Hester Prynne: A True Hero

Everyone wants to be a hero, but what is a hero? A hero is good person who faces great trials and tribulations, either because of a choice they made, or just because life sucks. They are a true hero if they become a stronger, wiser person because of that experience. Numerous heroic traits exist, but the most important ones are courage, bravery, perseverance and determination. A person that faces their trials head on makes them even more of a hero. In the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne has committed one of the worst sins, adultery. Despite this she is a good person and displays heroic qualities. Hester did not run from her troubles, she faced them head on. She could have run from the town that condemned her and begun a new life in some other town where people did not know of her treachery, however she chose to deal with her struggles. This choice shows that she

has a strong personality and is indeed a hero.
One heroic trait Hester Prynne demonstrates all throughout the book is perseverance. She never gave up. She took care of her daughter, Pearl, all by herself while under the ridicule of the townsfolk. Hester continued to make the townspeople clothing and other items while they looked down on her. Hester Prynne is able to persevere through all of this and slowly regain the townspeople’s respect. Hester Prynne was able to do many things the townspeople forgot the initial meaning of the Scarlet Letter and began to see it as meaning able.
Other heroic traits Hester shows are courage and bravery. Hester shows a great deal of courage when she stands on the scaffold in front of all the townsfolk with the scarlet A on her chest. Even though she was forced to, it still took courage to be shamed like that. Her choice to stay in the town took a lot of courage as did her decision not to reveal the identity of her partner in adultery. Hester was under a lot of pressure to reveal the identity of her partner but she did not give in.
One of the most important heroic traits Hester showed was the ability to face her troubles head on rather than running away.

When someone makes a mistake there are two options, own it and move on with life, or push it to the back of your mind and let it haunt you for the rest of your life. Hester Prynne chose to own it and move on with life, which was the best choice. Many people would have chosen to force it to the back of their minds, which in turn would cause much more suffering than choosing to deal with their mistake. Hester is able to face her troubles head on and that makes her a real hero. It shows that she has realized her mistake and accepted it. Facing her trials head on makes Hester able to move on with her life instead of being stuck in the past.

There is no denying the fact that Hester Prynne is indeed a hero. She has shown all of the qualities that define a hero. She showed courage and bravery when she stood on the scaffold. She demonstrated perseverance in everything she did. She also demonstrated one of the most important traits of a hero, which is the ability to face one’s troubles head

on.