Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was a very gorgeous and strong woman, her goal was to make something out of herself even with the shame that she brought upon herself for committing adultery by having a child with another man while she was married to another man. What she did was a huge abomination in the 1600s, in the Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts. Hester’s goal was to use her inborn talent sewing, what we would now call a seamstress to transform the meaning of her punishment and give her a better name in the community. And at the play they did an awesome job showing it, all the women and men who used to say horrible things about her were now praising her for her talent and how she was the best at it.
Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter is most wronged by not one of the characters, but by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne himself, inadvertently, through his portrayal of women.
Who is ultimately the best guardian for a child? Is it someone who teaches his or her child to fit in with society, or is it someone who teaches his or her child to be themselves? Teaching a child to be themselves and proud of who they are will benefit them in the long run by giving them confidence. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, the author presents the characters Hester Prynne and her outspoken, capricious daughter, Pearl. Throughout the novel, Hester Prynne is challenged with the idea that she is not capable of being the best guardian for Pearl. Although the townspeople suggest Hester is not teaching Pearl correct Puritan values, Hester is teaching her daughter to be herself and to be proud of
It was said that “thou shall not commit adultery” and she did.The punishment was too lenient. To what the biblical and legal punishments that were available at the time.Hester Prynne is guilty of more than one crime. Hester refused to do a lot of things that were ordered from the judge, and decided to do it her own way, and that was what caused her to be guilty and now she’s waiting to get her punishments for all the crimes committed. Hester Prynne is guilty of defying the judge, she’s also guilty of committing adultery and disrespecting the punishments that were given to her.
Hawthorne shows that through the development of Hester Prynne in the Scarlet Letter, we have to pay for committed sins, but instead of feeling sorry for ourselves about it, we have to embrace it and make our lives better from that sin. It chapter five of the story, it says “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”. This quote is Hawthorne telling the reader that all of the young and pure children in the puritan community look at Hester as a sinner now and as an all around bad person even though she use to be just as pure as all of them. She came from a good family and now she is a living sin that walks among the innocent children. Hester knows that she is looked at differently by everyone now but she doesn’t let it bother her.
For decades, women were viewed as the inferior sex. Women were not allowed to vote, own land, run businesses, etc., as their main priority was to be an excellent housewife. Fortunately, that concept has been replaced with the idea of feminism. Feminism, the political, social, and economic equality of men and women, is a major key concept in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne, the main female character of The Scarlet Letter, is an epitome of a strong feminist who was able to overcome a Puritan society’s judgement and discrimination.
Authors always want to tell us something or inspire us through the book. I have learnt and thought a lot while I was reading the book. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the novel--the Scarlet Letter, which inspired me a lot. The story in this novel happens during The Puritans era and it talks about the story of an adulteress, Hester Prynne, who needs to wear the scarlet letter “A” everyday, for reminding her sin and the story with the two men and her daughter Pearl. Her lover, Dimmesdale, hides his sin and her husband, Chillingworth, seeks revenge. What I have learnt from the novel is to look beneath the surface and do not judge people you do not know well.
If one were to give an example of an interpretation on what an adulterer may be, one may think of negative aspects, whether physical, emotional or mental. This adulterer could have a personality where everything that occurs in life has to revolve around themselves, including their wrongdoings. What they achieve in life is for their own benefit, and those around them mean little to possibly nothing in their minds. As outcasts, adulterers are seen as those who should never be looked up to, for they have caused chaos in their own lives without any positivity for the future. Looking into a religious point of view, the sins of those who commit adultery are seen as unforgivable. The Puritans give a clear example of this religious opinion, for in
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place in Boston during the seventeenth century. While waiting two years for her husband to join her in America, Hester Prynne has an affair and, as a result, gives birth to a baby girl who she later names Pearl. As a punishment for her sin, she is publicly shamed and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for as long as she lives, displaying her crime to anyone that may see it. This novel shows society’s conflict between a law and a personal code of ethics.
