After Thea Elvsted leaves the room, crushed by Lovborg’s statement that he had destroyed the manuscript, he says to Hedda, To you I can tell the truth, Hedda.” The reason he probably thinks that is that he can trust her with everything he says to her. She has that personality that she is honest, loyal and trustworthy. I think he is right in this statement because having someone there that you can trust and that is honest to you. Having trust for someone I think is a big step to have. Sometimes having trust for someone is there for you and that they are that person that has a listening ear. For Thea she trusted Hedda for the sayings she had.
The book, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the scandalous story of Hester Prynne and how the scarlet letter ‘A’ burns on her breast. Hester has a child who is born in adultery. She is sentenced to stand on the dreaded scaffold and endure public shaming and to wear the letter of conviction for the rest of her days. Even in her suffering, Hester refuses to give the identity of the father, the highly regarded Minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. He is a cowardly man who is permits Hester to suffer alone. Even though he confesses his sins eventually, he refuses several other opportunities; therefore, he is weak and cowardly, and in no way a hero.
Setting and tone are both very significant within a play. With setting you're able to know the time and place of the events that are taking place, and what influences the character`s actions and behaviour. With the information regarding the setting you can determine how the play specifically reflects on the society that it takes place in, and what influence it has over the characters. The reader should be able to visualize the play with the reference of the setting. In addition, tone helps set the mood which is an crucial effort to determine the language of the character. The tone justifies the attitude of the narrator or the character's viewpoint.
In the book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is very strong-willed and loyal. For example, when Dimmesdale tells Hester to identify the father and she replies, “I will not speak!” (51). When Hester is in front of many people; she stays strong and does not give Dimmesdale up. This is important because by not revealing the identity of the father, Hester stays loyal to Dimmesdale. Another example is when the governor tries to take Pearl away from Hester and she says, “Ye shall not take her! I will die first!” (85). Hester continues to be tough and not give up Pearl but also does not give the name of Pearl’s father. Hester continues to argue why she should keep Pearl and is willing to die before she would let someone else raise
In his work “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence addresses the controversial character of Hester Prynne. He is just one of many critics who have analyzed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional character, where some look to her as a hero and others blatantly shame her for her sin. Lawrence makes up the latter of this crowd, and is able to prove his case in a very meaningful manner. The critic believes that Hawthorne sugarcoats Hester’s image, and tries to make it look as if she is the victim of the tale. Disregarding this sympathy, he addresses the root cause of her sin rather than its consequences. As he writes, he uses a multitude of literary techniques to help convince readers of Hester’s seemingly evil character, using descriptive diction, a
She had such a kind nature and willingness to assist others that the fact that those whom she fed often returned the generosity with nothing but insults did not cause her to cease in her endeavors. Then, towards the end of the novel, after returning from Europe to the New England town in which she had sinned and repented numerous years before, Hester began to counsel other unfaithful women. For example, "Hester comforted and counseled them as best she might. She assured them, too, of her firm belief, that, at some brighter period, when the world should have grown ripe for it, in Heaven's own time, a new truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness." This also demonstrates Hester's generosity and helpfulness. Although the New England town harbored such unpleasant memories for her, she was willing to return in order to assist others in need. She was willing to relive her own pain and absorb the pain of others in order to benefit future generations, and she was willing to give back to a society which had given nothing to her.
After her heinous treatment in Salem, and the devastating betrayal of John Indian, these words and this faith are rejuvenating to Tituba's emotional stability. Hester's encouragement is felt by Tituba throughout the remainder of her life, and even during her existence as a spirit. She draws on Hester strongly during times of need, for example as she attempts to practice her art after an extended absence: "I felt a pair of lips on my neck and knew it was Hester come to give me courage." (125).
Throughout history, mental illness has been labeled as a defining deformity, that harnesses in its “victims,” into a box, parallel to the familiar “mime in a box” image. In a world where we glorify “normality,” a lack of illness, which by all means is a gift, the beauty of one mind takes away from the beauty of an outlier, even though, ironically people may not even recognize their differences. Hester, at a glance suffers from a literal scarlet letter, but an imprint on her brain may exist as well. Irrational actions, sudden emotional episodes, and destructive thoughts can only prevail for so long following sin; Hester’s persona has branches of self-defeating personality disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. No one of her time, however, will bring the issue to light, Hester will be left known as the mistress, a witch, or “A,” rather than to explore her “complicated” condition. As decades pass, Hester’s state will remain, as the “A,” the mark of the stigma on mental illness today. When left neglected, society rejects the possibility that under a visible coating, mental deformities may lie; those who are divergent, who require affection more, are made subordinate, marginalized with no quest for a cure.
