Similarly, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist Hester Prynne is defined by a scarlet A. The scarlet letter accomplishes the Puritan’s intended office of stripping Hester of her humanity by shaming her and also instills fear of disobeying in the townspeople, thus exposing the Puritans as puppets to their magistrates.
The scarlet letter’s intended office is to shame Hester. After Hester is released from prison, she is put upon the scaffold in front of the townspeople, who “wisely judg(e) that one token of her shame…(o)n the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” (47). A sense of age is given through the world “wisely”
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While describing Hester’s freedom from her prison sentence, Hawthorne states: “the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorable parents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman, —at her, who had once been innocent, —as the figure, the body, the reality of sin” (71). The repeated syntax of “at her, the” drags out the sentence, slowing it, recreating her dehumanization over the years as Puritan society sees her not as a person, but as “the reality of sin.” An air of helplessness is created around the children of the Puritans in the words “young and pure” because they are unable to defend themselves from the will of adult Puritans. In addition, “her,” or Hester, is the object of this sentence, making her submissive to the Puritan magistrates who are using her as a symbol of disobedience and puts the Puritan children above her due to their “pur(ity).” Hester is helpless because as shown in the syntax, she has been reduced to an object to be used for other’s will. The characterization of helplessness of Puritan children conveys how they are unable to choose what they believe is right and wrong, and the reduction of Hester allows the Puritan magistrates to use her as an example in order to scare their subjects into obeying the Puritan law. In addition, when Pearl pushes Hester to stand in front of Governor Bellingham’s armour, which causes “the scarlet letter (to be) represented in exaggerated and grand proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her existence. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it” (95). The inflated diction such as “exaggerated,” “grand proportions,” and “greatly” takes the emphasis off of Hester as a person, and puts it on the constant reminder of her sin, the scarlet letter. The scarlet
No matter what personal trouble or sickness that spread through the town, Hester would come household that was marked by trouble, as if its was her job. When she visited, her scarlet A seemed to radiate a warm light, signaling hope. In these emergencies, Hester’s nature showed itself to be warm and rich; “a well-spring” of human tenderness, unfailing to every real demand, and inexhaustible by the largest (176). Hester also reverses townspeople’s views of the scarlet letter from ‘Adultery’ to ‘Able’. “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.
Hester has to go through all the rumors and talking that the townspeople say about her since she does have to stand on the scaffold where she's publicly shamed for committing such sin that is unjustifiable. Nathaniel Hawthorne has major and unrevealed symbolisms
‘The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance.” and “She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it through off the sunshine…” (4). While managing to face her realities, Hester accepts her “sin” and fate with dignity.
This was the form of admonishing Hester, displaying her sin for the many onlookers to gaze upon and demean. Meant as a demeaning condition, the puritanic punishment of public humiliation endured by Hester only lead to a further development of her character building upon her preexisting strength. Puritan values contextually misrepresented women as inferior to their male counterparts and this punishment was designed to further instill that along with punishing Hester for her actions. Retrospectively, the latter occurred as this public shame lead to an acceptance of guilt and allowed Hester to develop into a more conscientious woman. Hester demonstrates an unimpeded lifestyle, “she repelled him by an action marked with natural dignity...stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will” Hester composes herself through every trial she is put up against allowing no negative circumstance to define her.
In 17th century Puritan societies, gender roles were very prevalent. Nathaniel Hawthorne shows how they affect the way Hester is perceived by society after committing adultery. Hester Prynne breaks through the gender norms of her community and achieves victory as an independent woman in a male-dominated world. Although she is frowned upon because of her sin, Hester carries herself with pride and turns her punishment into a small victory. She flaunts her “elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread”(50) on her “letter A”(50).
When first introducing Hester, the narrator focuses on Hester’s England beauty. While describing how the newer generations in the New World had become more soft and fragile looking, the narrator contrast them to Hester who had Elizabeth beauty. The narrator seems to favor Hester more than the onlooking Puritans. The narrator then dives into how strong and courageous Hester is by taking her punishment and holding her head while doing so. Carried from chapter one, the theme of sin carries into chapter two.
