The Scarlet Letter Cemetery Analysis

Hester displays acts of courage that portray her as a heroic character. Hester clearly suffers from her punishment of having to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ in public as she attempts to maintain

He finds out it was Dimmesdale and then set out to torture him. “[Chillingworth] never set him free again until he has done all it’s bidding. He now dug into the poor clergyman’s heart” (Hawthorne 117). Hester tells Chillingworth to stop, but Chillingworth does not. He wants to get revenge on Dimmesdale. Because of this revenge, he loses Hester forever. Chillingworth tortures him in his own best interest. He is selfish. He wants Hester, even though Hester no longer loves him. Even after he has the chance to learn his lesson, Chillingworth still acts in his own interest. He learns that Dimmesdale and Hester are going to leave on a boat, and he books a ticket on the same boat, causing more problems for Hester and Dimmesdale. Chillingworth wants only what was in his own best interest, not what is better for others.

Hawthorne chooses to have Hester overcome her struggles. At the end of the book, Hester finds at least some degree of peace. The struggles and pain she went through were not pleasant, but they did provoke her to improve her relationship with God. Her burden seems lessened and if there is nothing else for her to be joyful about, her daughter Pearl has adapted and thrived in her new life. Hester Prynne shows mercy upon the sick and does charity work even when it goes unappreciated. She gave her time and effort to help the poor even when they rebuked her as well. Her dedication to try and fix her mistakes is admirable and the reader feels as if Hester has really changed for the better. The change in Hester makes the people respect her and come to her for advice at the end of the story. In chapter 13, Hawthorne writes about how the Puritans have mixed feelings about Hester, but the majority of the people now forgive and hold her in high regard. “They said it meant ‘Able’; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” (pg. 158) This quote shows how the interpretation of the letter and of Hester herself has changed. The new view of Hester gained by the Puritans is based on her response to the scarlet letter, a symbol meant to ruin her but in reality it made her

     Hester with society also proves to be a strongly feministic aspect of The Scarlet Letter. Hester, as a female sinner, throughout the book, proves not to be a burden on society. Although she is an outcast, many find it hard to not admire the way she holds herself, especially due to the situation she is in. The admiration grows as the story continues. At first, the main admiration for Hester is her skill with the needle. Many of the townspeople regard Hester’s work as the latest trend. “Her

Her being forced to wear the scarlet letter which led her to becoming a women’s advocate reflects the theme that good things come from bad. There was plenty of negative backlash to Hester's mistake, however she gained the ability to help other women struggling just like her. “They said that it meant Able, so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength” (pg 177, Hawthorne). The sin she committed and the experience gained through the aftermath of that sin, gives her insight on what it's like to be a woman who's being discriminated. Raising her daughter on her own and her saving her from harming herself reflects the theme that everyone makes mistakes. After all Hester is human just like everyone else. It is in our nature to make mistakes or even sin. “It is remarkable, that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most perfect quietude to the external regulations of society” (pg 181, Hawthorne). The actions we take to reverse or to compensate for that sin is what makes us who we are as individuals. Her being alienated from society and developing an independent thinking mindset mirrors the theme that one must acknowledge their mistakes to learn from them. Hester’s society made it abundantly clear that what she did was absolutely heinous and that she needs to repent and beg for forgiveness. The isolation she suffered through helped her become an independent thinker and develop thoughts that we would consider ahead of her time. “The world's law was no law for her mind” (pg 180, Hawthorne). Being excluded socially gave her a chance to dwell in her own thoughts and gather perceptions different from that of other puritans. This decision that Hester makes is very important to the story because it mirrors many of the major themes the author tried getting across to its

The Scarlet letter shows hester as a humble person. She had to suffer a lot in the beginning. I tried to convey this with her distaste of the town shaming her. I also made sure to highlight her persistence to protect herself and her child. That’s the one thing Hester always did, protect Pearl. I decided

By initially facing her fears of living in public with the shameful mark of the Scarlet Letter, Hester was able to accept this life and continue without the fear of public scorn and humiliation. Although the mark still played a heavy role Hester’s place in society, she was able to overcome its hindrance to an extent, and turn the letter into something positive in the eyes of the Puritans, as shown when the author writes, “Such helpfulness was found in her, —so much power to do, and power to sympathize, —that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne” (Hawthorne 158.) By accepting her fears initially and standing brave in the face of her apprehension over the Scarlet Letter, Hester was able to live a life free of the fear which could have plagued her, and instead became a positive force in society. Hester faced her fear of the town judging the Scarlet Letter and turned to a life of selflessness and

