close
relationship with Hester, and soon realised that Hester was quite fond
of her. Katherine fulfilled all her requirements, and Hester believed
that it is the beginning of a secure and loving relationship. Hester
spoiled Katherine and made her life incredibly comfortable; she did
not want to ever let go of her.
Katherine was incredibly good at manipulating Hester. She displayed
her care and friendliness on the first day that she was brought home,
“Oh Miss Harper I will. Thank you…she hugged and kissed her.” She was
all open and honest to Hester, it seemed strange that a normal person
would show affection to a stranger, without even forming a close
relationship. Katherine from the first day, had a concealed motive by
knowing that Miss Harper was a well respected and rich lady and for
this reason was already trying to take advantage of her, trying to win
her love so she could be the replacement daughter and inherit Hester’s
assets. There is also the time when Katherine convinced Hester to
invite Joanna to come stay for a week. The suspicion gets even
stronger when we learn about “Katherine’s ability and willingness in
the household” and that “there was nothing Katherine could not copy or
learn.” She seemed to have all the makings of an efficient criminal.
It is very unusual for a young girl to be willing to sta...
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... it. Nevertheless we never find out who stole the money; however we do
know that Hester is left with nothing. All she ever wanted is for her
and Katherine to be happy.
Hester and Katherine both tried to take advantage of each other.
Hester never wanted to lose Katherine, and had always done what was
best for her. She tried to make Katherine’s life the most comfortable
as she possibly could. She bought all the things that Katherine
insisted upon, and even told Katherine that she could invite her best
friend to stay, even though she did not look so kindly upon. All
Katherine ever wanted was the money to use for her own pleasure, she
wanted to get everything out of Hester, and was very manipulative in
doing so. She had Hester wrapped up in her little finger. Both
Katherine and Hester used each other, but it was really Katherine who
was in the most control.
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.
At that point, tears filled her eyes as she took out of her bands that entitled her to another man's love. My heart had to start bursting with agony how on earth could thine women of my dream lead me on when being entitled to another man. Hester had expressed her lack of paramour for her spouse as he had left her years ago for Amsterdam and that she had actually a strong love for me. Thine admiration that Hester had for me was still there and she did not attend to hurt me as she was too intoxicated the night in the woods to bring up the fact about her husband. Thou women had dark circles that had been visible under her eyes showing the lack of sleep that the Hester had experienced thinking of the problems that she has created. I accepted the fact that Hester wanted to tell me and I could relate to the reason Hester had moved on from her husband as he had left her for no reason, and she never really loved him in the first place. Hester decides to stay hidden in the chamber so that society could not condemn her
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “ The Scarlet Letter’’ is a classical story about sin, punishment and revenge. It all began with a young woman named Hester Prynne who has committed adultery, and gave birth to a child in a Puritan society. Through the eyes of the puritans Hester has gone against their religious ways. Hester must now wear the symbol of the letter “A” on her clothing for the rest of her life as act of shame. Hester Prynne faces a long journey ahead and her strength enables her to continue on.
The Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne commits adultery and gives birth to an illegitimate child. Although this story takes place in a complete different time than the roaring 20s, the central theme can be connected to the musical film Chicago where Roxie Hart, the protagonist, commits a similar crime to that of Hester Prynne.
One example of a strong, independent woman in Hawthorne’s life was his mother. She did not necessarily look outside of her home for her independence; hers was a forced independence. Elizabeth Hawthorne’s husband died when young Nathaniel was only four years old. She raised him and his siblings while displaying strength that single mothers are forced to produce on a daily basis. While some scholars say that Elizabeth Hawthorne withdrew from her family and society with the death of her husband, Nina Baym has a different insight into the woman that raised Nathaniel Hawthorne. She states that Hawthorne had a “deep attachment to his mother” (Baym 7). She also goes on to say that there are many discrepancies in how his mother is described. However, she believes with ample evidence that Elizabeth Hawthorne connected with her family and her children on a profound level
In the midst of a painful and perilous situation, would you respond by giving up or persevering forward? In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the reader is introduced to a woman named Hester Prynne, who beared a scarlet letter to represent her sin of adultery and lived a life as an outcast from society. The story heavily revolves around the idea of sin, which plays a huge part in Hester Prynne’s life. Hawthorne uses different aspects of Prynne’s life to create several conflicts that occur throughout the story. These conflicts include: herself, another, a group, nature, and the supernatural. Hester Prynne has several conflicts, and as these are resolved, her character is revealed.
Upon first inspection, Hester Prynne and Huckleberry Finn may not appear to have much in common. Hester Prynne is an ostracized woman and mother in 17th century Puritan Boston, while Huck Finn is a 14 year old boy essentially running away from home in the antebellum south; their stories are vastly different from one another. However, there are certain similarities between these two characters and their circumstances. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn share a common trait; a protagonist that rejects society and who must learn to coexist with the moral and religious influences that bolster it. Though Huckleberry’s rejection may be more external and obvious than Hester’s, both characters go against
Even though both women are adulators, Hester is a truthful woman who never lies. She only lies one time to her daughter when approached by the question of what the scarlet letter stands for. Hester also never lies when approached by ministers to confess whom the accomplice were. She just says, “I will not speak'; (Hawthorne 64).
After evaluating chapters one through eight Nathaniel Hawthorne clearly shows the readers Hester's positive parenting skills in The Scarlet Letter. The character demonstrates that Hester is able to raise the child from infancy to childhood safely and lovingly.
Throughout the novel, the harsh Puritan townspeople begin to realize the abilities of Hester despite her past. Hester works selflessly and devotes herself to the wellbeing of others. “Hester sought not to acquire anything beyond a subsistence of the plainest and most ascetic description, for herself, and a simple abundance for her child.
The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason for her change in personality. The secrets Hester keeps are because she is silent and hardly talks to anyone. “Various critics have interpreted her silence. as both empowering. and disempowering. Yet silence, in Hester’s case, offers a type of passive resistance to male probing”
The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, features a woman named Hester Prynne living in a puritan society in Boston, Massachusetts who has committed adultery. A puritan society is a group of protestants that demand the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline (Dictionary.com). This society views adultery as a sin, thus, Hester Prynne as a sinner that must be punished. Her punishment entails being forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her chest to signify her adultery and then to bare that letter while standing on a scaffold, holding her baby, in the middle town for a few hours for all to see.
The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a dark romantic novel, in which feminism is highly supported. The Puritan society during the early settlements in the Americas were highly restricting, especially to females. This novel surrounds the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who committed the sin of adultery, and how she copes with the shame and punishments put on her by the society, but her actions and the way that Nathaniel Hawthorne has brought life to this character clearly has a feminist touch to it. Examples of this is pervasive throughout the novel, for example, her pride and prowess while she stands on the scaffold in the beginning of the story, the way she continues to live alone on the edge of town without the help of anyone else on the edge of town, which is a hard task at the
In the critical essay On the Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence depicts Hester Prynne as a seductive but demonic woman who craves the downfall of holy men. Prynne has been a subject of debate since the publication of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter. While some believe she is a tragic heroine, others argue that she is a personification of all things unholy. Hawthorne takes the stance that Hester is a strong and independent heroine, but D.H. Lawrence argues the opposite. Lawrence persuades his audience that Hester is a cynical adulteress with the use of mocking syntax, sarcastic diction, and derogatory allusions.
Hester was very trustworthy, she kept in secrets that could have possibly changed her and her daughter