The sin of adultery she once made doesn't exist in the letter A any more. It has transformed from "adultery" into "able", "acceptable", and off course it's made Hester the woman of pride, kindness, and respect. Hester did such an outstanding evolution that no woman in her times can: expressing self-identity, proving woman strength by showing her self-reliance and independence, revealing her goodness and kindness for people, and earning respect and pride.
Towards the end of the novel, Hester gets the break in life she’s been waiting for. She put up with seven years of shame and guilt, to finally be the person she used to be. Her rekindled love with Arthur makes her happy again, and everything just seems right for them. She’s filled with hope that her life will finally turn back to normal again. She feels redeemed, and the guilt is no longer on her shoulders. She’s now ready to take on the world, and start her life over to the way it was before the “A” entered her life. Having the courage to show her face in the colony again is just a sign of her bravery.
This passage from the denouement Henrik Ibsen’s play, Hedda Gabler, before Hedda’s suicide, is an illustration of the vulnerability and defeat of the impetuous and manipulative titular character. Ibsen develops Hedda’s character by uncovering details about the conflicts between Hedda and the other characters, Judge Brack, Mrs Elvsted, and George Tesman which highlight Hedda’s transformation from an individualistic to despairing individual, conveying the theme of freedom and repression in society.
With no focus on Hedda’s mother we can imagine that the general did little to prepare his daughter for wifehood or motherhood. Hedda inherited his pride, coldness, and an authoritative attitude toward others of a lower rank. She lacks compassion for weak and submissive characters like Thea and Aunt Julia but has admiration for power and freedom, qualities she finds in Brack and Lövborg. Even after marrying Tesman, she keeps her father’s portrait and guns, which signifies her desire for masculine control as well as her personal form of mourning of the power she has lost by marrying Tesman. This perverse behavior can be attributed greatly to the era in which Hedda lives, because her choices are highly influenced by the male dominated society.
Hedda arouses sympathy from the readers through her own personal conflicts. She is a woman trapped by herself in a loveless marriage to an “ingenuous creature” (52 Ibsen) named George Tesman. Tesman is a simple soul with very little to offer. Not only is he an entire social class below Hedda, but he is oblivious, insecure due to his own banalities, and overly reliant on his Aunts’, despite being thirty-three-years-old. Hedda married George due to a “bond of sympathy. . .” (31 Ibsen) formed between them and she “took pity. . .” (31 Ibsen) on George. This brings a sense of sincerity to Hedda that was not turned to such a high magnitude preceding this discussion between Judge Brack and herself. Hedda is a lonely, yet independent, soul that wants sexual freedom without
One of Hedda's main points in life is to control her position in society. She does everything in her power to avoid any type of scandal in the community and to go along with the norms of society. This occurs with her decision of marrying George Tesman, even though she had feelings
Similarly, she longs to manipulate others due to her lack of independence. Forcing her to stay for a cup of tea, Hedda “drags Mrs. Elvsted almost by main force towards the archway” (Ibsen). Blatantly rude, she belittles Thea physically and almost sadistically, making the latter feel powerless and trapped to release her anger and to use this as a replacement for the dissatisfaction in life. Her mind and demeanor is thus an outcome of her past. Hoping to gain attention to substitute her isolation and emptiness, she automatically responds bitterly. Lacking dominance, she reciprocates physically for authority over Mrs. Elvsted’s fate. When Brack visits, she greets him by “raising and aiming the pistol” (Ibsen 35). Envying his ability to determine others’ destiny as a lawyer, she imagines deciding that of his for a moment. The pistol
Even after her success of scandals, Hedda realizes that Judge Brack is still the one, who holds the upper hand in all affairs, and to express her “freedom” or at least want for freedom, she states “I am exceedingly glad to think—that you have no sort of hold over me” (p. 55). Her words foreshadow the ending of the play as it prepares the audience for unexpected and uncontrolled actions taken by Hedda. Furthermore, the ultimate outcome of her actions is Tesmun and Thea working together to re-create the manuscript, which Hedda was unprepared for. Tesmun and Thea take over her last place of comfort, as she removes her belongings from the drawing room and the writing