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Hester Prynne Scarlet Letter Witch

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Hester Prynne is the protagonist in the story The Scarlet Letter who also happens to be a witch. Hester’s sweet personality is shadowed by her wicked deeds that constantly haunt her throughout the story. A witch frequently visits Hester during the story, Hester’s child has qualities of the devil, and Hester embraces her sin. Isolation from Puritan society has revealed Hester’s true identity as a witch. The story begins with Hester’s release from prison and public shaming. All the townspeople immediately notice the “A” sewn on the chest of her dress. Hester created the letter “in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread” (Hawthorne 46). The A represented a great sin that she decorated so elaborately, as if she were proud she had sinned. Hester’s courage to defy Puritan society grew stronger with the influence of Mistress Hibbins. …show more content…

Mistress Hibbins visits Hester several times to tempt her into signing the devil's book. Hester politely tells Hibbins, “‘Had they taken her (Pearl) from me, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood!”’ (Hawthorne 97). Hester has connections to evil spirits such as Mistress Hibbins and the Black Man. The Black Man represents the devil who makes people sign his book in blood. When Pearl asks Hester if she has ever met the Black Man in stories, Hester replies, “‘Once in my life I met the Black Man!...This scarlet letter is his mark!’” (Hawthorne 154). The statement’s original purpose was to shush Pearl; however, “she gave into temptation, and in this devout culture, an act such as this was viewed as a pact with the devil” (“Witchcraft”). Hester’s lack of religious discipline for Pearl leads to Pearl’s devilish

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