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 begins her life in a “happy infancy” (48.31) as a beautiful, beloved, though perhaps somewhat vapid child. Lost in memory during her stay on the scaffold, she recalls feeling drawn to stare at her own face in the mirror, “glowing with girlish beauty” (49.5), and admiring her reflection.
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She remembers her loving parents watching her with care and concern. Yet we can infer that undertones of misfortune and gloom lay beneath the surface, as Hester’s mother died during her youth, and the family’s once grand and aristocratic stone house fell into a state of dilapidation. Nonetheless, she still longs for this simpler time and looks on it with hints of nostalgia. Her behavior and reverie on the scaffold enable us to understand her attitude in childhood and also her state of mind during her public humiliation as an adult. When she finally steps out of the prison, she retreats into her mind in order to cope with the ordeal; she is ashamed and in pain, but she is still able to stand up tall and cling to the shredded remains of her dignity. At this moment, she has not yet left her ego behind, but the searing judgment of her community is certainly taking its toll on her self-pride. Unfortunately, her torment does not end here. By the time she has worn the scarlet letter for seven years and her daughter Pearl is a young child, Hester’s spirit and vitality are fading, worn down by years of suffering under the shame of the public’s judgment and the burden of her own regrets.
In Chapter 13, “Another View of Hester,” Hawthorne opens a window through which we glimpse Hester’s internal conflict. She has long been contemplating the “dark question” (144.25) of whether or not “existence [is] worth accepting” (144.26), and she has concluded that it is not. The image of our heroine here is troubling as it seems she has lost all semblance of hope in the possibility of triumph over the scorn and humiliation the public has inflicted on her. Her depression is so strong that she wonders if would be better “to send Pearl at once to Heaven” (145.14). Furthermore, she has not only lost hope for her own life and optimism for her daughter’s future, but she has also lost faith in society in general, especially regarding the place of women. She feels the whole system is beyond repair and that the only way to mend the cracks in the foundation is to have the entire structure “torn down and built anew” (144.32-33). Only after such a drastic reordering takes place can women take a more fair position in the world. This middle portion of Hester’s story represents a definitive low-point; her misery here certainly rivals and likely surpasses that which she felt while standing in front her peers on the scaffold in the beginning …show more content…
of the novel. Our final portrait of Hester comes from her later life, when the stain of the scarlet letter has largely faded in the minds of the members of her community.
In fact, now many women revere her as a wise counselor and go to her seeking advice. Hester tells them that she has come to believe that the world is still growing and developing, and someday it will be ready to accept a new more equal relationship between men and women. However, despite her renewed optimism and the people’s apparent forgiveness for her transgressions, Hester still sees herself as “a woman stained with sin, bowed down with shame, or even burdened with a life-long sorrow” (232-233.36-2). In her youth, she sometimes envisioned herself as one who could usher in the newer and more accepting age, but she now believes that she is too tainted to play such a role and that the task must instead be left to a woman who could be “a medium of joy” and exemplify “sacred love” (233.4-5). In this final description of Hester, we don’t see any trace of the vanity she exhibited when she was young. Her opinion of herself has become much more humble and self-deprecating, and it is clear that she has matured greatly since the opening of the
novel. Throughout her life, Hester struggles not only with the consequences of her adultery but also with the view of women as inferior in that period. Over time, her ego lessens, and she becomes more aware of her shortcomings. She gains maturity and perspective that help her deal with and comprehend her place as a woman in society, and she develops new theories about the progression of her community’s gender roles. Hester is a truly dynamic character whom Hawthorne uses to express the need for an ideological evolution in society.
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.
When being questioned on the identity of her child’s father, Hester unflinchingly refuses to give him up, shouting “I will not speak!…my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!” (47). Hester takes on the full brunt of adultery, allowing Dimmesdale to continue on with his life and frees him from the public ridicule the magistrates force upon her. She then stands on the scaffold for three hours, subject to the townspeople’s disdain and condescending remarks. However, Hester bears it all “with glazed eyed, and an air of weary indifference.” (48). Hester does not break down and cry, or wail, or beg for forgiveness, or confess who she sinned with; she stands defiantly strong in the face of the harsh Puritan law and answers to her crime. After, when Hester must put the pieces of her life back together, she continues to show her iron backbone and sheer determination by using her marvelous talent with needle work “to supply food for her thriving infant and herself.” (56). Some of her clients relish in making snide remarks and lewd commends towards Hester while she works, yet Hester never gives them the satisfaction of her reaction.
Hester showed extreme strength and courage when she takes the child away. A deep impression of her courage is felt when her face was described. The book said she had a "burning blush and ahaughty smile." This can alsoshow her as being rebelliousbecause most perople wouldn't raise their head, much less with a haughty smile. The glance she gave the crowd was what put it over the top. She was being bold and it was like she was saying, "Look you can't punish me anymore I've served my time." Though her crime was very wrong, admiration is felt due to her braveness. Then the people saw her A and how elaborately it was decorated.
