Hester Prynne In D. H. Lawrence's On The Scarlet Letter

Lawrence’s biblical allusions to Hester provide a comparison to that of other sinners. He uses allusion for the reader to better understand Hester and her actions. Lawrence compares Hester to a remorseful prostitute when he states, “Then when you’ve brought him down, humbly wipe off the mud with your hair, another Magdalene” (Lawrence). He compares Hester to Mary Magdalene as a way of saying that their actions are similar to one another. He implies that just like Mary Magdalene, Hester tainted a pure, innocent soul into her arms, by luring Reverend Dimmesdale to commit a sinful action with her. Lawrence further implies that Hester and Dimmesdale are, “The new Adam

To begin with, the author first highlights the alien and wild mental state of Hester through multiple similes. Lines 11 to 13 describe Hester in a metaphorical wilderness where she “wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest. . .” This simile elaborates

Lawrence incorporates a sarcastic tone in his essay to belittle the adulteress because she is not deserving of a high reputation. Hester is degraded because she is shameful to all women. Lawrence sarcastically insists that she be put “upon the scaffold and worship her there” (Lawrence). Since the author does not approve of Hester’s adultery, he uses sarcasm so his readers can envision another side of Hester as a woman who is worthy of anything but praise. Lawrence sarcastically comments that she is being worshipped, which contrasts with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s judgement towards Hester who he believes plays the heroine in the novel. His sarcastic tone enables him to bring more emotion beyond the words’ literal meaning. In addition to Lawrence’s disrespect for Hester regarding the unnecessary worship she receives in the novel, he is also sardonic when he describes her appearance. Hester’s scarlet letter only represents her shameful sin of adultery in Lawrence’s eyes. He speculates that the women will be “envying [Hester’s] sin, and beating [her] because [she’s] stolen an advantage over them” (Lawrence). His sarcastic tone indicates that he has no respect for any woman who commits adultery. Because Lawrence believes that it is the woman, not the man, who is at fault for the development of an unorthodox relationship, he immediately blames Hester for creating such a relationship with Dimmesdale. Lawrence will not change his opinion on Hester no matter what she does in attempt to better her reputation.

Biblical allusion is the final device used to attack Hester Prynne and her sin. Using these, Lawrence is able to illustrate his beliefs and connect Hester’s wrongdoings to other literary works. He first takes on the character of Pearl, remarking on how as an infant she was “to redeem the world” and on how “It will be a startling redemption the world will get from [this] American infant” (Lawrence). While this quote does attack Pearl, it also shames her mother. Being the living example of Hester’s sin, Pearl is compared to the holy being of Jesus

Lawrence’s admirable diction makes Hester out to be undeniably unique in her beauty, making her stand out from the other women in the village and thus seen as an icon. He then takes this concept further by using sarcasm to mock her selfish beauty. She is “put upon the scaffold [to] worship her there” just so all will start “envying [her] sin, and beating [her] because [she’s] stolen an advantage over [the villagers]” (Lawrence). By showing off her scarlet letter and accepting worship, Hester uses her sin as a way to get pity from the public. Lawrence’s use of the admirable diction points out the irony of the situation. As a hero is worshipped for good deeds, Hester uses her looks to turn the tables and get people to worship her for her sin. D.H. Lawrence sees her as a goddess, “so picturesque in her attire and mien” (Lawrence). Hester Prynne is so beautiful that she is as unnatural and fake as a painting. She deceives the public eye into making them see her as a picture perfect woman. This is a selfish lie to manipulate people into loving and adoring her.

Lawrence utilizes terse syntax throughout his essay to briefly and clearly indicate to the reader that Hester is a wrongful character. When describing Hester’s main goal in the story, he writes that it is “[to] seduce a man. To have everybody know” (Lawrence). He uses abrupt, easily understandable sentences that get his point across to convey his idea about her character and her purpose in the novel, which he argues is to be an adulteress. Furthermore, he makes connections between Hester and others in his concise statements by declaring, “All begins with A. Adultress. Alpha. Abel. Adam. A. America” (Lawrence). By incorporating these choppy one-word sentences into his essay, he is able to make his words come across as bullets that target Hester. The words he uses are meant to describe her sin and relate it to other ideas- such as Abel, because she pretended to be the victim. He attacks Hester’s character for being an adulteress and then attempting to disguise her impurity by

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne develops the dynamic characterization of Hester Prynne from a beautiful, innocent girl into a somber, hardened women to showcase the evils and hypocrisy of Puritan New England’s culture of shaming. Hawthorne employs rhetorical devices such as metaphor and juxtaposition to further develop the characterization and his critique of Puritan society. When initially describing Hester, Hawthorne emphasizes her incredible beauty, and juxtaposes this with the other ugly, judging Puritan women, adding to the hypocrisy of her being shamed for sinning. Hawthorne emphasizes the verbal assault on Hester by employing metaphor and imagery in its description. After the community shuns and shames Hester for years, Hawthorne uses metaphor again to show how Hester’s body and character changes for the worst, emphasizes the malice and evil of public shame.

