Hester's Guilt In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
At the start of the book, Hester is a young woman with a newborn baby. She has been alone in New England for the past two years because her husband, a wealthy scholar from England, sent her ahead to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while he took care of business at home. The arrival of a baby was sufficient evidence to convict her of adultery. It is difficult to know what kind of person Hester was before the book begins. However, the book opens with her sudden acknowledgment of shame as she stands before a crowd of citizens and realizes, for the first time, that she wears a scarlet A on her dress for all to see her guilt. For seven years, Hester is weighed down with the burden of guilt and humiliation over her sin and over the public nature of
…show more content…
her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!
At the start of the book, Hester is a young woman with a newborn baby.
She has been alone in New England for the past two years because her husband, a wealthy scholar from England, sent her ahead to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while he took care of business at home. The arrival of a baby was sufficient evidence to convict her of adultery. It is difficult to know what kind of person Hester was before the book begins. However, the book opens with her sudden acknowledgment of shame as she stands before a crowd of citizens and realizes, for the first time, that she wears a scarlet A on her dress for all to see her guilt. For seven years, Hester is weighed down with the burden of guilt and humiliation over her sin and over the public nature of her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from
evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!
At the start of the book, Hester is a young woman with a newborn baby. She has been alone in New England for the past two years because her husband, a wealthy scholar from England, sent her ahead to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while he took care of business at home. The arrival of a baby was sufficient evidence to convict her of adultery. It is difficult to know what kind of person Hester was before the book begins. However, the book opens with her sudden acknowledgment of shame as she stands before a crowd of citizens and realizes, for the first time, that she wears a scarlet A on her dress for all to see her guilt. For seven years, Hester is weighed down with the burden of guilt and humiliation over her sin and over the public nature of her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!
At the start of the book, Hester is a young woman with a newborn baby. She has been alone in New England for the past two years because her husband, a wealthy scholar from England, sent her ahead to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while he took care of business at home. The arrival of a baby was sufficient evidence to convict her of adultery. It is difficult to know what kind of person Hester was before the book begins. However, the book opens with her sudden acknowledgment of shame as she stands before a crowd of citizens and realizes, for the first time, that she wears a scarlet A on her dress for all to see her guilt. For seven years, Hester is weighed down with the burden of guilt and humiliation over her sin and over the public nature of her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!
her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!
At the start of the book, Hester is a young woman with a newborn baby.
She has been alone in New England for the past two years because her husband, a wealthy scholar from England, sent her ahead to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while he took care of business at home. The arrival of a baby was sufficient evidence to convict her of adultery. It is difficult to know what kind of person Hester was before the book begins. However, the book opens with her sudden acknowledgment of shame as she stands before a crowd of citizens and realizes, for the first time, that she wears a scarlet A on her dress for all to see her guilt. For seven years, Hester is weighed down with the burden of guilt and humiliation over her sin and over the public nature of her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from
evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!
At the start of the book, Hester is a young woman with a newborn baby. She has been alone in New England for the past two years because her husband, a wealthy scholar from England, sent her ahead to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while he took care of business at home. The arrival of a baby was sufficient evidence to convict her of adultery. It is difficult to know what kind of person Hester was before the book begins. However, the book opens with her sudden acknowledgment of shame as she stands before a crowd of citizens and realizes, for the first time, that she wears a scarlet A on her dress for all to see her guilt. For seven years, Hester is weighed down with the burden of guilt and humiliation over her sin and over the public nature of her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!
At the start of the book, Hester is a young woman with a newborn baby. She has been alone in New England for the past two years because her husband, a wealthy scholar from England, sent her ahead to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while he took care of business at home. The arrival of a baby was sufficient evidence to convict her of adultery. It is difficult to know what kind of person Hester was before the book begins. However, the book opens with her sudden acknowledgment of shame as she stands before a crowd of citizens and realizes, for the first time, that she wears a scarlet A on her dress for all to see her guilt. For seven years, Hester is weighed down with the burden of guilt and humiliation over her sin and over the public nature of her punishment. Yet, she makes the curious choice to stay in the community where everyone scorns her. Although the narrator never explains why she chooses to remain, he does suggest that people tend to stay near the places where they’ve experienced a significant event that has changed their lives. Hester chooses to give to the poor, despite her own poverty and despite the fact that the poor also look down on her as a sinful woman. This could be a part of her personal penance, but her generosity also suggests that she is a woman with naturally charitable instincts. She works so diligently and is so kind to others that people begin to reinterpret the scarlet letter. They note that Hester is very capable, and that there is clearly goodness in her – the kind of goodness that protects people from evil.
At the end of seven years, Hester comes to understand that her failure to identify Roger Chillingworth publicly as her husband has cost her lover, Dimmesdale, much anguish and guilt. She realizes that her sin has been tripled: not only did she commit adultery and sin against her husband, but her sin has twisted and corrupted her husband’s soul as he seeks revenge. What’s more, her failure to warn the Reverend Dimmesdale has led to his downfall. Hester’s conscience is weird, and she feels deeply the wrong she has done to others. However, it is also true, as the narrator points out, that in her isolation, Hester has been wandering in a moral wilderness. Thus, when Dimmesdale claims that he does not have the strength to evade Chillingworth’s evil plan, it is easy for her to suggest that they escape together. Altogether Hester has small and big changes throughout the Scarlett letter.
As I read this novel I noticed that is was very painful for Hester Prynne to live the life she did. Even after both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die, Hester is still able to escape her identity as a woman who has fallen. Instead of looking down on Hester as she town did I look up to her for her courage!