The Scarlet Letter
If Hester Prynne were not a woman, do you think she would have received the same punishment? The following story is told from a two-hundred-year-old story, taken from a hundred-year-old manuscript. Additionally, the story took place in the seventeenth century, in the new colony known as Boston, Massachusetts. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story of humanity’s unending struggle with sin, guilt, and pride. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth.
Hester Prynne is known in this story as “The Adulteress”. As she came out of the prison door in the first chapter Hawthorne tell us “Those who had before known
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her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out.” (50). She was ashamed of the letter A, yet she did not show the townspeople, but simply gave a haughty smile. While going on a walk in the forest in chapter 16, Pearl and Hester have a conversation. “Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom.... It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!” (Hawthorne 168). This is a meditation on the significance of the scarlet letter as a symbol and an exposition of the connection between sin and humanness. It’s illustrative of the role Pearl plays in the text. Moreover, Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable, but not necessarily extraordinary woman, although it is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure. Roger Chillingworth is the antagonist in this book. As his name suggests, Chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth. His twisted, stooped, deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul. Chillingworth is speaking to Hester in the prison, "Men call me wise. If sages were ever wise in their own behoove, I might have foreseen all this" (Hawthorne 71). As Chillingworth came up to the market place, before she had seen him, the narrator states, “A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them, and making one little pause, with all its wreathed intervolutions in open sight.” (Hawthorne 57). His face darkened with some powerful emotion, which he is so instantaneously controlled by an effort of his will, although his expression might have passed for calmness. Ultimately, Chillingworth represents true evil, he is interested in revenge, not justice, and he seeks the deliberate destruction of others rather than a redress of wrongs. Arthur Dimmesdale, like Hester Prynne, is an individual whose identity owes more to external circumstances than to his innate nature.
“The sun, but little past its meridian, shone down upon he clergyman, and gave a distinctness to his figure, as he put his plea of the guilty at the bar of eternal justice”. (Hawthorne 201). As he was standing upon the scaffold the sunlight came upon Dimmesdale. In chapter 23 the minister and Chillingworth were having a conversation, Chillingworth claimed that Dimmesdale has escaped him, and the minister had said, “May God forgive thee. . . thou, too, hast deeply sinned”. Dimmesdale knew Chillingworth was trying to get revenge on him. He has spoken the truth about Chillingworth.
Many believe his confession was a symbolic act, while others believe Dimmesdale’s fate was an example of divine judgment.
Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story of humanity’s unending struggle with sin, guilt, and pride. If Hester Prynne were not a woman, do you think she would have received the same
punishment?
Before Dimmesdale’s untimely death in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale committed the sins of adultery and lying. In order to keep his sins a secret, Dimmesdale spoke nothing of his involvement in the affair until it tore him apart from the inside out.When Dimmesdale tried to confess his sin to his congregation, they saw the confession as if it were part of his sermon. “He had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood”. (Hawthorne 171) Instead of correcting their assumption, Dimmesdale went along with it, once more hiding his sinfulness. When Dimmesdale finally confessed his sin openly...
Instead of humbling himself in front of everyone in the beginning, he chooses his pride and his position of power over God’s merciful grace. In conclusion, with these arguments, it is indisputable that Dimmesdale experiences more guilt than any other character. He attempts every possible way to circumvent the inevitable.
In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth are portrayed as light and dark characters. Hawthorne portrays light and dark in these characters very well. It must have been a hardship trying to figure out how to write about such complex characters, and their journey from light to dark throughout the novel. This just goes to
Nathaniel Hawthorne paints Hester Prynne as a person, a person that made mistakes, but who worked tirelessly to atone for them. Hawthorne’s use of of positive diction and profound imagery also set Hester’s tone as a woman scorned, but
Hester Prynne is seen by many as worthy of respect and admiration throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. She is ultimately seen as a hero in many areas of the novel. Literary critic Mark Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne is a heroic citizen who rises above the consequences of her sin. Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne should be seen as a noble hero through his use of repetition, praiseworthy diction, and admirable tone.
Hester Prynne, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, the Scarlet Letter, faces a crucible. She commits adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale and becomes pregnant with a daughter, Pearl. She is isolated from the community and the general public except for when she must stand upon the scaffold for three hours as part of her punishment for her sin. She must also wear a scarlet letter “A” for adultery on her breast. The town looks at her differently because of her sin but Hester stays true to her personality. Hester fairs her life by honoring her punishment and her mistakes, as well as taking care of Pearl and teaching her to be kind.
...espite of what they thought. Dimmesdale confession would prove him to be a man of humbleness and honesty, a man who ratifies his errors of the past and completes his duty as a minister, father, husband, and son of God. Moreover, Dimmesdale has the ability to set himself free from Chillingworth’s bondage instead of bearing more of Chillingworth’s psychological torture. The temptations the minister faced would give him the strength to overcome his fears and to become a devoted man.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's bold novel, The Scarlet Letter, effectively employs three major symbols: light, dark, and the scarlet letter. The novel relies heavily on light and dark symbolism to represent the eternal struggle of good versus evil.
Hester’s role in the story is described as sleeping with a priest and got accused of committing adultery and got punished by having to wear a scarlet letter “A” on the breast of her gown (Hawthorne 71). Hester Prynne’s punishment is to go to prison and then with her child, Pearl, go and stand out on the platform in front of everybody wearing her scarlet letter on the breast of her gown (Howells). Hester...
...Now go thy ways, and deal as thou wilt with yonder man” (Hawthorne, 192). Chillingworth’s plan for revenge is based on Dimmesdale not confessing to his crime.
At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...
This powerful line from Chillingworth holds three meanings. First, Dimmesdale can save himself only through confession in public. Secondly, it shows the true sin and suffering in Chillingworth himself. In this regard, the line is just as important in reiterating the sickness in Chillingworth as it is in showing the torment in Dimmesdale. Finally, this statement creates a parallel between Chillingworth's idea of justice and the Puritans'.
Throughout all the sinful things Hester Prynne has done, she still managed to obtain good qualities. Hester was an adulterer from the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester was looked down upon by the citizens of Boston because of the sin she and another person committed, but no one knew who her partner in crime was because she refused to release his name. Towards the very end of the story Hester’s accomplice confessed and left Hester and Pearl feeling joyous, because now they didn’t have to keep in a secret. Hester is a trustworthy, helpful, and brave woman throughout The Scarlet Letter.
The portrayal of Hester Prynne in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has led to many different opinionated views. Many debate whether or not Hester Prynne should be portrayed in an angelic or sinful light. The author and critic, D.H. Lawrence, focuses on Hester’s sin itself, and focuses on having the reader view an alternate perspective of Hester, seeing her not as the victim, but as the criminal, as she should be viewed based on traditional Puritan values. Lawrence achieves the perspective that Hester should be viewed in a sinful light through his rhythmic and fluid syntax, negative and hateful diction, as well as his sarcastic and critical tone.
Throughout the course of history, the concept of women being subordinate to men has always existed. However, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a woman named Hester Prynne tries to break prejudicial notions against women in a patriarchal society. In the story, Hester commits the crime of adultery and is sentenced by the government to wear a scarlet letter as it symbolizes ignominy. Since she lives in Puritan New England, the people do not value women a lot, her actions becomes a sight of public scrutiny. Yet, with her strength as a woman, she is able to not only survive the situation, but also reverse as she later becomes an important member of their community. In a feminist perspective of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter,