Individualism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Essay

Society puts pressure on citizens to conform to their standards of what is normal, however, when one obeys the toxicness that is expected, they lose their individualism and change who they truly are. It is not any different in Hester Prynne’s situation in the historical fiction novel, The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of an adulteress, who is forced to wear the letter “A” upon her chest to represent her sin, and her daughter, a constant reminder of what she has done. Although a puritan community demands a society to conform, Hester Prynne continues doing what is not expected and living her individual life even after being forced to hold a symbol of shame, ultimately illustrating the importance of being a nonconformist.

To further exemplify this point, the scarlet letter begins to mask Hester’s identity, turning her into a public display of mankind's sins. He is depicted as follows, “Hester looked, by way of humoring the child; and she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it” (Hawthorne). With this in mind, as Hester gazes at the reflection of herself in the “mirror”, all she can see is the “exaggerated and gigantic” letter “A” printed across her chest. This moment signifies the puritans’ tendency to view Hester as a “letter” before viewing her as a woman. She is, therefore, “hidden behind it” as it suppresses her identity from society so much so that it has become “the most prominent feature of her appearance”. In light of this, the scarlet letter, symbolizing Hester’s lust, obscures and rewrites her identity, turning her into a sinner amongst the puritans.

In the novel we follow the life of Hester Prynne; an adulteress convicted and sentenced to wear a Scarlet A on her “bosom” for the rest of her life. She was exiled from society and looked down upon by everyone. Every man child and woman now Only saw the A the mark of a sinner. She was slandered and insulted and in some cases like on page 36 where a woman States At the very least they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester prynne's forehead and another Cries Out this woman has brought shame upon us all and ought to die They wished worse on her for her crimes.

Hester Prynne, the heroine and main character of The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, went through many hardships because of one decision. She is a very strong woman in a mental sense. For many years, she had to carry the burden of her sin, which was adultery, by herself. Although being alone, with the exception of her beloved daughter Pearl, amidst public shame and humiliation for a multitude of years, she somehow repeatedly looked for a light at the end of the tunnel. Even though Hester did not end up with the happy ending she had longed for, she learned many lessons on her journey throughout this novel, along with showing the Puritans what a real person looked like. Nathaniel Hawthorne possesses a very exquisite skill when it comes to the use of symbolism. The Scarlet Letter uses symbolism on many different accounts to make characters’ significance obvious, to expose hypocrisy in the Puritan society and the world of Puritan ministers, and to bring importance to everyday objects.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits a crime and she must wear a scarlet letter A as a punishment. The letter is placed upon her chest to be a constant reminder, to her and the town’s people, of the sin Hester committed. Because Hester has to wear the letter she is ostracized by the town, leaving her and her daughter Pearl on their own most of the time. To Hester, the letter stands for more than just adultery, the sin Hester committed. The scarlet letter represents Hester’s identity—the way society sees her and who she really is.

Hester Prynne was seen as the embodiment of sin by the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her act of adultery seemed to be the highest crime of all, and she was punished daily for it. As if it was not enough to be sentenced to a full day of constant humiliation in the presence of every citizen of the colony, they assured that she would live through it again daily by attaching a scarlet letter “A,” representing the adulteress she was, to her chest. Though Hester Prynne suffered greatly for her sin, her punishment and the actions she took afterward reflected the beliefs, particularly surrounding sin, and ethics that were hidden in the Puritan society in which she lived.

Mother Teresa once affirmed, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." This statement rings true in the case of society who judges against Hester Prynne before she can express her nature. Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the people of Boston are torn between a law and their own morals as they grow to see the true character of the women they've condemned and show that it is possible for her to change when they’re given the chance to examine the truth.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, shows two sides to one of the main characters, Hester Prynne. Throughout the book he shows two sides of her the good and the bad. Some of the good things she has done are giving to others in need, making people clothing, and she also ended up being a council for the people of her town. Although Hester did commit adultery, and said some mean things to her daughter that shouldn’t make her the worst person ever. Hester did do some things that were frowned upon by the Puritan society, but she, eventually, turned herself around and did well in her life.

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

Hester Prynne is hated by the Puritan society after the word of her crime of adultery spread throughout the town. Many of the women who would see her standing on a pedestal wearing the letter “A”

In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet A on her chest, because of the sin, adultery, she committed. This letter separates Hester from the rest of the Puritans in the town, and causes her much loneliness and suffering. In the beginning of the book, the Puritans are disgusted by Hester, and shun her. As the book goes on, however, the townspeople slowly begin to let Hester into society, and use her as an example of how suffering and good deeds can lead to salvation. Hester’s view of herself does not change, and it shows that society is not the only source of her suffering. Hester’s suffering and lack of suffering from the town reflect on the nature of the Puritans, and reveal how even the strictest of societies can show compassion in certain circumstances.

The Puritan community is harsh and unforgiving towards Hester Prynne. After being presented with the scarlet letter ‘A’ on her bosom, Hester Prynne was ruthlessly ridiculed and harshly chastened. As Hester is lead from the prison to the scaffold to begin her ignominy, a congregation of middle-aged women converses about Hester’s punishment. An autumnal matron suggests that they should “Brand her forehead” so that she may never escape her humiliation. This is a very harsh opinion that does not end up being put into action but it expresses the cruel lifestyle the Puritans pursue. Even though Hester is accepted into the society, she had to help people in need for seven whole years before the Puritans stopped their public hurtfulness towards her.

Critics generally agree Hawthorne uses the effects of the scarlet letter to reveal the atrocities of the patriarchy and masculine hegemony. The patriarchal forces women to carry the burden of an action despite the entity of the original sinners. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne takes the responsibilities and consequences of adultery, even though Dimmesdale should have equal, if not more, punishment. When Hester stands in front of a jury and endures the tremendous hatred from the individuals within the audience who believe Hester “has brought shame” to society, she declares,“Ye cannot take it off, and would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!” (Hawthorne 39, 49). Hawthorne reveals how society isolates and condemns women for the actions and results of men. If the women do not hold the accountability of all sin, they experience ignominy from society; if they do hold accountability of all sin, they still experience ignominy. The patriarchy enforces the idea that women should hold all responsibilities for all of men’s actions. Advancing Hawthorne's argument, critic Jane Swisshelm reveals the treatment of women as they endure ignominy: “[Hester] was the moral leper whom none might dare to touch - the blazing emblem of the virtuous indignation of an entire community” (Swisshelm 273). So long women exist, the consequences of the world’s

The American Romantic era, lasting from early to mid-19th century, is characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism. Within this movement, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Herman Melville’s Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street, the characters set at the center of their respective narratives both challenge societal prejudices through actions different from the social norm. Hawthorne’s protagonist, Hester Prynne, is met with disgust and disdain from the Puritan community after committing only one sin; contrarily, Melville’s Bartleby is first met with awe and love from his boss on Wall Street, working as a copyist. While Hester goes above and beyond to change her public image, Bartleby burns out, leaving

The strict religious environment that Puritans live in put many members of their community through Hell on earth. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Puritan community has a harsh and judgmental outlook on life and the people around them. Sin is considered a disease that must be avoided at all costs to the townspeople, anyone who was infected by this disease was ostracized and punished severely. One of the main characters in the novel, Hester Prynne is subjected to this cruel inhumane treatment after she commits what the community considers as adultery. In the novel The Scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the treatment of Hester Prynne is at the center of the Puritan community's perception of sin, enduring both the ups and the downs.