Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter Quotes

Hester's ultimate consequence of sin is her daughter Pearl. With Pearl, Hester has to assume full responsibility because she is raising a child of her own. Hester loves Pearl because she is her

Despite the isolation, Hester supports herself and Pearl with nothing but her inner strength. She is able to deal with the negativity from the townspeople and the local government, and is even able to be honest and compassionate in ways such as acknowledging her sin, keeping the identity of her

Chapter 8, The Elf-Child and the Minister, discusses the possible cease of Pearl being raised under Hester Prynne. The government doesn’t think she’s adequate to be raising a child. Personally, I believe Hester is one of the best people to raise Pearl. I also agree with the decision of Wilson and Bellingham, influenced by Dimmesdale, letting Hester keep Pearl.

Hawthorne's Hester Prynne is the underdog protagonist that the reader cannot help but want to succeed. She is flawed but her flaws are outshone by her good heart and spirit. This shamed and humiliated woman is the one the reader, with the help of Hawthorne’s descriptions, wants to support. This sinful woman, with a child from wedlock, a diabolical “husband”, and a secretive lover is the motivating force that drives the reader to continue on with The Scarlet Letter. The language, descriptions, and plot of The Scarlet Letter show that Hawthorne believes the reader should look past gender stereotypes because not everything is what is

In spite of that, what makes her the protagonist of the story is how she is able to overcome her punishment that was meant to give her shame. Throughout Chapter 13 of the book, Hawthorne shows how Hester’s confidence has developed in herself and in view of the town, most noticeably when considering the meaning of the scarlet letter, “Such helpfulness was found in her ... 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,” (Hawthorne 107). Instead of subjecting to the shame that was forced upon her, she grew above it, conveying a different aspect of the theme of guilt, which is redemption. This is not to say that Hester did not care about the sin she committed, as she is very much reminded of it every day of her life while living with the child of that sin. In fact, the author addresses this by saying, “In giving her existence a great law had been broken; and the result was a being whose elements were perhaps beautiful and brilliant, but all in disorder,” (Hawthorne 60). Hawthorne is implying how Pearl represents the outcome of a sin and arranged it so that Hester is always living with that sin, therefore, always being reminded of the shame she is supposed to

Not due to Hester's mothering, but because the child in question was "An emp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants..."(Hawthorne 76). This factor, making it difficult to socialize with other children. Pearl has also been known to posses behavioral issues; "This outward mutability indicated, and did not more fairly express the various proprieties of her inner life." Which furthermore, expresses

To conclude, the strong, positive attitude Hester portrays, differs heavily from the town’s view of Hester,and in the end, her perseverance displays how she overcame the harsh ridiculement of the Boston colony. The overwhelming amount of hate Hester initially faced is all accross the novel. Whenever Hester had an interaction with a person, she was thereafter treated with some hostility. However, she never let it get to her, she always did what was right and kept pushing forward, to eventually earn the love of the people. Strangely, with the birth of Pearl, Hester is also reborn into a new life. With Hester being reborn, she is greeted with a scarlet letter, the connection between them, changes throughout the novel, ultimately ending up as

Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!”(120). Flinging mud at Hester and Pearl is extremely disrespectful, nonetheless they do it anyways until Pearl scares them off. Even if they didn’t have mud spattered all over them it must have made her feel bad that even the young kids dislike her for her sins. The town hates Hester as can be seen by this, “‘This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die’”(60). People wanting her dead is extremely harsh for having a baby and not saying who the father is when she is protecting him from the harshness of the crowd as well. Hester has been doing a good thing for Minister Dimmesdale so no one knows that he is the father. Keeping the secret from the crowd is difficult for she is suffering because it would be a lot easier if she told who the father is, but she is keeping it in and it is easier to let things out than keep them in. The Minister is never there for his child which can also impact him by making him depressed.

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

She provided love and care for her daughter, whom God had given her to cherish amidst all her struggles. Pearl herself was a struggle at times; she did not act nor interact as other children did. Although Hester would ask herself in times of anger why she was given the child, she ultimately loves her, for she is her own. This metamorphosis of personality is also attributed to Pearl, for without whom, Hester would not be a

Pearl is often accused of being a witch child, but Hester tries her best not to believe it. Hester does her best to be there for her daughter, even when she was faced with her own burdens. Even though she’s been through so much in her, Hester gives out all her love whenever she can. That proves that she’s become a pure and loyal person.

     After her horrible ordeal, and her release from prison, Hester and Pearl reside for the next few years in a hut by the sea. Hester tries to keep her distance from the Puritans. She does not want them to influence Pearl. Hester wants to raise Pearl, and find peace within herself. Pearl, however,

Hester’s battle with herself can only be understood by taking a glimpse into her daily life with her beloved daughter, Pearl. Pearl is the physical manifestation of her sin, of the adultery that Hester committed with her secret lover; with every waking hour, Pearl is always alongside Hester, constantly reminding Hester of her transgression. Whenever Hester sees Pearl, she sees a young and energetic girl, who also possesses the same attributes that she loathes about herself, the difficult and wild side of herself that would never give up. Hawthorne writes that Pearl, “lacked reference and adaptation to the world into which she was born. [Pearl] could not be made amenable to rules” (Hawthorne

Hester continues to face conflict, this time with herself. When Hester faces the reality of the unpleasant situation she is faced with, her self conflict begins. Hester’s feelings are expressed when it is stated, “She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself the infant and the shame were real” (52). Conflict within Hester’s life continues in mothering her curious child. Pearl’s curiosity is revealed when she asks, ‘ “. . . Mother dear, what does this scarlet letter mean? –and why dost thou wear it on thy bosom?” ’ (161). Hester feels the responsibility of protecting Pearl from knowing her mother’s sinful actions. The constant questioning puts Hester in a contradictory position. Mothering Pearl causes conflict a second time when Pearl is considered an outcast from other

They damned Hester because of the fact her child was not from a marriage. They wanted someone to “stand on the scaffold by her side” (44). Which shows that they didn’t really want to condemn her just because she is a woman, but they still want her to be brought to moral justice because having extramarital affairs is bad. Arthur Dimmesdale, who admits to being Pearl’s father, may not have experienced the same public ridicule as Hester did, but he did put himself through a great amount of grief. The sexual experience between the two of them really had a negative impact on their lives. Hester was publicly embarrassed and is forced to wear the A for the rest of her life and Dimmesdale feels immense guilt because he never faced his sins. He ends up physically destroying himself due to the guilt. He was never put through the same experience as Hester, but he put himself through a large amount of punishment as