How Is Hester Prynne A Transcendentalist

Anne Hutchinson, a Puritan settler, got kicked out of the Puritan Settlement because of her action. Similarly, Hester Prynne was forced into prison, away from the town people, which ensued her sinful action. In the 1850’s, Nathaniel Hawthorne published the Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter is set in a Puritanical Society that tells the story of how one simple act of passion can upset the very basic thread of society. Hester Prynne personally transcends the judgments through her discoveries in nature, while she lives a simplistic life and becomes more self-reliant.
Although Hester seems to be more a transcendentalist than not, she does possess qualities that are anti-transcendentalist. For example, she believes that not all people are innately
good. Chillingworth and Dimmesdale are perfect examples of this. Although this is a quality of anti-transcendentalism, the other major qualities of transcendentalism that Hester processes take precedence over the one anti-transcendental quality. Once Hester faced her public ignominy, she was released from prison.
She was then given the choice to either leave Boston or stay. Hester choose to stay in town with an arrangement the Governor made for her. The Governor arranged for her to stay in a small abandon cottage on the outskirts of town where they would not be troubled by society. This became Hester and Pearl’s new home while they lived in Boston. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in Nature that “in the woods, we return to reason and faith” (Hodgins 186). This perfectly defines what Hester did once she was released from prison. She and little Pearl moved into the woods away from the town people and society, allowing them to partially remove themselves from the unpleasant criticism of the town people. Emerson’s quote from Nature reinforces what Hawthorne states in the Scarlet Letter about Hester. Furthermore, Hester took frequent walks in the wood. During this walks, she would watch her little Pearl play and contemplate if Pearl really was the sinful product of her actions. Through Hester’s seclusion in nature, she became aware of actions that were going on around her. This shows Hester’s connection with nature, which is a characteristic of her being a
transcendentalist. Another great example that supports Hester being a transcendentalist is her self- reliance.
At the conclusion of her imprisonment, she became self reliant, providing for the both Pearl and herself. Even though she was out casted from society, she continued with her job as the town’s seamstress. In 1888, Emerson published an essay called Self Reliance. In Self Reliance, Emerson said that people must “accept the place the divine providence has found for [them], the society of contemporaries, the connection of events” (Hodgins 190). In essence, Emerson is saying the people need to be accepting of their life’s path. That is what Hester learned to do. She knew that she would live alone with Pearl and have to care for the both of them. Even though it got hard at times, Hester never lost her spirit or determination. She “never sacrificed her moral integrity for the sake of her own benefit” (Analysis). Towards the middle of the novel, she accepted that the scarlet letter was apart of her, but discovered that it no longer defined who she was. Hawthorne says “…that many people refuse to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it mean Able” (Hawthorne 146). What the people said about Hester is a perfect explanation of her self-reliance. The A no longer meant its original meaning to the town people. They were starting to accept Hester for her qualities, not for what was upon her
bosom. Ultimately, all of Hester’s experiences led her to live a simplistic life. In Walden, Henry David Thoreau’s book, he said, “…I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life…” (Hodgins 203). By this, Thoreau is saying that it was unnecessary to have an immense amount of material goods, live with only the necessities. “Hester sought not to acquire anything beyond a subsistence of the plainest and most ascetic description for herself” (Hawthorne 77). Hawthorne and Thoreau both say similar things that you do not need to have material goods to be happy. Hester resembles this because her dresses were a very coarse material and a dull pigment. She did not need to have the best and most expensive items; she used what was readily available. By her simplistic appearance, she was able to provide better clothes for Pearl because she was not consumed worrying about what she needed. Simplicity, among many other important qualities, is what defines her as a transcendentalist. Given the points stated above, Hester Prynne’s life choices and morals represent those of a transcendentalist. Through her discovering of self-reliance, she was able to live a non-materialistic life, which led her to unite with nature. Hester lived a life full of tough decisions but she never gave into to the temptations. These three examples of Hester being connected with nature, being simplistic, and self-reliant prove that she is a transcendentalist.