Hester Prynne Character Analysis

Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the ideology of Puritan society in the novel the Scarlet Letter; however reader also get to witness his characters being an illustration of hypocrisy and victims to their own guilt. In the Scarlet Letter, as in many of Hawthorne’s shorter works, he makes profuse use of the Puritan past: its odd exclusionary belief, its harsh code of ruling, its concern with sex and witchcraft. The Scarlet Letter is a story that is embellished but yet simple. Many readers may view this novel as a soap opera due to the way Hawthorne conveys this Puritan society’s sense of strictness and inability to express true emotion along with the secrecy and how deceiving the characters are being. As the story unfolds the main character Hester Prynne is bounded in marriage at an early age. She engages in an adulterous affair with an unknown member of their small village. Hester soon becomes pregnant and with her husband’s absence the chances of this child belonging to her husband are slim. The towns’ people know that she has committed a sin and imprisons her for her crime.

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

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne relays the theme of guilt using symbolism that is portrayed in the scarlet letter itself and in the main character’s daughter. The story follows the protagonist, Hester Prynne, who commits adultery with the town minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, producing the child she raises on her own named Pearl. Guilt is a common theme for the duration of the novel which covers all aspects of the shame each character feels. These particular dimensions of shame come specifically from different objects in the novel and what they represent.

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 irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.

Dimmesdale will not even be seen in public with Hester and Pearl. He wants to be able to be with his daughter and the love of his life but then people would know that he committed adultery with Hester. Pearl asks, “Wilt thou stand here with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide?” to only hear, “Not so, my child.” from Dimmesdale in return (Hawthorne page 144). Dimmesdale not being able to be with whom he loves is is a struggle.

The third most important scene, which has a great impact in The Scarlet Letter is when Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest and talk about making plans to run away from Boston and live together. Dimmesdale is getting very weak from his own guilt and Hester thinks it is best for them to just go away from everything. Also Dimmesdale is noticing that Pearl is starting to resemble him and people will soon start finding out. Hester shows a change in character when she decides to take off her scarlet letter, throw it across the forest, and take off her head cap to let down her beautiful hair once more. It has not been since the beginning of the novel since Hester has had her hair down and showing her beauty on the scaffold. Meanwhile, Pearl is getting upset and throwing a fit towards Hester because she does not recognize her mother without her hair up and the Scarlet Letter, since it has been there her whole life. She refuses to do anything her mother says until she puts the scarlet letter back onto her bosom. “Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, consists of multiple characters that are all important to the novel: Hester Prynne, Pearl Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne is the protagonist who has a affair with Reverend Dimmesdale behind her husband’s, Roger Chillingworth, back thus creating Pearl Prynne, the outcome of Hester and Dimmesdale’s affair. Since Hester was pregnant, she was charged for committing adultery, and her punishment is to wear a Scarlet Letter on her bosom. Though, the whole novel surrounds that idea of who the father is, because Hester and Dimmesdale won't reveal their sin, which creates conflict and tension between all the characters. Though Dimmesdale, in particular, caused chaos

Dimmesdale longs to confess his sin, but he cannot bring himself to do it. Dimmesdale has visions and delusions and begins to think falsely about the world. Dimmesdale feels as if there is a scarlet letter on his chest. When Dimmesdale brings himself to the platform where Hester was punished, Hester and Pearl join him. Pearl asks him if he will stand with them on the platform and he tells her on judgement day that he will. After time passes, people begin to think differently about Hester and the scarlet letter. They now consider the letter to be a sign of her strength. When Hester meets again with Roger Chillingworth she tells him that she must reveal the secret for the good of Mr. Dimmesdale. Hester wants Chillingworth to stop the evil practices

Desire, passion, love, sex, adultery, evil, religion, law, and judgement are the primary topics that make reading The Scarlet Letter more interesting. Caught up in passion, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, succumb to their desire in the forest. Hester is a married woman and Arthur Dimmesdale is the Puritan community minister. Their affair is adultery and brought to light when Hester becomes pregnant. Pearl is the illegitimate daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale.

