Hester Prynne
Hester Prynne, the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, is a fair young woman who has an affair with her pastor while her husband is away. To the eyes of the Puritans, Hester’s act of adultery, although not punishable by death, is a sin that should be branded upon her forever. Thus, the opening scene of the novel begins with Hester standing on the scaffold holding her baby—the fruit of her sin—in her arms. Upon her breast lays the elaborately embroidered scarlet letter “A,” the symbol for adulteress, which the Puritan society forces her to wear. Ostracized by society and enveloped within her own sins, Hester’s situation is further blackened by the appearance of her former husband Chillingworth in New England. Throughout the story, the two men in Hester’s life— Chillingworth and her partner in crime, Dimmesdale—will slowly deteriorate in both physical and spiritual aspects as they are caught up in their own anguish and troubles. Hester, however, grows stronger and more morally righteous until she is actually favored by Hawthorne, despite her sins. Shunned as the undesirable model of a sinner, Hester’s character is truly remarkable in how she overcomes her obstacle
Perhaps one of the most intricate evolutions in the story’s plot adheres to the changes in Hester. Deemed as a sinner at the beginning, she begins to gradually earn respect in the town as the plot unfolds. Her benevolent nature shines through as she assists those who are in need, even when nothing but insults are returned to her. Earning a living as a seamstress who is recognized for her talented work, Hester is able to save up a fairly decent sum of money. Instead of keeping it to herself, “Hester bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on wretches less miserable than herself, and who do not infrequently insulted the hand that fed them” (36). This illustrates that Hester is an unselfish person who still insists on giving back to the same community that continues to reject her. Ordained as a “Sister of Mercy,” some people believe that the scarlet letter is the symbol of her calling. Appreciating everything that she has done for the community, many people refuse to interpret the letter “A” by its original meaning as the years passed by. Instead of referring to it as the infamous symbol for adultery, the townspeople found a new meaning for it. “They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (113). s to become a person with many qualities to be admired. Entangled in self-delusion, Hester is at times confused by her own interpretation of the scarlet letter. She is disillusioned by the fact that she thinks her punishment and the burdens of her punishment will evaporate along with the removal of the scarlet letter. In the scene where she reunites with Dimmesdale in the forest, Hester takes off the scarlet letter and throws it among the withered leaves. Having d
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Approximate Word count = 1177
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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