Scarlet Letter Alienation Quotes

Scarlet Letter Essay Being socially alienated is viewed as a negative way to live life, yet in Puritan establishments during the 1600s it was viewed as a way to punish those who sinned. The punishment for the crime of adultery caused Hester Prynne, the main protagonist in the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, to live a life of social alienation. Although people fear being alone, the Puritans were ready to inflict this punishment on those who broke their laws. Such is the life of Hester Prynne, a young woman living in solitude in a Puritan society. Life in such loneliness gave her independence, character, and strength. Through this situation, Hawthorne shows the good that can come from societal alienation. Hester gained

Not only does she have to live in a small cottage on the outskirts of the town, but she must also solely take care of Pearl. In order “to supply food for her thriving infant and herself. It was the art … of needle-work.” This shows how Hester was fully capable of supporting herself. Having managed to keep Pearl and herself alive, she becomes more independent of others. Hester shows independence in thought. She compares to the townspeople by having a sense of pride of having the scarlet letter, a feeling that gave them fear. They react to her showing off of the letter by saying, “little will she care what they put upon the bodice of her gown! … and so walk the streets as brave as ever!" Here, Hester is spoken about as a rebel who deserves to die for breaking their law. The townspeople were scared about her lack of publicly shown shame of her punishment. This was also the reason why there became the legend of the scarlet letter, as Hester was unique in not showing public shame in wearing the scarlet letter. “Lonely as was Hester's situation, and without a friend on earth who dared to show himself, she [...] incurred no risk of want.” Here, Hester is described as lonely, yet she has developed no need of them. She has become so independent that she no longers seeks friendship. This is important because it makes her have to learn to do things on her own and be able to not seek help to risk discovery of the

She was able to stand on the scaffold in the sight of everyone and not cower in fear or humiliation. Along with this, Hester refuses to tell the name of the father, even if her punishment could have been reduced. Dimmesdale remarks on her strength as “Wondrous strength and generosity of a woman's heart! She will not speak!” Her strength is also shown when the townspeople begin realizing that Hester has changed personality and has become a stronger person. They say that “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification ... it meant Able, so strong was Hester Prynne,” The scarlet letter had changed from being a show of weakness and shame to a symbol of strength that Hester embodied. Her final show of strength was in protecting Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale was very weak and required the aid of Hester to help him regain his strength. He said "Be thou strong for me!” meaning that he needed Hester to be strong to help him regain his [strength]. “Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers … and they had made her strong.” The source of Hester’s strength came from her life in alienation and her lack of social interactions. This had molded and strengthened Hester enough to become a role model for Dimmesdale. Hester’s strength was important, not only for Dimmesdale but for Pearl as