Hester Prynne And Arthur Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Over time the people begin to see her as one who can bring them comfort when they are in distress. People even refuse to see her as one who has sinned but as one who represents the strength of women. As a result of all she has done people begin to be unable to discern the difference between Hester wearing the scarlet letter to that of a nun who wears a cross (Hawthorne 153). Hester’s identity has changed from “adulterer” to “able”. People no longer see her as much as a symbol of sin but of charity, as she has continuously shown her generosity with others, “In such emergencies, Hester’s nature showed itself warm and rich; a well - spring of human tenderness, unfailing to every real demand, and inexhaustible by the largest” (Hawthorne 152). Due to her actions Hester begins to change her identity from one of infamy to one who represents charity.

This ridicule has a trickle down effect on Hester as she too is banished from her own community for committing adultery. The comparison between Hester and Hawthorne defines the external struggle for the reader to fully understand the effect of opinions from society on them Although reluctant to allow Hester to leave prison, the members of the town suggest that her punishment be to wear a scarlet red letter A on her bosom, thereby allowing all to know of her crime. The scarlet letter “ was red-hot with infernal fire, ” (Hawthorne 81) and defined the state she was currently in, that being eternal hell. Though she was forced to marry an older man at a young age, her rebellion to have an affair is not seen as an internal struggle that she overcame; rather, it is merely seen as a woman who sinned, a woman who shall therefore endure the punishment for the sin, rather than a woman who was never given a say in what she wanted with her life. Time and again, Hester Prynne is seen defying society by allowing herself to stand out from societal norm just as the roses “with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner“ (Hawthorne) did. Instead, she returns to the community and is observed aiding those in need, all with seven year old Pearl by her side.

The author, in lines 24 to 29, compares Hester’s scarlet letter to a “passport into regions where other women dared not tread,” and later mentions how the mentors of her life—shame, despair, and solitude—taught her strong but amiss, different from other women. These metaphors depict the dual nature of Hester: the sinful bearer of the scarlet letter and audacious woman of brooding resilience. In spite of her emblem of shame, Hester boldly continued to hold her head high, resisting all the consequences of her adultery. The metaphors employed here, therefore, provide a thorough inspection of Hester’s state of mind and paints a deeper and more poignant picture of Hester Prynne’s

In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is more than a literary figure in a classic novel, she is known by some people to be one of the earliest American Hero’s. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester commits adultery and has a child that she must care for all alone. She is forced to wear a powerful, attention grabbing “Scarlet A” on her chest while she must try to make a living to support her and her child, Pearl. Even though she must face all the harsh judgment and stares she does not allow her sin to stop her from living a successful life. She looks past the Letter as a symbol of sin and turns it into a sign of approval. Hester

The title of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter refers to the literal symbol of ignominy that Hester Prynne’s community forces her to wear as a reminder of her sin. Though the word “ignominy” is used in sympathetic passages that describe Hester Prynne’s disgrace as an adulteress and out-of-wedlock mother, its use at the same time reveals an extremely critical description of Hester’s community; Hawthorne finds that what is truly disgraceful is the way the community relishes and exploits the opportunity to punish one of its members.

Hester and Dimmesdale are forgiven. Though Hester was an adulteress, she made it up to the town by doing kind acts. Therefore, Hester is forgiven. Dimmesdale however, never conceded to his acts and remained in the dark, due to this he is considered as being unforgiven.

Together with the transformation of Hester, the scarlet letter once again symbolizes her identity as pure as an angel. Though she committed adultery and had to suffer a lot from this sin, her soul still remains in an original shape of purity. And the red color of letter A on her bosom, which once was the call of scorn, hate and bitterness towards Hester, now attracted people's warmth, admiration and love as if it were a red burning color deep inside her heart. Hester deserves the highest recognition that the scarlet letter has done for her: a woman with a pure heart and soul of an angel.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays a Puritan society plagued with guilt and corruption. Throughout the novel, characters are punished for their hypocrisy and Hawthorne shows the flaws in Puritan societies. Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Robert Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter become so consumed in their ambitions that they are unable to discern the hypocrisy of their beliefs, and as a result, Hawthorne critics and punishes these members of the Puritan society.

“She took the baby on her arm, and with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared a letter A. (6) As she walked Hester was ladylike, dignified than ever before. I presume that Hester is not proud of the crime she committed but she is willing to stand tall and accept the consequences. The author described the scarlet letter as a spell on Hester Prynne that set her out of ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself, thus bringing her isolation (7). Hester’s walk of shame was the worse part of wearing the scarlet letter, with crude, stark, callous eyes staring at her knowing she will never be considered a part of their society again; though Hester sustained herself as best as she could. She began reminiscing remembering her old house in England with her mother, father, and a scholar, then she realizes the Scarlet Letter will always target her as an outcast. Which leads into chapter

To begin, the scarlet letter had lost its meaning over the course of time. “Then, also, the blameless purity of her life during all these years in which she had been set apart to infamy was reckoned largely in her favor.” (Chapter XIII) The author’s purpose is to call attention to the Puritan’s weak shaming system. For example, if the person being subjected to the humiliation does not draw attention to them self, the villagers will lose interest in the crime; this allows the villagers a healing time. In Hester’s case the people were able to see her in a new light. “Such helpfulness was found in her-so much power to do and power to sympathize-that many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original signification. They said that it meant “Able”; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s

The sin between Hester and Dimmesdale affected the whole town, but has affected Chillingworth more. Chillingworth in the beginning of the book has been pronounced dead, but he is, in reality not dead. He comes back to the town with Hester as she is getting punished for committing adultery. Chillingworth later talks to Hester in the prison to try and get the information of who Pearl’s father is. In this scene he asks Hester to not reveal that he, her husband, is alive. Chillingworth then swears to get revenge on whoever has committed the sin with Hester. We know that Chillingworth was not the best husband to Hester. He ignored his wife when they were together, as well as, he expected Hester to love him back even if he did nothing that

In the novel, Hawthorne exemplifies that sin isolates the sinner by physically isolating Hester from society. One example of Hesters physical isolation is the scarlet letter. When Hester first leaves prison, the people of the colony notice that, “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth… appeared the letter A... but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony” (60). The scarlet letter that she bears on her chest is the sign of her sin. Hester is the only person in the colony that wears the scarlet ‘A’. The letter is a sign that

Are Hester and Dimmesdale forgiven? This is a question that is asked by many people that have read the book, there are many things that take clue to both sides, were they forgiven by god? Or not? My side of the argument is that they were indeed forgiven for their sins, and that they have shown to god that they are worthy of being accepted into heaven. There are many things that prove that this is valid, some things more subtle than others.

Of course the answer to this question is "neither" if she must be only one or the other. In one way, Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a much less complicated character than her lover because her great sin is known to all and how she deals with it is overt; however, because of that public punishment, Hester does not have to deal with the effects of her sin on her soul in the same way that Arthur Dimmesdale must. If a sinner is defined simply as someone who has sinned, then Hester is, indeed, a sinner. If we think of a sinner as being someone who persists in committing the same sin--then I might make the case that Hester is a sinner. The truth is that Hester is really only sorry for getting caught, which she does because she is pregnant.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the harshness of society and its impact on a member of the community who has done wrong. Hester Prynne was a young, beautiful, and married woman whose husband was over seas when she got pregnant. Accused with the crime of adultery, Hester has to deal with being shunned by her Puritan community. Refusing to give up the father’s name, Hester must raise her child alone and live with the guilt of her sins in dishonor. This contributes to the idea that Dimmesdale and Hester were both destroyed by their deception and secrecy.