The Prison Is A Dark Hopeless Building

Hester Prynne’s sin was adultery. This sin was regarded very seriously by the Puritans, and was often punished by death. Hester’s punishment was to endure a public shaming on a scaffold for three hours and wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life in the town. Although Hawthorne does not pardon Hester’s sin, he considers it

     As she stood on the scaffold, Hester held her newborn Pearl. pearl was the outcome of her unfaithfulness. Pearl had been adequately named, for she was of extreme value to her mother. Hester’s subjection to the crowd of Puritan onlookers is excruciating

They damned Hester because of the fact her child was not from a marriage. They wanted someone to “stand on the scaffold by her side” (44). Which shows that they didn’t really want to condemn her just because she is a woman, but they still want her to be brought to moral justice because having extramarital affairs is bad. Arthur Dimmesdale, who admits to being Pearl’s father, may not have experienced the same public ridicule as Hester did, but he did put himself through a great amount of grief. The sexual experience between the two of them really had a negative impact on their lives. Hester was publicly embarrassed and is forced to wear the A for the rest of her life and Dimmesdale feels immense guilt because he never faced his sins. He ends up physically destroying himself due to the guilt. He was never put through the same experience as Hester, but he put himself through a large amount of punishment as

“The magistrate are God-fearing gentlemen, but merciful overmuch, - that is a truth," added a third autumnal matron. "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead. Madame Hester would have winced at that, I warrant me. But she, - the naughty baggage, - little will she care what they put upon the bodice of her gown! Why, look you, she may cover it with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever!”

In the life of Hester Prynne, she is viewed as an adulterer. During her sentencing on the scaffold, people enjoyed seeing her be humiliated and punished for her reckless actions. The self-righteous society views her as an outcast: “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorable parents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman, —at her, who had once been innocent, —as the figure, the body, the reality of sin” (Hawthorne 76). Because she broke the strict Puritan laws,

In the text, it shows that cities with organized religion can sometimes spiral out of control. It seems to start out as something simple. Rules are put in place, the people begin to agree, and before you know it, the government has tightened down on the rules and the people are being held back from fully thriving in their community. The government keeps them in line and keeps them in the right direction, but sometimes can go too far when it comes to punishment and how the citizens are treated. When it comes to the socioeconomic standings, it keeps the people from having high social and economic standings. It seems to keep everyone in the colony equal. These types of communities aren't fair to everyone. In order to survive in this world, where people are constantly trying to gain higher status, you have to do everything you can

"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.

Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the truth about Hester’s situation. This is the fact that she is not alone; others have sinned, just not been caught. Despite Hester’s feeling of utter isolation, her predicament gives her a second sense of the many sins under the surface. This could be compared to present day in the way that the people imprisoned are not the only sinners. It does not make everyone innocent because they do not have a scarlet letter or reside in a

The new Puritan society wanted to punish Hester Prynne horribly so that she would set an example of the consequences the others would receive if they committed a

The townsfolk, representing society, demonstrated their evil through their lack of empathy. In the quote, Hawthorne lists one of the unreasonable punishments that society created for an instance of human frailty. In his eyes, Hester deserves no punishment, let alone “the brand of a hot iron”. Hawthorne uses this proposed punishment as an example of society’s wickedness and negativity. However, Hester, an individual, is shown to be “tall”, “elegant”, and “dignified”, despite being just released from jail. Hawthorne uses these majestic features to embellish Hester and display the beauty of individuality, in order to promote the idea of individualism over collectivism. Furthermore, the discussion among the women in the crowd also indicates Hawthorne’s commentary about society’s progress. The lack of agreement among the townsfolk, along with their senseless punishments for Hester, reveals their inability to come to a reasonable conclusion and achieve any progress. Later in the novel, Hawthorne continuous to glorify the individual and condemn the effects that society has on them. When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest, they are far away from society, letting them speak and act freely. Since they are without any pressure from society to conform, Hester removes her scarlet letter and with the sense of freedom is able to express her true self and beliefs: “The stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh,

She had outlined the “A” in gold embellishments to make it more noticeable and extravagant. Instead of hiding the “A” and being ashamed, she embraced it and made it a part of her own persona. This had angered the people and the leaders as they did not expect this outcome. This act of defiance shows Hester embracing who she has become despite the disapproval of the people around her.

The very same town that is oppressing her is coming to the realization that Hester is more than an adulteress. Hawthorne purposefully writes this dynamic character change to critique the idea that woman are bound to their

Hawthorne brilliantly develops his characters, he starts off with not giving much detail of Hester’s background but shows us her breathtaking beauty. He writes that “The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine…” (Hawthorne, 105) and that her inner strength and compassion is actually within her character the entire time. As she is sentenced to a lifetime of humiliation her beauty and warmth slowly begins to fade however, her strength

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.

Hawthorne projects his ideas of women strength and independence through Hester by giving examples of how she is a strong woman. The puritan society gave Hester a very shameful punishment, which was to stand on the scaffold for three hours and wear the “A” representing adultery on her chest for the rest of her life (Marietta 2). People would look at the letter and judge the sin she committed. “Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!” (Hawthorne 7). While