Hester Reflection

Hester Prynne Article Reflection After reading this article, I find myself agreeing with most of what the author has to say about Hester Prynne, one of the protagonists in The Scarlet Letter. I enjoy the fact that the writer believes Hester is a cultural symbol who changed the way society has viewed women for a long time. I personally do not like the idea that women are always inferior to men; This probably is due to me being a female myself. Just like the writer, I find Hester’s open defiance of the impossible Puritan standards inspiring because she has helped to break down the concept of a purely patriarchal society. Hester truly is the embodiment of contradictions. The writer evidently shows his support for Hester through the detailed examples of contradictions Hester possesses. However, I do have some criticisms about this article. I feel as if the writer exaggerated Hester’s importance at certain times. As John Updike talks about Hester Prynne, he feels awe at the power and importance of Hester’s hair. I do not necessarily agree with the hair’s symbolism because I feel that it is the overall consequences of Hester’s actions that make her a heroine for women everywhere. I do not find anything compelling about her hair or any actions relating to her hair. That “magical” moment when she undoes her hair does not contribute any significant importance to her symbolic figure for me. Nonetheless, the article’s writer clearly portrayed his view on Hester’s character that I think females like me mostly agree with. Although I think that the issue of feminism isn’t quite important now, I agree that it was a very prevalent one during the time that Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. Just like the writer states, Hester is and will be a “cultural meme” that will always stay an influential figure for women