The Community's View In The Scarlet Letter
The Community’s view on Hester
People criticize and critique others, yet change their mind frequently when the situation is no longer what they believe. For instance, in the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne committed a sin of adultery, causing the public to be outraged. At first glance, the people of the community believed Hester deserved the cruelest punishment, even saying, “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. . . she, -the naughty baggage,” (Hawthorne 36). The community was very unforgiving and merciless towards Hester, threatening she needed a more detrimental punishment. In order to punish Hester, the town made her stand on the scaffold and deal with humiliation. The judge decided, “Mistress Prynne …show more content…
The people started to believe she had fulfilled her punishment and started to forgive her. Citizens would talk amongst themselves about Hester’s good influence on the community. The individuals “‘had quite forgiven Hester. . . they begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of sin. . . but of her -many good deeds since. . . they would say to strangers ‘It is our Hester, -the town’s own Hester, -who is so kind to help the poor” (Hawthorne 111). No longer was Hester a disgrace to the community, instead, she became a role model. When talking to her ex-husband, he tells Hester, “Why, Mistress, I hear good tidings of you on all hands! No longer than yester-eve, a magistrate, a wise and godly man, was discoursing of your affairs. . . yonder scarlet letter might be taken off your bosom” (Hawthorne 116). The community, including the magistrate, believed Hester could take off the scarlet letter. They deemed Hester forgiven, however, seven years earlier they had wanted her to suffer. Initially, people looked down upon Hester, yet as time passed they started to look up to her as a role
People criticize and critique others, yet change their mind frequently when the situation is no longer what they believe. For instance, in the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne committed a sin of adultery, causing the public to be outraged. At first glance, the people of the community believed Hester deserved the cruelest punishment, even saying, “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. . . she, -the naughty baggage,” (Hawthorne 36). The community was very unforgiving and merciless towards Hester, threatening she needed a more detrimental punishment. In order to punish Hester, the town made her stand on the scaffold and deal with humiliation. The judge decided, “Mistress Prynne …show more content…
The people started to believe she had fulfilled her punishment and started to forgive her. Citizens would talk amongst themselves about Hester’s good influence on the community. The individuals “‘had quite forgiven Hester. . . they begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of sin. . . but of her -many good deeds since. . . they would say to strangers ‘It is our Hester, -the town’s own Hester, -who is so kind to help the poor” (Hawthorne 111). No longer was Hester a disgrace to the community, instead, she became a role model. When talking to her ex-husband, he tells Hester, “Why, Mistress, I hear good tidings of you on all hands! No longer than yester-eve, a magistrate, a wise and godly man, was discoursing of your affairs. . . yonder scarlet letter might be taken off your bosom” (Hawthorne 116). The community, including the magistrate, believed Hester could take off the scarlet letter. They deemed Hester forgiven, however, seven years earlier they had wanted her to suffer. Initially, people looked down upon Hester, yet as time passed they started to look up to her as a role