The demanding and persuasive tone Lawrence uses throughout his work makes the reader pay attention to his opinion. He writes that the Scarlet Letter is “perhaps the

D.H. Lawrence utilizes biblical allusion by forming phrases said by Hawthorne into biblical terms and phrases to make Hester look poorly. This is more used against Hawthorne in the sense that it brings in the Puritan religion. These allusions draw conclusions to the characters by using statements that audience members may recognize or understand better, “it is Arthur Dimmesdale who dies… she lives on and is Abel” (Lawrence 39). This phrase shows that by using the allusion of Hester being Abel, and relates back to why he believes Hester’s character is poor. Lawrence also refers Hester to a demon saying, “Oh, Hester, you are a demon. A man must be pure, just that you can seduce him to fall” (Lawrence 37). This concludes that Hester being a demon, she is completely evil, and has no good in her whatsoever.

Mark Van Doren’s “Hester Prynne” explains how the Scarlet Letter addresses Hawthorne’s opinion and view of Hester. Van Doren’s “Hester Prynne” article explains how Hawthorne praises Hester in his novel. Mark Van Doren goes in depth and provides literary devices to explain his point of Hawthorne’s reference to Hester. The author uses mythological allusion, praising tone, and specific diction.

Lawrence’s use of repetition supports his argument that Hester is ultimately a seductress through her methods of luring the Reverend into her hands. This is evident when Lawerence uses parallelism to show that Hester only wants “to seduce a man. To have everybody know. To keep up [her appearance] of purity” (Lawrence). Hester is more than just a simple sinner of adultery. She is better defined as a sinner of deception. Throughout his essay, Lawrence constantly reiterates how her human nature is to be deceitful to the Reverend and the people around her. This negative attention would disturb most people, but for Hester however, this is something she lives and thrives off of. She provokes this even further by proclaiming innocence to the masses in the colony; innocence that is false and is only a mere illusion. Lawrence then turns to alliteration to show how she is an “adulteress. Alpha. Abel. Adam. A. America” (Lawrence). Hester is the antagonist whose only desire is to bring down the Reverend, bring down the colony, and, in a sense, bring down America. By adding the word “America”, Lawrence wants to make the point that even before the birth of this nation, evil still lurks in its shores. This evil takes a human form whose goal is to be the center, the core, the alpha of all mayhem that ravages these lands. This evil is sin. This evil is temptation. This evil is Hester Prynne. Through repetition, Lawrence is able to effectively show the insincerity that already lives in the New World through Hester’s impure soul.

With a “tall…figure of perfect elegance…and dark and abundant hair,” Hester has but one fault about her: the “scarlet letter…upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 44). Destined to wear the letter A on her chest for the rest of her natural life, Hester recognizes that this is not only her punishment, but also a reminder to every one of her adulterous actions. With the act of adultery being Hester’s only known sin, thus far, the reader is left wondering just how deeply it will affect her. Coming with a larger price than she could have ever imagined, Hester’s sin essentially makes her an outcast and “in all her intercourse with society…there [is] nothing that [makes] her feel as if she belong[s]” (Hawthorne 67). After her sinful act is brought into the open, Hester is isolated within her own realm, with only her young daughter to accompany her. This sense of isolation builds a metaphorical barrier between the people of Hester’s community and herself, despite her attempts to integrate back into their sphere. Following seven long years of this lifestyle, it seems that Hester finally is accepted by her community, and shockingly enough, “many people refuse to interpret the scarlet letter A by its original signification [, and instead,] they sa[y] that it

Throughout a novel, the character of the protagonist is sometimes revealed through his/her thoughts, words, and actions. These thoughts and actions are conveyed by the author, who develops a specific tone towards these characters, often through his/her choice of words. This tone towards the characters often changes throughout the novel, due to significant events. Such is the case in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne effectively portrays the three protagonists of the novel in both positive and negative manners, through his use of word choice and tone. Hester Prynne, a woman condemned by her community for adultery, is described as admirable due to her generosity and bravery. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, who due to

In his essay On The Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence contradicts Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne respects Hester and portrays her as a victim, whereas Lawrence argues that she is one of the main sinners in the novel. D.H. Lawrence establishes and supports his claim that Hester Prynne is unworthy of Hawthorne’s praise by effectively utilizing concise syntax, frequent repetition, and strong biblical allusions.

In the beginning of the novel, the reader is presented with a physical appearance of Hester that is pleasing to the visual eye. It is Hawthorne describes his heroine of the book by