Analysis Of The Novel 'Hester At Her Needle' By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Based off of his own personal animosity towards the the strict, unfeeling Puritan community he once resided in, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about the the bleak truth of human nature in his novel The Scarlet Letter. In the chapters “Hester at Her Needle” and “The Interior of a Heart”, he depicts Hester and Dimmesdale as victims of guilt through the internal and external struggles they face as a result of their committed sin. Though, in the chapter “The Child at the Brookside”, he brings their illegitimate child, Pearl, who brings them together and teaches them the meaning behind compassion and mercy. Hawthorne introduces the characters Hester and Dimmesdale to exemplify the cruel nature of Puritan society; however, he creates the feelings of

Several years after the public declaration of her sin, Hester remains alienated from the Puritan community, while Dimmesdale suffers the consequences of his silence. In “Hester at Her Needle”, Hawthorne describes Hester’s life after her release from prison. Once she leaves the confinements of the prison cell, she feels “sick and morbid… as [her release from prison] meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast”. The dark, somber prison, a symbol of secrecy, allows Hester to lie hidden away from the people and their outward condemnation towards her; now that she has “come forth into the sunshine”, she can no longer deny her wrongdoings. As she returns to her homeland, the scarlet letter “A” haunts her further, becoming “the roots” of her reputation and “the chain that [binds] her” to her own identity. Specifically, the scarlet letter “A” Hester wears upon her breast acts as a symbol to identify her as the one who committed the sin of adultery to the townspeople, as well as constantly reminds her of what she has done. Because the scarlet letter instills such “strange, contagious fear” in the people, Hester remains in isolation. Meanwhile, in “The Interior