Hester Prynne Guilt Quotes

Hester Prynne of Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter defies the Puritan belief system through her rebellion and compassion. Hester defies the Puritan belief system through her rebellion. Hester Prynne, while in Boston waiting for her husband to come from Amsterdam, commits the crime of adultery and gives birth to a child, causing her to be punished. Hawthorne describes her crime in dialogue between Hester’s husband, who has just arrived in Boston and is unaware of Hester’s circumstances, and a towns member who infers as to what she has done and how much of an uproar it has caused, during her public punishment, in the government forces her to stand on a scaffold for three hours and condemned to wear an A on her chest

Hawthorne chooses to have Hester overcome her struggles. At the end of the book, Hester finds at least some degree of peace. The struggles and pain she went through were not pleasant, but they did provoke her to improve her relationship with God. Her burden seems lessened and if there is nothing else for her to be joyful about, her daughter Pearl has adapted and thrived in her new life. Hester Prynne shows mercy upon the sick and does charity work even when it goes unappreciated. She gave her time and effort to help the poor even when they rebuked her as well. Her dedication to try and fix her mistakes is admirable and the reader feels as if Hester has really changed for the better. The change in Hester makes the people respect her and come to her for advice at the end of the story. In chapter 13, Hawthorne writes about how the Puritans have mixed feelings about Hester, but the majority of the people now forgive and hold her in high regard. “They said it meant ‘Able’; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” (pg. 158) This quote shows how the interpretation of the letter and of Hester herself has changed. The new view of Hester gained by the Puritans is based on her response to the scarlet letter, a symbol meant to ruin her but in reality it made her

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.

Her being forced to wear the scarlet letter which led her to becoming a women’s advocate reflects the theme that good things come from bad. There was plenty of negative backlash to Hester's mistake, however she gained the ability to help other women struggling just like her. “They said that it meant Able, so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength” (pg 177, Hawthorne). The sin she committed and the experience gained through the aftermath of that sin, gives her insight on what it's like to be a woman who's being discriminated. Raising her daughter on her own and her saving her from harming herself reflects the theme that everyone makes mistakes. After all Hester is human just like everyone else. It is in our nature to make mistakes or even sin. “It is remarkable, that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most perfect quietude to the external regulations of society” (pg 181, Hawthorne). The actions we take to reverse or to compensate for that sin is what makes us who we are as individuals. Her being alienated from society and developing an independent thinking mindset mirrors the theme that one must acknowledge their mistakes to learn from them. Hester’s society made it abundantly clear that what she did was absolutely heinous and that she needs to repent and beg for forgiveness. The isolation she suffered through helped her become an independent thinker and develop thoughts that we would consider ahead of her time. “The world's law was no law for her mind” (pg 180, Hawthorne). Being excluded socially gave her a chance to dwell in her own thoughts and gather perceptions different from that of other puritans. This decision that Hester makes is very important to the story because it mirrors many of the major themes the author tried getting across to its

Hester has changed in so many different ways. First, Hester starts the story looking very ladylike, but as the story progresses she becomes to look manly. Some of the townspeople believed she had cut her hair off because she started always having it up. She starts to look ladylike again when she is in the forest with Dimmesdale. Hester said she had to stay in Boston to face what she had done but being with Dimmesdale changed her mind. She thought Dimmesdale and her could move away from all of their sin `and start fresh. Another reason why Hester wanted to move away with Dimmesdale is so Pearl can have a father figure in her life. “In vast London - or, surely, in Germany...thou wouldst be beyond his power and knowledge” (Hawthorne 218). Another way Hester grows is her choice of going with the Black Man. Hester would have gone with the Black Man to get away from all her troubles. Since they did not take Pearl away from her, Hester stayed and Pearl changed her view on life. “Had they taken her from me, I would have willingly have gone with thee into the forest” (Hawthorne 129). One of the changes that occur since she has gotten the Scarlet Letter is her view of people. She understands and has the knowledge of other’s sins but the downfall is she loses faith. The last change she goes through is her needing to wear the Scarlet Letter. “Townspeople say she may, she does take it off privately in the forest” (Johnson 133). At first, Hester believes she must wear the Scarlet Letter and if it gains another meaning or just falls off then it is okay not to wear it. Eventually, the forest is a place where she feels safe and away from the rules of the community so she feels it is okay to be able to take it off. There are many more changes or growths that Hester has went through but can people really relate to

Through Hester Prynne’s captivity of sin, as depicted by the scarlet letter on her chest, Hester is granted freedom to observe and live a life of her own choosing as well as grant that for her illegitimate child, Pearl. Hester Prynne is held physically captive by the scarlet letter which binds her to sin and the town’s public knowledge of her adultery: “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast […] as the figure, the body, the reality of sin,” (95). Hester is obligated to be both excluded from the community, but to be ridiculed and scorned daily by it as well because of the physical depiction of captivity upon her chest. The scarlet letter, however, is what grants Hester Prynne freedom: “She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness. […] The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread,” (237-238). Hester uses her sin to her advantage and takes her freedom to do right by the community which has thus judged her and becomes a nurse. Hester is also free to disclose at any time

Hester Prynne's scarlet letter symbolizes the sin she committed with Dimmesdale, but eventually causes her to overcome its meaning on her soul. At first, the Scarlet Letter had "such potent and disastrous efficacy", that "no human sympathy" (91) could reach Hester as she bore the scarlet letter on her chest. Hawthorne shows us the Puritans fear of sin, so the scarlet letter acts as a “plant the germ of evil” (168) that drives them away. Hester must bear the burden of being disowned from the society due to her sin against God, as well as Puritans. But as "the tendency of her fame and fortunes [...] set her free", Hester's scarlet letter becomes a "passport into regions where other women dar[e] not tread" (190).

