Essay On Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter

The heavy and somewhat unjustified law of puritan society is a heavy weight that is too nearly too much for any person to bare. Hester Prynne is one person to feel the full weight of the law, and not only is she damaged internally, but she also experiences a noticeable physical change, and Nathaniel Hawthorne does well to depict the overbearing weight of Puritan law through the dimming of Hester’s radiant beauty. The scarlet letter is a symbol of Hester’s sin, and is also a constant reminder, and it is also the very thing that defines her as a person in society. The effects of the letter are apparent from when Hester first stands on the scaffold, to when she gradually loses her gorgeous appearance over time, to when she removes the letter and her radiant beauty returns.

When Hester first steps out of the prison it is to be expected for her to be somewhat broken from the experience of being a prisoner, and yet she stands tall, with a “haughty demeanor” (53) as if to show her strength and perhaps to mock the very law that put her in the prison. Hester is put on the scaffold to exploit her shame, and when she is first arriving to the scaffold she places herself upon it without hesitation in a manner that almost seems shameless. Presented in all of its beauty, the scarlet letter symbolizes Hester’s artistry and imagination that thrives in her at this early point in the novel. Although Hester outwardly carries herself in a confident way, she is feeling the weight of the situation on the inside, she even goes to give a “bitter and disdainful” (55) smile to the crowd, and all the while feels the need to scream or completely go mad. Eventually Hester has to look down at the child in her arms and realize that the shame of the letter and th...

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...he punishment of her sin, she begins to go through some of the most extensive changes of her life. She is filled with many different feelings of torment and self worthiness, even at one point in time she considers suicide. But all these feelings are making her a stronger and more intelligent person. Hester learns from her sin, and she grows strong as a result of accepting her punishment. A little more than half way through the novel, Hester has changed into a woman capable to help others and being respected by them. Society has now forgiven her and some may even admire her. Although she wears the letter A long after she was able to take it off, she decides to take it to her grave. Hester might have worn that letter so long, to prove that she has nothing to hide. Hester has found the happiness that comes from being at peace with oneself, with society, and with God.