Hester's Isolation In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hawthorne’s message about obtaining salvation through the means of being open and true to yourself, is shaped by the contrasts of consequences the characters Hester Prynne, who publicly acknowledges her sin, and Arthur Dimmesdale, who hides his sin, face. In Hester’s case, she was publicly shamed for her sin from the beginning and was forced to wear the symbol of her sin, the scarlet letter “A” representing adultery, to isolate her from the rest of society. She had the opportunity to leave the town and begin a new life free from the scarlet letter, but she decides to stay as, if she were to run away or remove the scarlet letter, she would be admitting to the shame of her sins. Her staying, shows she wants to change the scarlet letter to not represent her sin, but her as a character.

To begin with, Hester’s sin drove the story, but after the community established her as a sinner, she overcame her sins but she still struggled through other characters. Instead of depicting Hester’s inner turmoil directly to Hester, Hawthorne portrays her tumult through other characters in her life such as Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the community. Dimmesdale proclaimed to Hester, “If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and

Have you ever judged someone by first sight? Nathaniel Hawthorne in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, claims that the perspective on an intimate, yet prominent object can be altered through a novel. Hawthorne supports his claim by telling the audience about how Hester, the villagers, Pearl and even Hawthorne’s diverse perspective on Hester’s scarlet letter evolves throughout the novel. The author writes in a solemn tone for the audience to take the story soberly.

Edward Said, literary critic, has described exile as something “strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience,” and as something that can be “potent, even enriching.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne experiences an exile after being marked as an adulteress which intrigues the reader because of its ability to change her substantially throughout the novel. Hester’s exile is intriguing because she often is near other people, but she remains on the outskirts of the town, and of society. Through the years, this exile leads to Hester’s complete transformation proves her incredible strength, even when faced with such tragedy.

  "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 book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is very strong-willed and loyal. For example, when Dimmesdale tells Hester to identify the father and she replies, “I will not speak!” (51). When Hester is in front of many people; she stays strong and does not give Dimmesdale up. This is important because by not revealing the identity of the father, Hester stays loyal to Dimmesdale. Another example is when the governor tries to take Pearl away from Hester and she says, “Ye shall not take her! I will die first!” (85). Hester continues to be tough and not give up Pearl but also does not give the name of Pearl’s father. Hester continues to argue why she should keep Pearl and is willing to die before she would let someone else raise

Throughout history, mental illness has been labeled as a defining deformity, that harnesses in its “victims,” into a box, parallel to the familiar “mime in a box” image. In a world where we glorify “normality,” a lack of illness, which by all means is a gift, the beauty of one mind takes away from the beauty of an outlier, even though, ironically people may not even recognize their differences. Hester, at a glance suffers from a literal scarlet letter, but an imprint on her brain may exist as well. Irrational actions, sudden emotional episodes, and destructive thoughts can only prevail for so long following sin; Hester’s persona has branches of self-defeating personality disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. No one of her time, however, will bring the issue to light, Hester will be left known as the mistress, a witch, or “A,” rather than to explore her “complicated” condition. As decades pass, Hester’s state will remain, as the “A,” the mark of the stigma on mental illness today. When left neglected, society rejects the possibility that under a visible coating, mental deformities may lie; those who are divergent, who require affection more, are made subordinate, marginalized with no quest for a cure.

First of all, the scarlet letter stands for Hester's sin. By forcing Hester to wear the letter A on her bosom, the Puritan community not only punishes this weak young woman for her adultery but labels her identity as an adulteress and immoral human being as well. "Thus the young and the pure would be taught to look at her, with the letter flaming on her chest", also "as the figure, the body and the reality of sin." And the day Hester began to wear the scarlet A on her bosom is the opening of her darkness. From that moment, people, who look at her, must notice the letter A manifest itself in the red color covering not only her bosom, but her own character. The Puritans now only see the letter A, the representation of sin, scorn and hate

When creating their works, writers often put forth the idea of character alienation to assist in the portrayal of a certain society’s values and morals. Although present in an abundance of literary pieces, the concept of alienation is rarely as vividly accounted for as it is in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, in which Hester Prynne’s estrangement from puritan society in response to her “sin” of adultery reveals the ideas and standards of puritan society to be hypocritical and punitive.

"Ironically, we were studying ‘The Scarlet Letter,’ but isn’t that always the way with these teenage tales? The literature you read in class always seems to have a strong connection with whatever angsty adolescent drama is being recounted.” Olive Penderghast, like Hester Prynne, was ostracized, however, rather than an act of adultery the social humiliation began from a little white lie she told her friend. Throughout Easy A, we see Olive is ostracized from her peers in high school socially similarly to how Hester is publicly humiliated by the townspeople who thought very lowly of her.

There were changes in both Hester and the minister after the meeting in the forest. Hester had gained a small smile on her face, a small change from her former self who had into the forest earlier that same day, but something that would have been noticeable to a close companion. The minister did not seem completely healed from his ailments, but had on him, an air of a rejuvenated man. Townspeople who saw him as he walked back to his abode noted, “The minister looks almost as if he is a new man. Has God cured our hallowed minister?” but it was not God who had treated the minister, it had been the disdained woman of the scarlet letter.

As time goes by we humans tend to change due to our experiences and influences from our societies. This is demonstrated in the Puritan society with the use of shaming as a punishment, this changed a person’s point of view of another person or themselves. In chapter 13, Nathaniel Hawthorne describes Hester’s change from being a “passion and feeling” person to a lonely and independent person as a woman and a “sinner” due to her role in society. Hawthorne uses a somber tone, strong imagery, and repetition of lonely and dark dictions, to show Hester's change.

Nevertheless, not every person in the town thinks that Hester is deserved of a lifetime of public humiliation. One woman in the town feels as if Hester should be able to cover up the mark anyway she feels like, because no matter what she will always feel the pain of her sin in her heart. (33; Ch. 2) Notwithstanding, as time goes on and Hester’s baby begins to grow up into a young adolescent near the forest, people begin to forget what the “A” stands for on Hester’s breast. Hester begins to help the sick and poor in the town to help try and compensate for her sin that she has perpetrated, so she can still have an opportunity to ascend to heaven. The villagers in Boston start to see her as their own care taker and establish the letter as an indication

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester wears the scarlet letter as a sign of shame for committing adultery when her husband was lost at sea. By wearing the scarlet letter, Hester shows that she accepts the sin that she has committed. Even after Chillingworth allows Hester to remove the scarlet letter, Hester still wears the scarlet letter. By continuing to wear the scarlet letter, Hester accepts the scarlet letter as her reminder of her sin. Through her reflection of her sin with the scarlet letter, Hester changes and becomes more strong, honest, and kind. Hester exhibits strength when she persists to keep her oath of Pearl’s father, and when she

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.