Tone In The Scarlett Letter

Hawthorne's Hester Prynne is the underdog protagonist that the reader cannot help but want to succeed. She is flawed but her flaws are outshone by her good heart and spirit. This shamed and humiliated woman is the one the reader, with the help of Hawthorne’s descriptions, wants to support. This sinful woman, with a child from wedlock, a diabolical “husband”, and a secretive lover is the motivating force that drives the reader to continue on with The Scarlet Letter. The language, descriptions, and plot of The Scarlet Letter show that Hawthorne believes the reader should look past gender stereotypes because not everything is what is

This ridicule has a trickle down effect on Hester as she too is banished from her own community for committing adultery. The comparison between Hester and Hawthorne defines the external struggle for the reader to fully understand the effect of opinions from society on them Although reluctant to allow Hester to leave prison, the members of the town suggest that her punishment be to wear a scarlet red letter A on her bosom, thereby allowing all to know of her crime. The scarlet letter “ was red-hot with infernal fire, ” (Hawthorne 81) and defined the state she was currently in, that being eternal hell. Though she was forced to marry an older man at a young age, her rebellion to have an affair is not seen as an internal struggle that she overcame; rather, it is merely seen as a woman who sinned, a woman who shall therefore endure the punishment for the sin, rather than a woman who was never given a say in what she wanted with her life. Time and again, Hester Prynne is seen defying society by allowing herself to stand out from societal norm just as the roses “with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner“ (Hawthorne) did. Instead, she returns to the community and is observed aiding those in need, all with seven year old Pearl by her side.

In his work “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence addresses the controversial character of Hester Prynne. He is just one of many critics who have analyzed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional character, where some look to her as a hero and others blatantly shame her for her sin. Lawrence makes up the latter of this crowd, and is able to prove his case in a very meaningful manner. The critic believes that Hawthorne sugarcoats Hester’s image, and tries to make it look as if she is the victim of the tale. Disregarding this sympathy, he addresses the root cause of her sin rather than its consequences. As he writes, he uses a multitude of literary techniques to help convince readers of Hester’s seemingly evil character, using descriptive diction, a

With all the chaos present in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, there is a central point at which the novel revolves around: Hester Prynne’s sin. Because of her adulterous actions, she is mocked by both modern and Puritan society. It is through her character as an adulteress that D.H. Lawrence scorns and evaluates Hester Prynne’s flaws through his use of brief diction, sarcastic tone, and biblical allusions.

With a “tall…figure of perfect elegance…and dark and abundant hair,” Hester has but one fault about her: the “scarlet letter…upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 44). Destined to wear the letter A on her chest for the rest of her natural life, Hester recognizes that this is not only her punishment, but also a reminder to every one of her adulterous actions. With the act of adultery being Hester’s only known sin, thus far, the reader is left wondering just how deeply it will affect her. Coming with a larger price than she could have ever imagined, Hester’s sin essentially makes her an outcast and “in all her intercourse with society…there [is] nothing that [makes] her feel as if she belong[s]” (Hawthorne 67). After her sinful act is brought into the open, Hester is isolated within her own realm, with only her young daughter to accompany her. This sense of isolation builds a metaphorical barrier between the people of Hester’s community and herself, despite her attempts to integrate back into their sphere. Following seven long years of this lifestyle, it seems that Hester finally is accepted by her community, and shockingly enough, “many people refuse to interpret the scarlet letter A by its original signification [, and instead,] they sa[y] that it

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.

Throughout history, one reoccurring theme has been the harsh judgement of society against those who stand out. Although in certain periods and different societies, public shaming seems to have been more severe, it is, in all actuality, equally cruel today, yet in different forms. Despite this, keeping one 's sins a secret and away from societal judgement seems to have more of a negative affect on oneself, often causing poor mental and physical health, than confessing and facing consequences. In The Scarlet Letter, author, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores how one is affected, both physically and mentally, when his/her appearance doesn 't match his/her reality through the main characters of the novel, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. In their 1600 's Puritan society, Hawthorne depicts the differences between Hester and Dimmesdale’s public versus private shaming for their committed sin of adultery, reflected through how both forms of ignominy affect their characters mental and physical health. Although Hester and Dimmesdale are the main characters that struggle with the difficulty of their appearance matching their reality, there are others that contribute to their conflicts. These characters are known as Pearl, Hester’s daughter who is being portrayed as “God’s messenger” to teach her to be her true self, and Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s long lost husband who torments Dimmesdale, also teaching him to be his true self by challenging him confess his sin throughout the novel. In

