The Theme Of Hester Prynne

The Scarlet Letter is a classic novel that entails many different themes of accepting sin, finding identity, cruel revenge, compassion, and forgiveness. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, a women in a Puritan town, whose sins and outcomes of her sins contributed to the themes behind this book. Hester 's actions molded her into the strong character she is because of the terrible crime she committed, which would change her life forever. Hester Prynne was known for her beauty. She had long, silky brown hair that glossed in the sun and her face was stunning."Her beauty shone out, and made a aloof the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped. She is described as a "figure of perfect elegance on a large scale, and a rich complexion

Hester Prynne has committed adultery. In the Puritan society, she has deliberately gone against the church values and beliefs that say to stay pure and holy. She has committed one of the most sinful acts of lust by having an illegitimate child and exposing an affair while her husband hasn 't returned. So everyone can only assume that she committed adultery, and so she must wear a scarlet letter "A" on her breast as a symbol of shame and sin for the rest of her life. "In The Scarlet Letter, the author attempts to show the way the society casts out individuals simply because their ideas and deeds differ from the common values. Hester Prynne symbolizes those who challenge social conformities" ( Yasmin 144). Everyone in town judges her and many women believes he should of had a worse punishment. They see Hester for only the crime she committed, not for the woman she actually is. One women even says,“At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne 's forehead" (Hawthorne 86). The entire town is not able to even think about forgiving Hester, meanwhile, Hester can 't even come to terms to forgive herself. She is isolated in the town and ridiculed

Meanwhile, Dimmesdale passes away after he confessed to the affair with Hester and Chillingworth died because he was eaten alive by his own revenge and hatred, Hester lives on. She was able to deal with a town that hated her, and then a town that accepted her for her good works. "The society was able to look past their hatred for her and saw that in fact they needed her. And finally she was able to stay, where she wanted to be. Over the time the fact that Hester didn 't crumble and in fact stood taller despite her exclusion from the Puritan society opened their eyes to see that good can survive even in the heart of a sinner. Thus her adulteries turn into her ability to survive" (Yasmin 145). She becomes somewhat of a legend in that Boston town. Without the scarlet letter she would have never become the strong minded, self reliant, courageous woman Hester Prynne became. In the end, Hester was no longer viewed as a symbol of sin, but as a symbol of hope and strength in which her story would live on