In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne can be seen as a hero by some and as corruption and sin itself by others. She commits adultery, one of the worst sins as seen by Puritan society, but also comes to terms with it, so both sides of the argument can be understood. D.H. Lawrence conveys his thought on the subject in his essay on Hester Prynne. He claims that she is most definitely not a hero. Lawrence believes that she has corrupted Dimmesdale, the young and pure minister and does not deserve the praise she is getting from other authors like Van Doren. Hester Prynne is rightfully portrayed as a sinner by D.H. Lawrence through his use of biblical allusions, sarcastic tone, and syntax.
D.H. Lawrence uses biblical allusions to help show Hester as a sinner because they
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The human spirit generally gives way to lies that “all begin with A. Adulteress, Alpha. Abel, Adam. America. The scarlet letter” (Lawrence). Through the repetition of the A words that he makes a point to bring up again and again throughout the essay, Lawrence is able to tie together what he believes about it and really drive it into the reader’s mind. He presents it in a way that is short and each statement is like an attack. It’s quick and to the point. It all leads up to the scarlet letter - the embodiment of sin itself. Dimmesdale falls for hester once she “tickle[s] him in the right place and he f[alls]. Flop. Flop goes the spiritual love. But keep up the game. Keep up appearances. Pure are the pure. To the pure all things” (Lawrence). Again, Lawrence makes his point using short and detached sentences, but makes it even more meaningful by doing so. By structuring it this way, he is able to really get his point across that Hester is corrupt and ruining the pureness of Dimmesdale. She keeps up a facade while he’s falling into her
The first theme expressed in The Scarlet Letter is that even well meaning deceptions and secrets can lead to destruction. Dimmesdale is a prime example of this; he meant well by concealing his secret relationship with Hester, however, keeping it bound up was deteriorating his health. Over the course of the book this fact is made to stand out by Dimmesdale’s changing appearance. Over the course of the novel Dimmesdale becomes more pale, and emaciated. Hester prevents herself from suffer the same fate. She is open about her sin but stays loyal to her lover by not telling who is the father of Pearl. Hester matures in the book; becomes a stronger character.
Consequently enough, Dimmesdale is trying to convince Hester to reveal the man who has sinned along with her, so the man can be relieved of his guilt, somewhat ironic because he is the man who has sinned along side with her. "What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee and the sorrow without.
Hester Prynne is a character who gave up everything, even love, for her child. Hester Prynne sacrificed her peace, her beauty, her entire being for her child and this shows her determination and profound understanding of the world. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s piece, “The Scarlet Letter” shows the other side of the sinner’s story and not as a villain, but a victim.
In his essay On the Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence explores Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne. Lawrence focuses on and condemns Hester’s sin itself rather than its consequences. Instead of supporting Hawthorne's depiction of Hester as an innocent character, Lawrence sheds light on what he believes is her true character, a deceiver. He argues that Hester Prynne has a false appearance of purity through his use of critical diction, sarcastic tone, and biblical allusions.
Hester Prynne is seen by many as worthy of respect and admiration throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. She is ultimately seen as a hero in many areas of the novel. Literary critic Mark Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne is a heroic citizen who rises above the consequences of her sin. Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne should be seen as a noble hero through his use of repetition, praiseworthy diction, and admirable tone.
Lawrence uses biblical allusions to help demonstrate that Hester is a sinner because they compare her to well-known figures in a way that brings out her corruptness. Lawrence compares Hester to Mary by saying she is “the sacred image of sinless Motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world” (Lawrence). Mary is one of the most pure figures in religion and Lawrence is blatantly being sarcastic in his comparison of the two character to provide an idea of how ridiculous it is to consider Hester a hero. Mary was given the gift of Jesus by God while remaining a virgin and faithful to her husband. Hester on the other hand had a baby with a man she was not married to. Moreover, Hester is compared to Abel from the story of Cain and Abel. While Dimmesdale is the one who dies for their sins, Hester “lives on and is Abel” (Lawrence). One would think that Lawrence would compare Hester to Cain instead, considering he is the one who lives and Abel is the one who dies. By stating this, Lawrence is showing the irony and ridiculousness that Hawthorne ensures by condemning the pure and innocent Dimmesdale to death but the sinning and corrupt Hester to live on. He is also using “Abel” as a play on words in an ironic way, demonstrating that the A stands for able and Abel, but is given to the person farthest from resembling
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many literal and figurative items to illustrate the significance of various characters or themes. Coupled with the tangible evidence given, the reader can make many miscellaneous assumptions of the importance of these items to directly and indirectly contribute to the issues of the novel. One cryptic item that symbolizes more than it seems to is the appearance of one of the main characters, Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne's appearance and hair signify the levels of will and determination she possesses at the moment.
Nathaniel Hawthorne paints Hester Prynne as a person, a person that made mistakes, but who worked tirelessly to atone for them. Hawthorne’s use of of positive diction and profound imagery also set Hester’s tone as a woman scorned, but
Hester Pryne of The Scarlet Letter Hester Pryne, after being punished for her sin, lived an important life. In "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester was convicted of adultery. However, after her conviction, she managed to raise a daughter, became an important seamstress in her community, and set an example for her close-knit community. Pearl, the daughter of a convicted sex offender, grew up living a different life from her peers.
”Throughout the Scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne, the effects of sin on the mind,body and soul of hester”(Smith). Hester commit the sins and she thought that it would not be a big deal. In reality when people found out the real reason, society changed their thoughts and saw her as a bad person.
Hester Prynne, the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, exhibits considerable character growth both over the course of her life and during the events of the novel. Her view of herself and her perspective on the role of women in the world evolve as she learns from new experiences. She moves through the stages of self-centered happiness in her childhood, deep despair and depression as an adult, and a later more hopeful and selfless existence.
Hester Prynne, “The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam; and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexation, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes.” (11). In this quote Hawthorne depicts Hester as lady-like with great beauty, elegance, and intelligence; continually Hawthorne mentioned how Hester’s beauty stands out from the dark Puritan society. However,
“On The Scarlet Letter” by D.H. Lawrence, gives an insightful perspective about the fabrications on Hester Prynne’s character. Hester Prynne’s sin is analyzed thoroughly and Lawrence depicts her as a devil rather than a saint. Lawrence demonstrates that Hester’s actions are a farce in The Scarlet Letter though his use of concise syntax, literary allusions, and witty hyperbole. The concise syntax in the essay is arranged so that Lawrence’s main point of Hester’s farce is proven using simple yet powerful statements that readers can easily comprehend.
The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason for her change in personality. The secrets Hester keeps are because she is silent and hardly talks to anyone. “Various critics have interpreted her silence. as both empowering. and disempowering. Yet silence, in Hester’s case, offers a type of passive resistance to male probing”
Throughout all the sinful things Hester Prynne has done, she still managed to obtain good qualities. Hester was an adulterer from the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester was looked down upon by the citizens of Boston because of the sin she and another person committed, but no one knew who her partner in crime was because she refused to release his name. Towards the very end of the story Hester’s accomplice confessed and left Hester and Pearl feeling joyous, because now they didn’t have to keep in a secret. Hester is a trustworthy, helpful, and brave woman throughout The Scarlet Letter.