Transformation Of Hester Prynne

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.

The central character of the novel, Hester Prynne, undergoes a significant change in character, mainly due to the shame stemming from being forced to bare the scarlet letter. During the first scaffold scene in which she is undergoing trial, Hester is described as: “lady-like . . . characterized by a certain state of dignity . . . her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped” (Hawthorne 103). Despite the presence of a multitude of women sneering at her as she makes the seemingly endless walk to the place of her trial, Hester maintains her cold, almost pompous facade. It is a testament to her initial immense amount of resilience of character and mental strength to keep from breaking down into tears while on the scaffold. This idea of Hester desiring to and succeeding in maintaining a proud and aloof air is further evidenced by the ornateness and intricacy of the scarlet letter itself.

When Hester is released from prison, she ponders the effect of the scarlet letter and realizes, “she must either sustain and carry it forward by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink beneath it” (Hawthorne 69). In other words, Hester knows that allowing other people to bring her down will lead to self-destruction. Through a great deal of inner strength, Hester decides to stay in her hometown and let “the torture of her daily shame . . . purge her soul and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saintlike, because the result of martyrdom” (Hawthorne 71). Essentially, Hester resolves to learn from her “mistake” and use the situation as a growing opportunity. Decisively, Hester concludes that although she cannot change the past, she can show her strength and resolve by overcoming the shaming that is sure to occur in her town. Hester’s honesty and willingness to accept her punishment enable her to

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne develops the dynamic characterization of Hester Prynne from a beautiful, innocent girl into a somber, hardened women to showcase the evils and hypocrisy of Puritan New England’s culture of shaming. Hawthorne employs rhetorical devices such as metaphor and juxtaposition to further develop the characterization and his critique of Puritan society. When initially describing Hester, Hawthorne emphasizes her incredible beauty, and juxtaposes this with the other ugly, judging Puritan women, adding to the hypocrisy of her being shamed for sinning. Hawthorne emphasizes the verbal assault on Hester by employing metaphor and imagery in its description. After the community shuns and shames Hester for years, Hawthorne uses metaphor again to show how Hester’s body and character changes for the worst, emphasizes the malice and evil of public shame.

Being a woman in a Puritan society, Hester did not have much influence, and her crime as an adulteress made her a public figure of shame. Over time, Hester became accepted and also accepted herself, and this caused her dealings with sin to not be as heavy. In the 13th chapter of the Scarlet Letter, “Another View of Hester”, Hawthorne describes how Hester has found her place. (13-146/147). This quote shows how Hester’s role has changed and how she had developed.

Shakespeare once said, “If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.” In the 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, a young woman named Hester Prynne was just that. Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a story of a young woman named Hester, who commits adultery, and how she struggles to raise a daughter, and keep her lover from judgement. In the Puritan society, honorable sin was not a possibility. Throughout the book, characters deal with consequences for their actions that change their views on how they should deal with problems. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth, the main characters, all have consequences for their sins. In the book sin changes the characters’ personalities, choices, and actions.

Sin can result in punishment or can be seen as an advantage of self-development. Hester Prynne uses her punishment of committing adultery to her advantage, leading to her powerful role in the novel. Hester is first viewed as a disgrace due to the Puritan beliefs of remaining faithful. However, throughout the novel, Hester begins to overcome her sin in which she doesn’t let society control how she is viewed. Instead of looking down on her, there was “an instinctive device of her spirit, to relieve itself, by the exhibition of these phantasmagoric forms, from the cruel weight and hardness of the reality” (50). Usually, women didn’t have the courage to stand up for them self during the Puritan times. However, Hester continuing to wear the scarlet letter A suggests that she can own up to her sin as well as be proud of it. Hester “knew that her deed had been evil;

To begin, the scarlet letter had lost its meaning over the course of time. “Then, also, the blameless purity of her life during all these years in which she had been set apart to infamy was reckoned largely in her favor.” (Chapter XIII) The author’s purpose is to call attention to the Puritan’s weak shaming system. For example, if the person being subjected to the humiliation does not draw attention to them self, the villagers will lose interest in the crime; this allows the villagers a healing time. In Hester’s case the people were able to see her in a new light. “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, with a woman’s

In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne narrates the story of Hester Prynne, an adulteress living in Boston during the seventeenth century. His purpose in this passage is to detail the change that overcame Hester after she had been subjected to her punishment of constant ignominy. Hawthorne adopts a sympathetic tone towards Hester, revealing that he believes women need to be delicate and tender in order to retain their feminine appeal.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne develops women into strong, independent characters, but shows how they lack power and have a minimal influence on men. While Hester and Mr. Dimmesdale are conversing in the forest, Dimmesdale pleads for help from Hester when he says, “‘Be thou strong for me!’ answered he. ‘Advise me what to do,’” (171). Hawthorne’s depiction of Mr. Dimmesdale going insane with guilt from his sin and his desperate need for help from Hester creates Hester as a strong protagonist who has learned to control her guilt. Hester proves she is capable of raising her daughter and ignoring the town’s people's judgment, but Hester loses this strength when faced with men. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, demands

Mistakes are a part of being human; they are what shape, define, and transform an individual. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, out of all the characters, one undergoes the most drastic amount of change. Throughout the storyline this character’s persona changes from shameful, to one containing strength, confidence, and security of what the future has to hold: Hester Prynne. Hester changes from being ashamed of herself to accepting herself. Right from the start of the novel, Hester comes out of the prison to take her spot on the scaffold.

One of Hester’s constant reminders of her sin is the scarlet letter, which she is forced to live with for the rest of her life. This is shown when Hawthorne writes “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.” (71-72) This shows how Hester has become a living symbol

Hester, a girl who was publicly shamed and hated by all transforms into the girl who resembles good deeds and kindness. Hester was publicly shamed for cheating on her husband; she was forced to wear the letter “A” and was shunned off from society. Hester would sew people's clothing and make things for the people in need; she was later viewed as a wonderful person who depicted kindness and love. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader learns how the life of Hester and her daughter, Pearl, was played out and how their image changed in the view of the people.

The scarlet letter has lasting and permanent effects and these effects will come to change Hester’s life. Due to the intolerance of her society, Hester is cast out in isolation with Pearl: “Mother and daughter stood together in the same circle of seclusion from human society” (Hawthorne 86). As mentioned above, Hester was forced to confess her sin publicly, in front of the judgement of many people. In Puritanism, public confession was normal and usually brought guilt and shame upon the sinner or criminal: “Hester’s treatment by colony and church authorities in the first pillory scene implies that public confession was customary for certain crimes” (Baughman 532). The treatment of Hester as a sinner is harsh and severe, and sets Hester apart from her community forever.

The emotions of Hester also fail to obtain a true form during the course of the novel, and a warm, passionate, charming, and tender Hester is eventually molded into a cold, overly thoughtful, and plain woman. Examples of this in the text include "much of marble coldness of Hester's impression…from passion and feeling to thought" (141) and "Hester Prynne whose heart had lost a regular and healthy throb" (143). Both of these quotes provide clear citations to the apparent change in Hester, and are just more evidence of the pain that the scarlet letter has indirectly brought about.