Being capable of making a living as a dedicated seamstress with all odds against her is just one example of how Hester begins to transform the meaning of the letter. Instead of contemplating upon her misfortune and falling into a depressive state, Hester takes charge of her own life, starting from when she decides to stay in Boston. Having the opportunity to leave, Hester chooses to stay, perhaps to show other women deemed as outcasts to society, that one has to learn to move on with life in order to gain a fortunate outcome. Hester, being the charitable woman that she is does not stop here. Instead, she comforts the poor, visits the ill, and feeds the famished. These bold undertakings all work to change the meaning of the letter into a symbol of Hester’s courage, confidence, and, above all, endurance. The letter consequently becomes a source of redemption for Hester when her inner nature is revealed to counteract her one time adulterous affair. Although Puritans are first to alter their opinion on the letter, people outside of the Puritan realm of society do so too. On Election Day, seven years after the scaffold incident, it is the Indians who are fascinated by Hester’s scarlet letter, even making the broad assumption that Hester is “a personage of high dignity among her

As the novel progresses, readers watch Hester transform herself from once adulterer to selfless civilian. In the beginning, readers learn quickly of Hester’s egregious sins. She cannot conceal her sin of adultery from her town as she has a child named Pearl as a result. She is publicly punished by being forced “…to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 56). Hester must wear a scarlet letter ‘A’, which symbolizes adulterer, on her chest so that every person that comes upon her knows of the sin she has committed. Initially, Hester is mortified of the public symbol of sin she is made out to be and feels an immense amount of shame because of the callous stares from villagers. Eventually, she and Pearl move to the outskirts of town to try to move on with their lives while the indignity of the letter “A” follows. Over time, Hester begins to be a valuable aspect of society in that she sews clothes for the community and delivers food to the poor among many other good deeds. The townspeople begin to view Hester as a hard worker and her past slowly begins to fade. The once infamous letter becomes “…the symbol of her calling” and “… many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original

The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne consist of many hidden literary aspects and devices to help convey a multitude of themes. Hawthorne introduces the lives of Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale as they find themselves in difficult situations full of right and wrong decisions. Hester, an adulterous forever marked with the scarlet letter ‘A’, is married to Chillingworth who makes it his duty to find and torture the man responsible for his wife’s infidelity, while Dimmesdale, the town's minister, has trouble revealing his own sin. Through the use of the literary devices diction and tone, Hawthorne presents the theme that the choices you make today, shape your life tomorrow in only either a positive or negative angle.

Hester is evidence of the impossibility of earthly perfection as she is a representation of sin in the society, yet she is slowly losing her derogatory label. The scarlet letter has changed Hester and she no longer lives for herself. In fact, society has caused her to lose different aspects of her character that outwardly made her appear womanly. She can no longer be tender and possess a gentle womanly essence because “if she be all tenderness, she would die” (128).

Hester’s sin ruined her image which results to her isolation from the society. In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm and with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile and glance that would not be abashed on the breast of her gown, in fire red cloth surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and gold thread appeared the letter “A” (Hawthorne, 50). As the crowd watches Hester, was punished to wear the scarlet letter which led her to isolation from the society.

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

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester defies the status society has given to her by embracing her sin and digressing from a typical Puritan woman. Hester was ridiculed on the stand in front of her peers for having an affair while her husband was away, resulting in a child. Located in 16th Century Puritan colony, Hester’s punishment for adultery would have been immediate execution. Instead, after being humiliated and casted aside as an adulteress, Hester was branded with an A on her chest and forced to live on the outskirts of the colony in exile. Despite the pessimistic future that Hester beholds, Hester attempts to cope with the isolation, even though “lonely as was Hester’s situation, and without a friend on earth who dared to show himself, she,

While Hester is a feminist, not only does she share the ideals but shows superiority to the town while being fearless. " It may seem marvelous, that this woman should still call that place her home, where, and where only, she must needs be the type of shame.” (chapter 5, paragraph 2) Hester does not let the shame and remorse of the sin keep her away from the town like most would do. Hawthorne even states that Dimmesdale is weaker than Hester by punishing himself and holding his heart while Hester embraces the sin and is strong while carrying the letter on her chest. She leads a self-righteous life, although she could keep what she earns, she gives most away. Even the townsfolk say Hester is "so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted."(chapter 13, paragraph 5) Hester can be seen over the townspeople helping them although they shamed her. Hawthorne presents that Hester’s “tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free.” (chapter 18, paragraph 2) With this Hester has a “radiant and tender smile, that seemed gushing from the very heart of womanhood. (chapter 18, paragraph 12) These quotes from Hawthorne show that Hester’s kindness helps her overcome her sin on her own. With Hester’s contribution to the town, “Her handiwork became what would now be termed the fashion.” (chapter 5, paragraph 6) In his research, Sacvan Bercovitch remarks that “Hester Prynne ‘builds upon the tradition of the biblical Esther -