Dimmesdale feels like a hypocrite, because he is portrayed as a pure man, but on the inside he is a sinner. Also, the more he tries to confess his sins, the more the congregation love his sermons. Dimmesdale even tries to reveal his inner self throughout the novel. In chapter 20 Dimmesdale wants to do bad things to show that he is impure, “it was only by the most careful self-control that the former could refrain from uttering certain blasphemous suggestions that rose into his mind” (207). The feeling of hypocrisy is driving Dimmesdale crazy, but Hester does not have this feeling.The reader sees that Dimmesdale is actually jealous of Hester, “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret! Thou little knowest what a relief it is, after the torment of a seven years' cheat, to look into an eye that recognizes me for what I am!” (183) Hester does not have to deal with this guilt as much as Dimmesdale, because she was already publically punished. Everyone knows that she is a sinner, so she doesn’t have to hide it. In fact, after a couple of years, people began to see her as a saint, rather than a sinner. They even say that her scarlet letter stands for “able”. Dimmesdale’s whole life revolves around the shame and suffering of his sin, which is why he dies after he confesses his sin. However, because Hester’s sin is publically revealed, she only suffers for a couple of

While wallowing in his own self grief and guilt in secrecy, Dimmesdale continuously weakens himself. The effect which hypocrisy of sin and guilt has on Dimmesdale is uncovered throughout thorough description of the self harm and mental abuse he puts himself through. Hawthorne describes the effect on Dimmesdale stating, “Poor, miserable man! what right had infirmity like his to burden itself with crime? Crime is for the iron-nerved...This feeble and most sensitive of spirits could do neither..” (129-130). In the Puritan society, sin is comparable to a crime which seems to tear Dimmesdale’s already weak soul to shreds. Hawthorne clearly reveals that Dimmesdale is not the type of man who can handle the intensity of crime/sin. He is so afraid of the community’s judgement and rejection, that he cannot even begin to process how difficult managing the sin in secrecy is going to be for him. Dimmesdale’s “feeble and most sensitive” spirit, is completely contrary to Hester’s spirit of great resiliency. While Hester stands upon the scaffold bearing the harsh shame of the Puritan society, she shows her true character and the lack of frailty in her soul. Hester stands proud and tall, holding her daughter Pearl tight to her bosom and remains accountable for her adultery while standing in front of

Dimmesdale’s love and agony towards Hester was shown in his physical and mental degeneration, furthermore, his love to Pearl, his daughter, was shown when he was trying to kiss her, but he always got her refusal, and this was the climax of his weakness and deterioration of character. yet, at the end of the novel, Dimmesdale’s health was in it’s worst stages, therefore he had nothing to lose, so he confronts his society and tells them about is adultery crime that he committed with Hester, and after he did that he gives up life, but as a matter of fact his death was not a sad one, for he was relieved from the pain in his heart and also got to kiss his daughter Pearl whom he never got to kiss, hence, at the end of the novel, the latter character musters courage and loses his weakness which was replaced with the powerful character that confronted without fear.

With this, Hawthorne uses it as proof that Pearl is already changing her mother. The fourth event in this novel, is the contemplating of running away to Europe. In chapter 18, Dimmesdale is stoked that Hester would suggest running away with him. For seven years Hester has been prepping to leave the town, and now she isn’t so blinded confines of Puritan morality and social structures.

He adds agony, torment, crucial solitude, and secluded affection into Hester’s life. This is looked upon as an attack, and the “crisis” (Harris, Rooks, and Stegall) in her life. One day walking out of prison, with a daughter and having to deal with the humiliation of having sex outside of marriage. She was scorned and mocked by many townspeople. This is why Hawthorne sends Dimmesdale, a protector, to watch over Hester and Pearl to keep them from harm, especially from the townspeople.

For several years, Hester is prohibited from seeing her love in public. She can only meet with him privately. Even wanting to still see him represents true loyalty—after everything Hester has been through to protect Dimmsdale's secret is reason enough to be fed up with him (Swisher 53). Hester's loyalty to Dimmsdale continues until the end; she cradles him in his last dying moments on Earth. (Swisher 53) Hester keeps her loyalty to her husband, Roger Chillingworth, as well. He asks her not to reveal his identity in their first discussion of the novel, and she obliges. For many years, she keeps the secret while Chillingworth does dreadful things to Dimmsdale. Dimmsdale's deteriorating health is part due to the awful arts Chillingworth performs on his so-called “patient.” (Swisher 53) In chapter fifteen, Hester goes to confront Chillingworth about the situation. Hester argues and argues but Chillingworth