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Hester Prynne Symbolism In Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story of immorality, guilt, and vengeance. Hester Prynne, once an ordinary woman living in a New England colony, becomes branded as an adulteress when she is discovered to be pregnant. She is involuntarily forced into prison and after her release, is required to wear the scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life, eternally being defined and perceived as an adulteress. The product of Hester and Dimmesdale, her clandestine lover and partner in the deed, is their daughter Pearl. Hester’s life is now forever different, because of her obligation to wear the “A” and her daughter Pearl. Both Pearl and the letter are direct effects of her sin and are symbols that represent elements of Hester’s life …show more content…

As Hester begins her new life, one in which she has sinned in an unforgiving act of adultery, she is forced to sew her own garment of guilt, the scarlet letter “A”. As Hester does this with elegance and fine cloth, it signifies her positive attitude in the horrible and unimaginable situation in which she has found herself. The perspective on which she has in her situation is the beginning of a long and hard path in which she undergoes. Although Hester starts from the bottom of society as she is an adulteress, much like the rosebush in the opening of the novel begins to grow from the weeds, she grows as a character into a beloved member of society. Hester’s astonishing transformation through the discrimination she endures is reflected and signified by the symbols introduced in the novel. While the symbols in the novel may seem like normal elements, they truly are meaningful components of the story that directly reflect Hester as she endures the trials, overcomes the hatred, and the remarkably transforms the meaning of the scarlet letter

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