At first, Hester is treated as an outcast from the town, with the town citizens ignoring Hester, and making her a living sermon on the evils of sin, and the consequences of sin when it becomes public knowledge. Hester accepts this treatment and humiliation as part of her decision to stay in Boston. Hester’s scarlet letter visually demonstrates the fact that she has committed a private sin, that it became public very quickly, and that she will forever pay for her sin as long as she lives in the town of Boston. Hester believes that staying in Boston will pay penance for her adultery, and will take away the guilt and shame from her. Hester does not ever express any semblance of repentance, of sorrow, or of regret; she doesn’t believe that she deserves

Though in the beginning the townspeople view Hester negatively, the actions she does throughout the duration of the novel cause them to eventually think of her in a positive manner. At first, the scarlet letter represents the evil that Hester did while sinning, but now the people view it as a way to represent how she is a role model and a selfless samaritan. Additionally, the townspeople judge Hester on the ways that Pearl misbehaves, but instead of becoming upset, Hester is joyful and prove to the townspeople that she is a good mother, wether Pearl displays it or not. Everyday, many people sin, which does not make it correct, but what we do after our sin is what truly matters. Hester makes the people of her town see her in a new way after she sins, she makes them look at her positively rather than negatively. People should follow Hester’s actions, in the sense that when something bad happened to her, she took to as a chance to prove herself and became one of the most respect person in the town. Although Hester was punished for her sin, she accepted it in a mature manner, and used it to motivate herself to do good and be a role model. Though Chödrön states that she believes punishment is not needed, it benefited Hester Prynne, and can be beneficial to many others in the world

Hester Prynne, the main character of the book, is made to wear a scarlet letter “A” because she committed adultery. The people of the town cast it on her to humiliate her and shame her for her actions and to identify her as a sinner. Even though Hester could’ve escaped Boston and be rid of the letter, she chose to stay in a secluded cottage with her daughter, Pearl. She does not leave because she does not want to be suppressed by society’s identification of her.

“In our nature, however, there is a provision, alike marvelous and merciful, that the sufferer should never know the intensity of what he endures by its present torture, but chiefly by the pain that rankles after it.” (33.5) It is an age-old question, who should be set to judge, god or mankind. In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is judged and condemned by her community for the act of adultery. She is made to spend time in jail and wear an ‘A’ on her bosom for the rest of her life.

I disagree with the statement on not sympathizing Hester Prynne, because its not Hester’s fault to be born during the puritan period where morals, ethics, and unwavering sternness were strictly to be accepted and followed. Through the description of the puritan society, reveals Hawthorne’s critical attitude towards it. Hester was prisoned for seven years as a punishment for her sin and wears an embroidered scarlet letter (symbol shame) A on her chest, which signifies adultery. Hester is prisoned for adultery and later is led through the unsympathetic crowd to the scaffold. The women in the crowd near the

Hester Prynne’s ability to sustain her stability and strength of spirit is the express result of her public guilt and penance. She was Arthur Dimmesdale’s partner in adultery, but she is used by Hawthorne as a complete foil to his situation. Unlike Dimmesdale, Hester is both strong and honest. Walking out of prison at the beginning of the novel, she decides that she must “sustain and carry” her burden forward “by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink with it. She could no longer borrow from the future to help her through the present grief” (54). Hester openly acknowledges her sin to the public, and always wears her scarlet letter A. In the forest scene, she explains to Dimmesdale that she has been truthful in all things except in revealing his part in her pregnancy. “A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side” (133). Even Dimmesdale himself realizes that Hester’s situation is much healthier than his own when he states, “It must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart” (92-93). This life of public shame and repentance, although bitter, lonely, and difficult, helps Hester retain her true identity while Dimmesdale seems to be losing his.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place during the puritan era. The scarlet letter is about a woman named Hester Prynne who committed adultery, which gave her a child named Pearl, and a scarlet letter which lays upon her bosom.   She is made to wear the bosom for the rest of her days for what she did. The scarlet letter takes on different forms as the actual scarlet letter, Pearl, and the mark upon Arthur Dimmesdale bosom.

After many years of public dishonor due to the scarlet letter upon her bosom, Hester Prynne begins to understand that she can utilize this cruel symbol by teaching her Pearl to avoid making the same mistakes as she, “this badge hath taught me,--it daily teaches me,--it is teaching me at this moment,--lessons whereof my child may be the wiser and better, albeit they can profit nothing to myself”(92). Towards the end of the novel, Hester Prynne has another moment of recognition; however, this time, her catharsis comforts her because she feels a sense of achievement and relief when Reverend Dimmesdale, upon the scaffold cries, “Hester Prynne, for my own heavy sin and miserable agony--I withheld myself from doing seven years ago, come hither now, and twine thy strength about me”, with this shocking public display, the scarlet letter transforms from a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and becomes something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe (207). From W.D. Howell’s viewpoint, Hester comes to the realization that she cannot love Reverend Dimmesdale with the stigma that is manifested within the scarlet letter, so Hester takes the scarlet letter from her bosom, and tosses it. With,“the stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit” (167). Hester believes that she cannot commit to Reverend Dimmesdale with the wretched