The Righteous Hester Prynne of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

To conclude, the strong, positive attitude Hester portrays, differs heavily from the town’s view of Hester,and in the end, her perseverance displays how she overcame the harsh ridiculement of the Boston colony. The overwhelming amount of hate Hester initially faced is all accross the novel. Whenever Hester had an interaction with a person, she was thereafter treated with some hostility. However, she never let it get to her, she always did what was right and kept pushing forward, to eventually earn the love of the people. Strangely, with the birth of Pearl, Hester is also reborn into a new life. With Hester being reborn, she is greeted with a scarlet letter, the connection between them, changes throughout the novel, ultimately ending up as

In the beginning of the written story the author reveals Hester to be a cold-hearted mother. “She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them”(75). In public she is thought of as

Actions played out in front of society, whether they are good or bad, receive commentary. People can get hurt or suffer from societal scrutiny, which can alter a person’s life. Hester Prynne, the protagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, undergoes a traumatic transformation in society after being accused of adultery, which is highly denounced in the Puritan community. Similarly, Kim Kardashian-West received public scrutiny after the accidental release of her sex tape in 2007. Both women, scorned for their momentary lapse of judgement and indiscretion, spend their time dealing with the guilt and try to make up for their mistakes for themselves and their families.

Hester didn’t try to make her or her daughter’s life better. After Hester committed adultery with Dimmesdale, she could have left and started a new life somewhere else, but instead chose to stay and punished herself. “She perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (Hawthorne 48). The people all saw her as a symbol of sin and constantly persecuted her. Hester was isolated from the town and lived at the outskirts. Hester could have left and gone somewhere else for the good of her and her daughter. But she decided to stay, causing herself and pearl to suffer the consequences. Pearl, just like her mother, was seen as an outcast and suffer the lack of the necessary education that she was supposed to be given.

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the characters who condemn Hester Prynne are hypocrites because they too go against many Puritan beliefs. Puritans are supposed to live conservatively, yet Governor Bellingham himself decorates house lavishly and Hester Prynne makes her living embroidering people's clothes to make them more fanciful. Both of those things show the puritan community not following its own strict laws, but not having any punishment. Lying is also a sin in the bible, yet Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale never says that he is the father of Pearl and therefore never ostracized by the community like Hester Prynne. He does receive his punishment from Roger Chillingworth who torments Dimmesdale until Dimmesdale's death. It is hypocrisy

After read the Scarlet Letter After I read the Scarlet Letter, I am so much touched. Maybe most of you think that Hester Prynne and Arthur’s love would be shamed, because adultery was not allowed even until now. However, to be honest, I admire the heroine very much. I think Hester is a super-woman. Even though she was fall in love with Arthur who was a young and talented pastor when she had been get marriage with Roger, at that special time Roger was caught by Indians and had been disappeared for two years. I think we could understand her that his husband was such a deformed old doctor, and he almost ruined Hester’s youth. If I were Hester, I absolutely would choose the young and hearted pastor. Love is such a wonderful thing that

The townspeople were so harsh on Hester because of her adultery sin, but then they saw the good in her. “ It is our Hester,—the town's own Hester,—who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!” the novel mentioned in chapter 13. The quote indicates how the townspeople

She remained in town, and lived a plain life. Her guilt left her stuck in a constant state of restriction. She used her immense skill of needlework for the poor, and an occasional extravagance. However her personal shame was not transferred to her daughter, Pearl. The difference in clothing shows that Hester considers herself shameful and not worthy of a decadent lifestyle, but her daughter is deserving of a distinguished lifestyle.

To show her character, she “bestowed all her superfluous means in charity” (Hawthorne 77), giving much of what she made with her fine needlework to the poor. Hester has the ability to change the minds of the people because of her righteousness, giving her a new reputation.

When thinking of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s historical novel, The Scarlet Letter, what comes to mind about the titular main character of the novel is that she was a heroine in her own right. Strong-willed and passionate in what she stood for, Hester Prynne comes off to readers as the ideal woman through Hawthorne’s narration. But when translated into modern feminism context, was Hester Prynne truly a heroine in the way that modern society would classify one? Feminism is defined contextually as the belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual and social equals to men (Urban Dictionary). However, at the time that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote his novel, the era of feminism was yet to descend on society - so in whose view was Hester

In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne published his book The Scarlet Letter. When writing anything one goes through many things; writer’s block, imagination or lack thereof, language, and many other things. The time period one is living in impacts the writing as well. Hawthorne was an aspiring writer, however he worked in a dull place with dull men. Additionally, in the 1850’s women were not of much importance. So, why did so many find Hester Prynne’s sin and her story so compelling? Was it because the Puritan background of Hawthorne and his compelling story or was it because the protagonist was heroine, Hester Prynne?

D.H. Lawrence’s criticism, “On the Scarlet Letter,” criticizes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Lawrence finds fault in how Hester’s sin of adultery is glorified in the novel. D.H. Lawrence argues that Hawthorne mischaracterizes Hester Prynne as a heroine by using choppy syntax, biblical allusions, and a sarcastic tone.

The townspeople alienated Hester; however, she repeatedly embroidered clothing items for her tormentors. Hester created pieces for, “ [The] Governor; military men. . .; and the minister. . .” (Hawthorne 107). Not only did she help the more affluent people of her town, but Hester also assisted the less fortunate. She ignored the ridicule she received and decided to help, “[the] wretches less miserable than herself” (Hawthorne 108). Besides the hate she recieved from her peers, Hester was able to help the people who outcasted her. She displayed her ability to help people no matter their attitude and

The Scarlet Letter is a historical romance novel originally published in 1850 by the renowned writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel gives readers insight on the beliefs of the Puritan community, taking place in mid-seventeenth century Boston, Massachusetts - a time when religion governed society. Puritan ideology surrounds maintaining an intense relationship with God, causing the society to be strict with little room for secular activity. Hester Prynne takes part in an affair with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and a child named Pearl results. The letter “A” that she wears upon her bosom symbolizes her dreadful sin and ostracization from society. In spite of the exclusion and belittlement Hester faces in the Puritan society, she vows to keep

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.