As it says in the book, “ If she entered a church, trusting to share the Sabbath smile of the Universal Father, it was often her mishap to find herself the text of the discourse.” (Hawthorne 95) Hester Prynne had to teach herself to be independent and the first step to that was forgiving herself, earning forgiveness of others, and earning God’s forgiveness. As the years passed, Hester’s kind acts she does for the town allowed them to forgive and forget her sins. She would always give clothing she made to the poor and that contributed to them forgiving her. Hester’s own self conscious was another factor she needed in her path to full forgiveness. She always believed she needed to wear her Scarlet Letter, this was her reminder of her sin everyday and it wasn’t till later in the novel where she doesn’t want to wear it anymore. Also, in the beginning of the novel Hester refused to leave the town because she believed she needed to be in the place her sin took place. In a way, Hester had found forgiveness in herself but on the other hand her actions show that she might still be in the process of completely forgiving. Hester’s actions in earning God’s forgiveness were very similar to the ones she completely when forgiving herself. She once again wouldn 't take off her Scarlet Letter and said that it would come off by itself when God wanted it to.

“Here had been her sin; here, her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence” embodies Hester Prynne throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne 239). Nathaniel Hawthorne opens the story as Hester is being released from prison adorned with a scarlet letter, “A.” The “A” is meant as a secondary punishment following her conviction of adultery a few months prior. However, Hester is not someone defined by one event. By accepting responsibility and punishment for her sin, Hester is able to move forward. She states “let us not look back” as a sign of her eagerness to evolve and rewrite her future (Hawthorne 182). Hester’s ultimately productive life is fueled by her sheer determination and desire. Specifically, Hester was able to

“She 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. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared a letter A. (6) As she walked Hester was ladylike, dignified than ever before. I presume that Hester is not proud of the crime she committed but she is willing to stand tall and accept the consequences. The author described the scarlet letter as a spell on Hester Prynne that set her out of ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself, thus bringing her isolation (7). Hester’s walk of shame was the worse part of wearing the scarlet letter, with crude, stark, callous eyes staring at her knowing she will never be considered a part of their society again; though Hester sustained herself as best as she could. She began reminiscing remembering her old house in England with her mother, father, and a scholar, then she realizes the Scarlet Letter will always target her as an outcast. Which leads into chapter

Though Hester has repented for her sins and has worn the scarlet letter for nearly a decade, she is still an outcast in her society. Even when she has become a force of good around her town, "Hester's nature showed itself warm and rich; a wellspring of human tenderness, unfailing to every real demand" (158), it seems there is nothing she can do to disprove the harsh judgement that arrived when she took up the scarlet letter. Technically, she has done everything in her power to make up for her long-past sin. In reality, the people around her treat her as if she were the only sinner in the town and had done nothing to correct her past wrong.

Hester presented in this quote shows that she was no longer excluded from the community and that she was even loved which was the complete opposite from the beginning of the novel where they were disgusted and hated her. It also shows that Hester did not let the scarlet “A” define who she was, she worked hard to redeem herself, not for her peers, but for repentance and for herself. It compares the scarlet “A” to a cross of a nun showing how corrupted that people have become. Hester as shown in the quote has accepted the sin, she did not hide it, and she also learned a lot from

Although Hester is forced to wear the Scarlet Letter at all times for the purpose of public humiliation, she actually has the courage to wear it and embrace her sin, despite the countless insults that she receives. And by brushing all of this pain away, along with realizing that she will have to live in isolation, not beautiful, and in pain, Hester becomes a much stronger person. She shows this because she is able to overcome the effects of her sin and move on with her life, choosing to help others. This allows Hester to gradually regain more respect from the townspeople because of her altruism; “Such helpfulness was found in her—so much power to do, and power to sympathise— that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification” (Scarlet Letter). From this point on, the Scarlet Letter stands for “Able” not “Adulterer,” making Hester a symbol of strength, not

The three main characters in the novel are Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale. Hester is an adulteress and has a baby named pearl and she is convicted and her punishment is to wear a scarlet letter “a” upon her chest and to wear it until her death where it will be marked upon her grave as well. Her husband who she cheated on was Roger Chillingworth, which was his alias in the new world. He discovers Hester’s ignominy and is set on finding her partner in the “crime” they committed against him. Dimmesdale is the man who Hester had an affair, although he is the minister and that is a huge scandal for the preacher who speaks against infidelity. Hawthorne makes the relationship acceptable by showing that Hester and Dimmesdale actually love each other opposed to Chillingworth and Hester’s fake love.Chillingworth convinced Hester into marrying him which she never wanted to do in the first place, he only wished to own someone not love them. Chillingworth can be associated to evil because of his wish for revenge and torture to Dimmesdale which are considered the worst kind of sins. Chillingworth is also referred to as a leech which is what

In The Scarlet letter, Hester is first introduced as a woman who committed adultery. Fated to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of her life, she faced public shaming and humiliation each day. Though throughout the entire case, Hester still held her head high and ignored the curses of the New England town. Hester was one of the first Americans to be aware of the hypocritical society. She believed if a person were to do wrong, admitting to it and trying to change is the right thing to do.