Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

  "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us," stated Oliver Wendell Holmes. This eventually proves to be especially true for Hester Prynne, the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne, a fair young maiden whose husband had disappeared two years prior to the opening of the novel, has an affair with the pastor of her Puritan church, resulting in the birth of her child Pearl. Because of this act of adultery, Hester Prynne is branded by the scarlet letter "A," which she is forced to forever wear upon her attire. The plot thickens as Hester's former husband returns to New England and becomes

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.

But before this happened, society has really hated her for committing the biggest sin, as known as her daughter Pearl. Prynne’s husband is ashamed therefore Hester takes the blame and goes through many difficulties in life. Once everything starts getting into action Hester becomes a strong independent women, not for herself, but for her daughter Pearl. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester represents social feminist ideas of a sinner, an object, a victim, and an independent woman.

Actions played out in front of society, whether they are good or bad, receive commentary. People can get hurt or suffer from societal scrutiny, which can alter a person’s life. Hester Prynne, the protagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, undergoes a traumatic transformation in society after being accused of adultery, which is highly denounced in the Puritan community. Similarly, Kim Kardashian-West received public scrutiny after the accidental release of her sex tape in 2007. Both women, scorned for their momentary lapse of judgement and indiscretion, spend their time dealing with the guilt and try to make up for their mistakes for themselves and their families.

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.

A is for “Able” “It is the public scandal that offends; to sin in secret is no sin at all” (Jean Baptiste Poquelin Molière). In the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits a sin and is punished and publicly humiliated. She has committed adultery and is to required to wear an embroidered “A” on her chest as a reminder of the sin. Throughout her journey, Hester displays many admirable qualities. Hester portrays strength.

Hester is forgiven because Dimmesdale confessed and conscience which is Pearl kisses him. Another is Pearl’s inherited guilt and inherited redemption.

Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter is most wronged by not one of the characters, but by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne himself, inadvertently, through his portrayal of women.

Hester Prynne, a well- known adulterous in the Puritan society of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is taken to jail and publically shamed for her sin. Unlike some others in her society, her sin is shone to light due to the fact of her pregnancy, while her husband is nowhere to be found and her lover in the woods. Ms.Hester has given birth to a baby girl she calls Pearl, and too many she uses her newborn as a shield, covering her scarlet letter ‘A’, she is deemed as an unfit mother. Consequently, the ones with authority in the Puritan country are actually trying to rip apart Hester from her child. However, the way Pearl was produced should not question Hester’s ability or role as a mother, as a matter of fact, it has very little say in Hester’s love and care she has for her child, Pearl.

It was said that “thou shall not commit adultery” and she did.The punishment was too lenient. To what the biblical and legal punishments that were available at the time.Hester Prynne is guilty of more than one crime. Hester refused to do a lot of things that were ordered from the judge, and decided to do it her own way, and that was what caused her to be guilty and now she’s waiting to get her punishments for all the crimes committed. Hester Prynne is guilty of defying the judge, she’s also guilty of committing adultery and disrespecting the punishments that were given to her.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, shows two sides to one of the main characters, Hester Prynne. Throughout the book he shows two sides of her the good and the bad. Some of the good things she has done are giving to others in need, making people clothing, and she also ended up being a council for the people of her town. Although Hester did commit adultery, and said some mean things to her daughter that shouldn’t make her the worst person ever. Hester did do some things that were frowned upon by the Puritan society, but she, eventually, turned herself around and did well in her life.

Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights the habitual societal conflict of surfacing gender equality ideology throughout The Scarlet Letter. The typical female role in society during the mid-seventeenth century was to be a caretaker. Hester Prynne’s sentence for breaking this stereotype through adultery is to wear a large, red letter A on her chest. Hawthorne uses Hester’s character to add characteristics of early feminism. For example, Hester not only takes on the so called male and female role put in place by society at some point throughout the story, but she also challenges societal views of women. To fully understand the situation women were going through, you must be familiar with the historical context. The story takes place in a Puritan

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in 1850 the book “The Scarlet Letter”. After a depressing season in his life, his emotions sparked a flame that has, since his death, spread across the country. The book's main character, Hester Prynne, is the wearer of the scarlet letter and the novel is written about her and her life after a terrible sin that occurred in in Puritan New England. Although the novel fails to describe in detail characters other than - Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth and Pearl- minor characters such as Mistress Hibbins, cannot be left out. The role that they play is trivial part of the story of the Scarlet Letter.

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.

Hester Prynne, a character within The Scarlet Letter, is a prime example of Hawthorne's common transformation of individuals within his books. These mutations involve the qualities and attributes of her physical appearance, feminine emotions, and reputation among the townspeople. Throughout the novel, the mentioned elements of Hester's character develop and change several times, providing the reader with better understanding of the influence that the scarlet letter and other characters have on her.