Hester Prynne : Selfish Sin

Hester displays acts of courage that portray her as a heroic character. Hester clearly suffers from her punishment of having to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ in public as she attempts to maintain

In his essay, “On The Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence provokes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne as a miraculous hero. Throughout the whole essay, he implies that Hester Prynne is a shameless transgressor, who only cares for herself. Hester Prynne is shamed by Lawrence for her atrocious actions. Lawrence provides several writing techniques in his essay including biblical allusion, degrading diction, and hyperbole, to prove that Hester Prynne is a wicked sinner.

Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the ideology of Puritan society in the novel the Scarlet Letter; however reader also get to witness his characters being an illustration of hypocrisy and victims to their own guilt. In the Scarlet Letter, as in many of Hawthorne’s shorter works, he makes profuse use of the Puritan past: its odd exclusionary belief, its harsh code of ruling, its concern with sex and witchcraft. The Scarlet Letter is a story that is embellished but yet simple. Many readers may view this novel as a soap opera due to the way Hawthorne conveys this Puritan society’s sense of strictness and inability to express true emotion along with the secrecy and how deceiving the characters are being. As the story unfolds the main character Hester Prynne is bounded in marriage at an early age. She engages in an adulterous affair with an unknown member of their small village. Hester soon becomes pregnant and with her husband’s absence the chances of this child belonging to her husband are slim. The towns’ people know that she has committed a sin and imprisons her for her crime.

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

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.

The character of Hester Prynne changed significantly throughout the novel "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.

In his work “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence addresses the controversial character of Hester Prynne. He is just one of many critics who have analyzed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional character, where some look to her as a hero and others blatantly shame her for her sin. Lawrence makes up the latter of this crowd, and is able to prove his case in a very meaningful manner. The critic believes that Hawthorne sugarcoats Hester’s image, and tries to make it look as if she is the victim of the tale. Disregarding this sympathy, he addresses the root cause of her sin rather than its consequences. As he writes, he uses a multitude of literary techniques to help convince readers of Hester’s seemingly evil character, using descriptive diction, a

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, is a compassionate yet riveting piece of English literature that supports the movement for equality of suppressed women during a most tumultuous time during the 1800’s. Hawthorne’s use of emotional diction and imagery throughout his novel employs a deplorable tone upon the story. It serves as a stark representation of an imaginative yet realistic example of the indifference of men and women during these changing times. Deeply held Puritanical beliefs led countless of people to believe that individuals, especially women, who committed sins of any type would never reach heaven upon their passing. Men, on the other hand, were judged less severely if accused of a crime. Hester Prynne, the

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

Almost immediately, we start to recognize the true pit that has been dug by Hester and her decision to fornicate with Arthur Dimmesdale, the town priest. She is set up for failure and disaster when Hawthorne describes the trials she will have to endure in her everyday life. He depicts a life where “tomorrow would bring its own trial and yet the same that was now so unutterably grievous to be borne.” (54). He seems to put her on display as a case of ultimate failure that not only will last for days and months but “ for the accumulating, and added years, would pile up their misery upon the heap of shame.” (54). Though her life seems miserable at the moment, she stays in her town that she 's always been a part of. The author is trying to show how those who are the closest to you and may have known you the longest can turn on you once you do commit sin. The “A” she has sewn upon her chest will remain even if removed because of her public humiliation by the Puritan townsfolk. She becomes the actual embodiment of a ruined future and a ruined life for those in her family or associate with her. For it isn’t only

The most irony in the novel is the differences between the identity from which society assigns for Hester through the scarlet letter and the identity which she creates by herself. Though, letter A is a label of sin which people in the community try to impose on Hester, she doesn't let this Puritan view interfere her thought and feeling. On the contrast it seems that this letter also exposes the

"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.

While Puritan women are weak and dependent upon their husbands, Hester Prynne is empowered and self-reliant. A character designed by Hawthorne to show 19th century women that women’s work could be valuable, Hester supports herself and her daughter by needlework. “For, as the novel unfolds, the letter, intended by the Authorities to signify harsh but just condemnation, is made by Hester to signify something entirely different—able, admirable.” (Bell 109) All aspects considered, the ability of Hester, a woman who committed sin and was publicly punished for this crime, to manipulate this punishment into a virtue

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.

While Hester is a feminist, not only does she share the ideals but shows superiority to the town while being fearless. " It may seem marvelous, that this woman should still call that place her home, where, and where only, she must needs be the type of shame.” (chapter 5, paragraph 2) Hester does not let the shame and remorse of the sin keep her away from the town like most would do. Hawthorne even states that Dimmesdale is weaker than Hester by punishing himself and holding his heart while Hester embraces the sin and is strong while carrying the letter on her chest. She leads a self-righteous life, although she could keep what she earns, she gives most away. Even the townsfolk say Hester is "so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted."(chapter 13, paragraph 5) Hester can be seen over the townspeople helping them although they shamed her. Hawthorne presents that Hester’s “tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free.” (chapter 18, paragraph 2) With this Hester has a “radiant and tender smile, that seemed gushing from the very heart of womanhood. (chapter 18, paragraph 12) These quotes from Hawthorne show that Hester’s kindness helps her overcome her sin on her own. With Hester’s contribution to the town, “Her handiwork became what would now be termed the fashion.” (chapter 5, paragraph 6) In his research, Sacvan Bercovitch remarks that “Hester Prynne ‘builds upon the tradition of the biblical Esther -