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

qualities that made a lasting impact on the entire Puritan town and forever gave the scarlet letter a legend.
Hester shows independence after being alienated from Puritan society.

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

father. Alienation from society gave Hester the skill of independence that allowed her to be
Hester’s alienation helped develop her unique character. She is compassionate, selfless, and loyal. Her compassion is shown through her love for Pearl and through Dimmesdale. She loves Pearl so much that when threatened to have Pearl taken away, she says,“Ye shall not take her! I will die first!” Hester cares more about Pearl than her own life. After all, Pearl is her child and she was the only product of the sin. She is selfless because she is willing to take the punishment of shame and not reveal Dimmesdale as the true father. When asked to reveal who the father of Pearl was in exchange for the removal of the letter, Hester replied, “Never,"... "It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony as well as mine!" Here, Reverend Wilson makes a deal with Hester saying that in exchange for the father’s name she can take off the letter. However, Hester rejects it because she loves and wants to protect Dimmesdale. She also acknowledges that if the letter was taken away, she would still feel it in her heart and in Pearl. Finally, she is loyal. A quote to show this is when Hester and Pearl are with Dimmesdale on the scaffold. When Dimmesdale sees Roger Chillingworth watching them, he asks Hester, "Who is that man, Hester?" However, “She remembered her oath, and was silent.” This shows Hester’s loyalty to Roger and how even though she loved Dimmesdale, she still wouldn’t break her oath and say who he was. This also happens when Hester was interrogated by the Governor and Reverend Wilson. She was loyal to Dimmesdale and refused to reveal who the father was, even though she could have lived a better life.
Finally, Hester Prynne .

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

well.
Hester Prynne’s life in social alienation molded her characteristics to give her independence, character, and strength. She was able to live in solitude, almost never requiring the assistance of anyone. She was also extremely loyal to those she was close to, and attained enough strength to aid Dimmesdale in making the final push during his election speech. All of these factors all stemmed from one point in her life, the moment she sinned.