In On the Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence comments on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s controversial character, Hester Prynne. What makes Lawrence unique from other critics is that he criticizes Hester and Dimmesdale's’ sinful act, and he asserts negative opinions about the way Hester Prynne is conventionally perceived because of it. D.H. Lawrence presents a well written analysis that effectively castigates Hester Prynne’s characterization in the novel through biblical and literary allusions, harsh syntax, and a satirical tone.…
The Scarlet Letter is set in 17th century Massachusetts. It follows Hester Prynne and the consequences her “sin” has on her, her child, and the community as a whole. Most believe Hester is going to hell and that she gave birth to the devil because of having sex out of marriage. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth wants revenge on her and her unannounced partner in crime. Pearls involvement in Hawthorne's novel in crucial by bringing Hester's sin to life; therefore, creating challenges for her within the Puritan community.…
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne one of the main characters in Hester Prynne. She is a convicted adulterer, and the story follows her starting in 1642 in a Puritan town. She and her illegitimate daughter, Pearl, along with her lover, Dimmesdale, and husband, Chillingworth, are the main focus of this dramatic tale. Through her actions and words, Pearl is a “device” to move the consciences of her parents to end their sinful situation. Pearl’s physical obsession with the scarlet A torments her mother, at one point making her physically put it back on, all while forcing her to confront her sins. Pearl also pressures Dimmesdale into acknowledging her as his daughter, and admitting his sins. Pearl is an important aspect of this tragic…
Feminism is the support for equal rights for both men and women, in the areas that include but are not limited to politics, economics, and social norms. In a more general sense, a feminist seeks a justified, balanced amount of opportunity for both sexes. The topic of feminism has been prevalent in more recent years, but not a few centuries ago. The romance novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, highlights a female protagonist named Hester Prynne who lived in the 17th century. She is portrayed as a strong feminist character throughout the novel by showing resilience, despite the lack of social equality during the Puritan times the novel takes place in. This novel displays acts of feminism as Hester Prynne lives her life with the stigma of adultery with the scarlet letter.…
At a glance, “The Scarlet Letter,” is the story of a young woman, Hester Prynne, which is sent ahead of her husband to America,…
In chapter two of The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne describes Hester Prynne as she stands on a pedestal in front of her community and gets publicly condemned for her adultery. Hawthorne shows the irony in the situation through the symbol of Pearl being just as sinful as the letter A embroidered on Hester’s clothing. He also irony irony in describing the A and how it is so similar to how Hester herself is portrayed. Lastly, Hawthorne describes Hester’s physical beauty and the irony of how the town doesn’t see her as someone who wasn’t a Puritan would be.…
In The Scarlet Letter, the many townsfolk make assumptions about Hester Prynne. They assume that Hester Prynne is not fit to raise her daughter, Pearl, the right way. They make these assumptions against Hester because she wears a scarlet letter upon her bosom, which stands for adulterer. For example, in chapter eight Governor Bellingham brings up the people’s concerns about Hester raising a child. He says, “The point hath been much question concerning thee, of late. The point hath been weightily discussed, whether we, that are of authority and influence, do well discharge our consciences by trusting an immortal soul, such as there is in yonder child, to the guidance of one who hath stumbled and fallen, amid the pitfalls of this world” (Hawthorne, 99). This topic relates to me because people have made many…
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's acclaimed novel, The Scarlet Letter, numerous life-altering experiences affect the character of Hester Prynne over the course of time. Hawthorne intensely focuses on Hester's character development within his novel. In the story, the main character, Hester Prynne, shifts dramatically from a prideful woman to extremely isolated, secluded, and independent as an outcome of her shameful wrongdoing.…
“Yet one tombstone served for both.” This line in the novel acts as closure to Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale as well as the readers. Throughout the entirety of the novel Hester and Pearl live together alone, away from the rest of the town, including Arthur Dimmesdale. They live alone due to actions of Hester that result in the birth of Pearl. An adulterous woman, Hester Prynne, must now walk around town and face all of the townspeople with a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her bosom. She faces daily taunting and humiliation, along with her daughter Pearl. If this line were not present readers would not be able to get a glimpse of the struggles Hester and Arthur experience throughout the entirety of the novel. Hester and Arthur struggle to keep…