In the scarlet letter the main character Hester Prynne committed the sin of adultery that in the puritan society was completely unacceptable and usually those that did were punished or even sentenced to death. Hester Prynne was condemned to wearing the letter “A” that was a symbol of her being an adulterer and had to stand on the scaffold in front of the town for 3 hours as her punishment. Hester’s sin is represented through her daughter pearl that is a physical constant reminder of the sin she has committed along with the “A” that she wears upon her bosom. Hester acknowledges what is she has done and acknowledges the guilt with pride to the people. “SCARLET LETTER so fantastically embroidered and
“When you are guilty, it is not your sins you hate but yourself” from One Minute Wisdom by Anthony de Mello. Hester Prynne, a beautifully strong and humble woman who has no shame for the sins she has committed, isolates herself from the rest of society and covers up her beauty after being released from jail. Distanced from everyone else, Hester goes on to raise her child, Pearl, who she believes that God gave to her for a reason. Throughout the novel, the author utilizes Hester Prynne in order to connect to the main theme of the psychological effects of guilt and sin by remaining beautiful and composed on the outside even with her punishment,yet internally, she constantly struggles with the aftermath of her sins. Hester Prynne possesses
Chapter 2-3: Hester Prynne is a young woman who was put in jail for the crime of adultery. In the first introduction Hester is perceived as someone who does not care what other people think of her and will stare down the barrel of a gun. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, compares Hester to her babe by showing how they are both shunned by the people viewing them. Hawthorne contrats them when Hester stands upon the scaffold with her head held high, while her babe cries out. As Hester walks out of her prison and stands upon the scaffold for viewing and public shame, the holier than though women gossip about Hester 's sin and shames her for her sins. The men view Hester the same way, a sinner that should be punished and shamed.
The characterization of Hester Prynne attacks Puritan society’s values, as writer and critic D.H. Lawrence suggests in his article, “On the Scarlet Letter.” There is a genuine disparity in the methods Lawrence uses to portray Prynne, and those used by The Scarlet Letter’s author, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Because of his utilization of impactful syntax, religious allusion, and critical tone, D.H. Lawrence’s claim, that Hester Prynne is a contradictory character to pure society, is effectively justified when compared to the seductive elements of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing.
In the first several chapters of The Scarlet Letter we can understand Hester Prynne to be a good but misunderstood soul. Labeled as an adulteress, she is the victim of the Puritan lifestyle. A person with many positive traits, she is treated as a terrible person for one unholy act. Far from the evil woman that some of her neighbors see, Hester is a strong, proud and loyal person who resists the worst influences of her community.
As a form of punishment for breaking the seventh commandment, Hester Prynne was sentenced to wear a scarlet “A” on her chest for the remainder of her life. The intended definition of the “A” was adulteress; however, the meaning changed to able as Hester’s character evolved. Although Hester Prynne faced ridicule from her neighbors, Hester showed her ability to accept her situation when she showed, “[No] irritation nor irksomeness” (Hawthorne 179) towards the people who hated her. Hester also displayed her ability to control herself when, “She submitted uncomplainingly to the [the public’s] worse usage” (Hawthorne 179). Hester’s ability to forgive and forget, changed the definition of her stigma to show her capability to overcome the harsh comments the people of Boston said about her. Another option pg 109- no respond
This is how the reader is officially introduced to our protagonist, a woman who shows no shame and even took “ the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours” according to Hawthorne. She embodies fearlessness, but what the reader does not yet know is what unfolded in order to put this bold protagonist in this situation. Hawthorne includes examples of Prynne’s fortitude to foreshadow how successful she found herself even when raising her daughter as a single mother. According to Bloom, Hester Prynne was born in England to a family struggling with financial decay. Though Hester describes her parents as honorable in chapter five, her family had trouble affording the cost of living. In the mid-seventeenth century, the time period Hawhthrone features in The Scarlet Letter, England fought in the English Civil War. According to Professor Barry Coward, England “was subjected to pressures by the Civil War that could easily have rent apart its social, economic and political order, in the process shattering its internal stability,” meaning that most of the country suffered through turmoil. With her family experiencing stress on how to pay for necessities, this must have been the point in time where Hester learned to sew. In the chapter Hester at Her Needle, she supports herself and her infant through sewing and embroidery,