The Puritan townspeople of Boston, Massachusetts, punish a woman for committing an ignominious act with an unexpected man. Hester stands alone on the scaffold as townspeople scowl and judge, wondering who her lover is. The innocent town seamstress is a sinner in the eyes of the pure citizens. As Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter continues, the residents notice Hester’s abilities when caring for her daughter. She also regains respect as the bearer of the scarlet letter, the emblem she wears that “takes her out of the ordinary relationships with humanity and encloses her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 51). Mistress Hester Prynne is an example taught to others because of her hardships faced without her true love. Hester transforms
The main character, Hester Prynne, is publicly shamed for adultery and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest. Although one might view Hester as an evil character considering that she has committed a rather unbearable sin in the eyes of 1650 Boston, she is not at all a bad person. Though she commits one of the worst sins for a woman, she is not entirely unvirtuous. Though Hester is punished by being forced to wear the scarlet letter, she turns the letter “A” into more than adultery. “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 strength”
The harsh townspeople force her up on the scaffold to be humiliated in front of the whole town. Not only is she sent up on the scaffold with her sin revealed by the “A” for everyone to see, Hester becomes an example of what a woman should not come to be. The author is talking about Hesters experience on the scaffold and her pregnancy, “Throughout them all, giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman's frailty and sinful passion”(32). Hester looses her individuality and is labeled by the townspeople and known for the Scarlet Letter. Further, the townspeople singled her out as an alien or outcast of the town forcing her to live an abnormal live. She was ridiculed and known for her one sin, unable to have acceptance back into society. Although the townspeople feel as if Hester has brought sin upon there lives, she clearly have not harmed any of the townspeople physically, and they have no grounds to punish Hester. The cause of the townspeople's harsh disciplinary acts on Hester originates from a strict, unrealistic standards of puritan society and the zero tolerance of any ungodly behavior observed in the town. Due to the absence of proper justice, Hester's sentencing is left up to the harsh townspeople in which they show no mercy or
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 punishment that Hester Prynne endured reflects the harsh nature of the Puritan society. The Puritan’s disciplinary action for Hester wrecked havoc on her life, and destroyed any sense of normalcy she had. She was publicly humiliated unnecessarily, and her shame was broadcasted to the entire town. Whether or not the town was made aware of her actions, Hester would have suffered enough internally having to live with her own guilt. The public showing reflects upon the cruel nature of the Puritan society.
Puritans come from a very conservative background and very hating towards sin. Hence comes the sinner, Hester Prynne, who is to wear the letter “A” upon her bosom. But then again, unlike the Puritans, Hester was not ashamed of the act of adultery she committed. In fact, she was proud that she had done something the Puritans were not accustomed to. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne shows individuality, shows how her daughter’s support helps her ignore the Puritan’s, and evolves her personality with the letter.
The Puritan community is harsh and unforgiving towards Hester Prynne. After being presented with the scarlet letter ‘A’ on her bosom, Hester Prynne was ruthlessly ridiculed and harshly chastened. As Hester is lead from the prison to the scaffold to begin her ignominy, a congregation of middle-aged women converses about Hester’s punishment. An autumnal matron suggests that they should “Brand her forehead” so that she may never escape her humiliation. This is a very harsh opinion that does not end up being put into action but it expresses the cruel lifestyle the Puritans pursue. Even though Hester is accepted into the society, she had to help people in need for seven whole years before the Puritans stopped their public hurtfulness towards her.
"Those who before had known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped" (39). Hester, who is being openly condemned for her sins, Hawthorne describes ironically. To the Puritans, Hester should be dim and obscure, surrounded by darkness and evil. However, Hawthorne instead describes her shining beauty and the godliness she makes out of her sin and shame by exposing it to the public. The Puritans condemn Hester for her sin and look towards her as evil, yet she is exposing her sin to the sunshine, to the public, something that Hawthorne praises in the novel. "A blessing on the righteous Colony of the Massachusetts, where iniquity is dragged out into the sunshine! Come along, Madame Hester, and show your scarlet letter in the market-place!" (40). The Puritans feel that they are hurting Hester Prynne by exposing her sin, yet it is only making her stronger and making her grow.
Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses several biblical allusions to emphasize the Puritan society this novel was set in and give the reader a comparison of Hester to biblical figures, both holy and unholy. The Puritan society was one of strict adherence to the Bible and its teachings; consequently, Hester’s sin is not easily forgiven. Through his use of biblical allusions Hawthorne provides the reader with a historical figure that portrays characteristics or aspects similar to that of Hester. Hester’s curious child, Pearl, is both a blessing and a curse. She completely changed the course of Hester’s life, at a great price.