1) “But the point which drew all eyes, and, as it were, transfigured the wearer, - so that both men and women, who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time, - was that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom” (51).…
Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter describes life through the eyes of 4 main characters, including a woman who was caught of committing adultery. Hester Prynn was the emotional martyr and symbol of the Scarlet Letter. Throughout the course of the story she undergoes change in her mentality state, the way her eyes perceive the World, and perhaps even the way she smiles. Her strength becomes the Scarlet Letter and her innocent Pear. She encounters much conflict (internal and external), throughout the story. Hester, once a prisoner of her sin, spent a long life held by its chains. This all transpired until forgiveness stepped in.…
2. Hester was a super seamstress. Besides sewing for the poor, Hester's creations were all the rage with people who had money. Although shamed, people including the Govorner could not get enough of her stuff. Hester gave most of this money to the poor.…
Hester Prynne wears a scarlet letter A on her chest as a symbol to represent that she has committed adultery. In the beginning, the letter is a means of reminding the town of Prynne’s sin, and therefore, negatively affects how society views her. Adorning the letter A is something that Prynne, originally, is meant to be ashamed of. The beautifully embroidered A’s intent is to humiliate her and enable her sin to haunt her for the rest of her life, “‘Ah, but,’ interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, ‘let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart’” (63). However, after years pass and Prynne continues to wear her letter, it starts represent new meanings other than adulterer.…
The Puritan Era was the most religious time in American history; committing any sin was seen as an act of rebellion. In that time the sin of adultery was taken very literally to an extent where the women were forced to wear the letter “A” across their bosom to show the people of the town what they had committed. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s sin results in such a punishment, but as the reader gets deeper into the book, a prominent and more profound understanding of Hester can be reached. It is through her struggles that Hawthorne gets across his primary themes. Hawthorne illustrates his theme through Hester's struggles that becoming an outcast can help one achieve a profound grasp of who they truly…
When The Scarlet Letter was written the Author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, discovered many ideas and facts about the Puritan community. Knowing this Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about how women in the 17th century lived and how strict the society's rules can be, one major rule that was followed strictly phonate was “Actions spoke louder than words, so actions had to be constantly controlled.” (nd.edu). When the book begins it starts with introducing Hester and how she has done this huge violation according to the bible, maybe even causing the death penalty upon herself. As The Scarlet Letter goes through the timeline of how she is isolated and is shunned from the society; eventually, Hester slowly becomes part of the society by being the pure character she really was. This lets her take off the scarlet “A” and change the meaning of Adultery to the meaning of Able. Hawthorne decribes the climax of Hester’s story by expressing, “The letter was the symbol of her calling. such helpfulness…
I used this word because Hester is given the scarlet as a symbol of sin. As she is criticized by the public and possesses the letter, the townspeople think that she will keep acknowledging her sin and shame in order to regret what she did. The narrator, later in the chapter, emphasizes the letter “A” in scarlet, which indicates adultery.…
In the scarlet letter, the main character, Hester Prynne, both excepts and rejects traditional gender roles for her culture. This is evident throughout the whole book as she rejects the typical stereotype of women of this day in time, while she also follows along with it as well. Also in this book it is obvious of another character who is less of what the typical man should be. Therefore making Hester Prynne a powerful symbol of strength for women by not completely conforming to the typical role that women often played during this point in time in the puritan society.…
In the beginning of the novel, Hester’s community, specifically the goodwives, discuss how they are angry with Hester’s punishment because they think it is not severe enough. One of the goodwives says, “I’ll tell ye a piece of my mind. It would be greatly for the public behoof, if we women, being of mature age and church-members in good repute, should have the handling of such malefactresses as this Hester Prynne. What think ye, gossips? If the hussy stood up for judgment before us five, that are now here in a knot together, would she come off with such a sentence as the worshipful magistrates have awarded? Marry, I trow not!” (46) This quote shows the community’s resentment of Hester near the beginning of the novel. However, later in the book, it is revealed that as the years have gone by, Hester gained much respect and love through the community because of her hard work and her charity services. Her symbol, the scarlet letter, has also changed in meaning over time. Now, it is not a symbol of sin and isolation, but instead a symbol of Hester’s strength and kindness. Hawthorne says, “Such helpfulness was found in her,--so much power to do, and power to sympathize,--that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They say that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a…