Despite the public shame she has experienced and many years of wearing the intimation of her adulterous sin, Hester Prynne remains proud and displays her letter boldly. Anyone that did not possess quite her level of emotional stamina and pride would have surely decreased in character and may possibly even lose all hope in life, but Hester proves to be very different. Instead of reacting to the humiliation and remarks of the commons in a hostile manner, Hester instead ignores these things and focuses her mind more toward memories of years past, as she did while standing on the scaffold for the first time. Hawthorne thus uses her young, spriteful daughter, Pearl, to represent the emotions that Hester either cannot, or chooses not to, display openly to others. In chapter 6, Pearl is described as showing “a love of mischief and a disrespect for authority,” which frequently reminded Hester of her own sin of passion. Similarly, in Pearl’s games of make-believe, she never creates friends. She creates only enemies – Puritans whom she pretends to destroy. It is a rare occurrence that a child so young in age should think such thoughts of morbidity, thus strengthening the evidence of Hawthorne’s use of Pearl as a display of Hester’s thoughts – thoughts of retaliating against the Puritans for ...
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,
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.
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”
She continues to grow for the duration of the book. Starting out as a prideful and somewhat bitter young woman, she blossoms into a self-righteous, independent, and both humble and confident woman. She was once an shunned woman who had nothing, and no one, save a little devil child that seemed to only create trouble for her. However, Hester takes her punishment, and all of the seemingly awful attributes of her life and uses them as a fuel for her drive to improvement, and self-redemption. This redemption is not solely for her peers but for herself. She needs to reassure herself that she is, in fact, a strong woman, who is capable of preserving her image, and the character she wishes to
The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was an objective description of the life of Hester Prynne, an adultress. The novel does not go into specific details of the thoughts of the woman except to describe the mien of her character. Throughout the novel she faces humiliation by the other people of Boston, but never loses her sense of pride. Hester Prynne suffers enormousely from the shame of her public disgrace and from the isolation of her punishment; however, she retains her self-respect and survives her punishment with dignity, grace, and ever-growing strength of character.
This timeless work not only delves into the complexities of Hester's character but also offers insights into the societal dynamics of the time, prompting readers to critically examine their own beliefs about morality, judgment, and the human experience of sin. Furthermore, the author skillfully paints a picture of Hester's inner struggles through vivid imagery that reflects her tumultuous emotional state. The scarlet letter, described as a "fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread," serves as a constant reminder of her sin and contributes to her feelings of guilt and isolation. This rich imagery not only allows readers to better understand Hester's internal conflict, but also immerses them in the emotional complexities she grapples with. In addition to imagery, the author employs irony to shed light on the hypocrisy inherent in Puritan society, adding layers of depth to Hester's
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is virtually banished from the Puritan society because of her crime. She was guilty for adultery with the town’s minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. However, the reader is kept in the dark that Dimmesdale is the child’s father until latter part of the novel. Although Hawthorne’s novel accurately depicts the consequences that Hester and Dimmesdale suffer from their sin, the novel does not accomplish the task of reflecting upon the 17th century Puritan gender roles in Hester and Dimmesdale. For one, the mental and physical states of Hester and Dimmesdale are switched. Hester takes on the more courageous role throughout the novel whereas Dimmesdale takes on the more sensitive role. In addition, Hester is examined in accordance to the gender roles set for today’s American women. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is written in a manner that accurately depicts 17th century Puritan society, but does not accurately show gender roles.
In the beginning of the book, Hawthorne goes into depth to portray the beauty of Hester. Hawthorne mentions Hester as “young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance” (6). That fact that she is young means she will have to bear her disgrace. Hester is physically strong, not only is she physically strong but also mentally. Also giving vivid illustrating’s to her “dark and abundant hair, so glossy it threw it off the sunshine with a gleam” (6). Giving readers great knowledge of her figure. Then implanting sympathy into the reader’s minds with “ made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped” (7). It is as if Hawthorne described Hester t o illustrate his sympathy towards her. The things that the Puritans are doing to Hester are awful and shocking. Hawthorne’s purpose of this is to imply that Hester is going through an emotional and dreadful event. Eventually all these descriptions imply that Hawthorne dislikes the actions that Hester is enduring. The use of imagery implies that Hawthorne is not approving of the ways of
The Scarlet Letter, a classic American novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains a plot that follows the controversial life of Hester Prynne, the main protagonist of the story. Set in the mid 1600’s in Boston, Massachusetts, it represented the Puritan society and its ideals at that time. Its rich plot has enticed and enraptured readers for many years, while Historical elements have allowed readers to analyze and understand the content better. The Scarlet Letter is a piece of historical fiction that contains a real representation of the period in which it is set in and is mostly historically accurate, barring a few minor inaccuracies.
The first example of this implication occurs at the beginning of the novel, during and before the first scaffold scene. Hester's hair is let down, shining and "so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam." This hair compliments an elegant, beautiful woman standing tall and proud. During this time, Hester's emotions, at full integrity, mirroring her appearance. When Hester is being questioned upon the scaffold, her virtue shines through when she refuses to name the partner of her sin. In the next example, Hester's pride and stature both seem to dwindle in accordance to her appearance.
Hester is indeed a sinner, adultery is no light matter, even today. On the other hand, her sin has brought her not evil, but good. Her charity to the poor, her comfort to the broken-hearted, her unquestionable presence in times of trouble are all direct results of her quest for repe...