The Scarlet letter is a fiction and takes place in the 1850s, and written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The letter starts out with Hester Prynne trying to fit in society, which in this case was not working out at all for Hester. The book has many different themes too it throughout the story line like being an adulterer, sinning, and feeling guilty. Hester was being punished by everyone in society because of the child she has. The town people in the book just did not understand why this happened and they did not approve of it or no how to handle it, this is why Hester was treated so poorly.…
In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne's experiences and ability to persevere as well as the portrayal of the men in the story to convey feminist ideas and the strength of women throughout the book. The definition of feminism being that women and men are equal and therefore should be treated and looked upon with equality. In the scarlet letter Hawthorn shows how women can be strong and independent despite the fixated ideas that society is accustomed to. These ideas being that women are inferior to men. During this time, women did not have jobs and stayed home to take care of the children and were looked upon as unable to sustain themselves without the need of a man. As Hester Prynne overcomes these obstacles of old society,…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that was written over a series of months and published in March 1850. The book is based on the Puritan movement in the early 1600’s as immigration to the new found land of America was becoming popular. The protagonist of this work is Hester Prynn. Prynn was sent to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from England with her three month old child. She is a strong woman for going to the new area with her own baby, which at the time women were meant to only take care of the home, not support a family. The antagonist of the novel is Roger Chillingworth. Mr. Chillingworth is a very persistent character who had a burning passion to bring turmoil to Hester Prynn. Chillingworth had convinced Hester…
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne reveals that although society attempts to confine people, those with inner strength are able to break free of their restrictive labels. Even though the public shunned Hester and forced her into solitude, she still, at the end of her “term of confinement”, found a way to overcome society’s stereotypes. Hester’s inner strength allowed her to rise above the negative connotations of the scarlet letter, and now viewed the symbol as a representation of “sacredness, which enabled her to walk securely amid all peril” (112). She, through her determination and toughness, turned the scarlet letter from a marking of shame into a symbol of charity and ability by also dedicating herself to being kind to her community. Hester’s generosity towards the people that shunned her despite their negative opinions regarding her “sinful” actions is representative of her ability to defy the stereotype that society has given her. Hester is now known to society as a woman “who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted” (112). She assumed a “freedom of speculation”, allowing her to view the once burning symbol on her chest as a symbol of which she could be proud. Hester’s mental toughness and boldness was compared to that of “men of the sword overthrowing nobles and kings” (114), as she was fiercely determined to reconstruct the image denoted by the scarlet letter. By overcoming the restrictions society tries to place on her, such as solitary confinement and banishment, she allows herself to emerge an admirable public figure. Society now ceases to uphold a negative representation of Hester. Furthermore, Hester‘s mental strength allowed her to maintain the idea that “the world’s law was no law for her mind [114].” In other words, she believes that the stereotypes and labels that society puts on people are never…
The Scarlet Letter is about a woman, Hester Prynne, who commits adultery. She is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest while the identity of her partner is kept a secret. Her husband, who has been gone, arrives and asks that his identity be kept a secret so he doesn’t have to deal with the consequences of Hester’s sin. He swears that he will find out who her partner is. Meanwhile her partner, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, is feeling the consequences of his actions. His guilt is eating at him and ruining his health.…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place in a small Puritan town in Boston, Massachusetts during the seventeenth century. Hester Prynne, the main character, commits adultery, which is frowned upon by Puritan religion, with the town’s minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. As public punishment she embroiders a red scarlet A with gold thread to wear on her bosom of all her dresses. Pearl, Hester’s daughter, is living proof of Hester’s sin; she continually mocks her mother’s scarlet letter. As The Scarlet Letter progresses over time, the author reveals how the significance of the scarlet letter “A” alters.…