In the book The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is convicted of adultery and ordered to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her chest as a permanent sign of her sin. Hester is sentenced to never take off this badge of shame, and doesn't until chapter thirteen. As the novel proceeds, Hawthorne presents several questions that are left unanswered. How does the nature of the letter "A" seem to change? What role of does Hester's own response to her situation play in changing the meaning of the letter "A"? How does the letter "A" come to be seen as a symbol of the mysterious connection between human experiences (sinful in nature) and a kind of wisdom that would be impossible without failure? Why does Hester not tell who Pearl's father is when she is on…
In Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, he writes a gloomy story that talks about a young woman named, Hester Prynne. As the story begins Hawthorne states,” …that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom.”(Hawthorne 32). In this time, it was unusual for someone to have a scarlet letter since women only got these because they have committed the sin of adultery. This scarlet…
The most important symbol in the book, the embroidered "A" on her bosom, sewed on as punishment for adultery, is also a symbol for alienation. She is different from all of society because of that mark, and can never live a normal life because of it. "...Let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart," (38), said a townsperson at first sight of the scarlet letter. As seen in this quote, society will always look at the scarlet letter as a wall between themselves and Hester. Hester's behavior shows how greatly she is affected by her alienation. "Lonely as was Hester's situation and without a friend on earth who dared to she herself, she, however, incurred no risk of want," (57); in this quote one sees how being alienated from society can cause a person to become an introvert and become a lifeless body as Hester had become. There is a lot of drama surrounding Hester; all of society looks at Hester in shame. This complete shun from society drives Hester to live in an isolated cottage away from people. "In this little, lonesome dwelling...Hester established herself with her infant child," (57). This particular dramatic event alienated Hester geographically as well as socially. Hester's alienation also causes others to become alienated like her daughter and the one she has an affair with; however, Hester is most sharply alienated from…
The scarlet letter brings with it the punishing mockery and humiliation from her fellow Puritans, so continuing to bear this mark requires a great amount of strength. Hawthorne wrote Hester’s character to seem beautiful yet powerful in that she believes her own sinful ways cannot be redeemed or reconciled without proper punishment. Until Hester believes that she has renounced her sinful ways and learned from her mistakes, she will not allow herself or anyone in the town to remove the letter. During her discourse with Roger Chillingworth regarding the removal of the scarlet letter, Hester responds, “It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge...Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport” (153). Hester believes that it is not in her own power or the power of the town to remove the scarlet letter from her bosom. Although the letter can be physically removed, it cannot be removed by God until Hester becomes worthy of its removal. Hester also discusses the removal of the scarlet letter when she faces public humiliation for her crimes near the beginning of her story. Near the end of the novel, when Hester returns from Europe to Boston without Pearl, Hester still continues to wear the letter. Hawthorne describes this event when he writes, “But her hesitation was only for an instant, though long enough to display a scarlet letter on her breast. And Hester Prynne had returned, and taken up her long-forsaken shame” (233) Although Hester has already completed her punishment of bearing the shame of the scarlet letter, she still continues to wear the letter after returning. This not only characterizes Hester as a determined woman, but also shows how the scarlet letter has become a part…
By wearing the scarlet letter, Salem publically shames Hester. If she leaves the town, then she could remove the A, but instead she stays. She could go away with her daughter Pearl and have a completely normal life. She refuses to leave because the letter has become her identity, and she uses its power. Some people in the town even think that the A now symbolizes “able”, which means something completely different than the original significance. The A now means that Hester’s strength defies everything else, making her able and capable of defending herself. Towards…
Hester Prynne's scarlet letter is a symbol of the beauty in being true to one’s self. Her “A” is a badge she must to wear to shame her for her sin. One would think that removing the badge would come as a blessing to Hester. However, in chapter 14, Chillingworth tells Hester, “It was debated whether or not with safety to common weal, yonder scarlet letter might be taken off your bosom,” to which Hester calmly replies, “It lies not in the pleasure of magistrates to take off this badge…” (122; Ch 14). Hester wants to decide her own identity rather than allow others to choose it for her. Removing the letter would show that the letter was a symbol of shame to her and would exemplify society's power over her. Hester is shameful of her scarlet letter but would never let society know. Because the wears the…