The Sin of Hester Prynne

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Recommended: Character of hester in the scarlet letter

Adultery is considered evil by Puritan belief (Korobkin 3). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s Scarlet “A” goes against the Puritan community and culture with her conceal of sin, which has negative as well as positive results. Hester was a passionate, persistent woman who wanted to turn her sin into a positive act (Stewart 56).
After Hester committed adultery, she was marked with the Scarlet “A”. The Scarlet “A” was embroidered onto Hester’s clothing. It was eventually put on every article of clothing Hester owned (Korobkin 1). The Scarlet “A” served several purposes. It was a symbol of sin, evidence of guilt, a reminder and it served as Hester’s identity (Magill Masterpieces 5). Hester was not the only person nor object to be marked with the scarlet letter. There are several occurrences of the scarlet “A” throughout the novel (Korobkin 1).
To the Puritans, when Hester was marked with the letter, it intentionally symbolized that she was a sinner. The letter “A” stood for Adultery or Adulterer. Hester was ordered to wear the embroidered scarlet letter for some amount of time in order for the people of the community to know that she committed a sin (Magill Masterpieces 5). However, Hester did not view the scarlet letter as a symbol of sin. For that reason, Hester continued to wear the scarlet letter long after she was able to remove it (Baum 2).
The puritan community wanted Hester to feel guilt. By marking Hester with the scarlet letter, they knew it would cause Hester to to be the center of attention. All eyes would be on her while hushed whispers and attempted hidden pointing swept through the town (Magill Masterpieces 5). Although considered to be unjust humiliation, the community assumed it would cau...

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...tionists. Their whole community revolved around perfectionism. Adultery and any other sin ruined the perfectionist beliefs for the whole community (Hunt 1).
Hester was not like the other puritans in the community she resided in. Hester did not herself a Puritan because she was simply not religious. She had no respect for their religion or moral code. Her lack of respect in the reason she disobeyed the community (Stewart 57). Her reasoning behind committing adultery was her passion and weakness (Draper 1603). Hester thought power and intellect were more important than believing and worshiping a higher being (Stewart 57). Because Hester’s Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, moved away and abandoned her, Hester’s womanly weakness of feeling love and passion immensely grew. This drive for love and passion is what pushed Hester to committing adultery (Draper 1603).

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