Analysis Of Hester Prynne

In the beginning of the novel, Hester Prynne who is the protagonist of the novel is seen coming out of the jail and taken to the scaffold for public shaming in front of the entire Puritan society for committing adultery which is considered a serious crime in the society where Hester lives. She is reminded of her sin time and again and has to live with the guilt for the rest of her life. She is outcast by the entire community and is despised by the people of the society. The letter ‘A’ which she wears on her chest becomes the symbol of the sin for the people of the Puritan community. The only positive thing which happens in her life is her daughter Pearl who brings light into her lightless life and who is also the result of her adulterous behavior

Chilling worth. She commits adultery with Mr. Dimmesdale who is the minister of the Puritan community. She accepts her mistake and she is publicly shamed in front of all the community for committing the crime. People standing in front of the scaffold passes hateful comments to her because they think she has committed a serious crime and she just stands on the scaffold carrying her daughter which is the result of her adulterous behavior listening to the negative comments passed on her. Hester Prynne is also made to wear the Scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest which reminds her and the people of the Puritan society about the sin she committed. She is constantly made to feel guilty and suffer just because the law and the people of the puritan community think adulterous behavior is a serious crime. Hester suffers more than she deserves just because of a simple mistake she committed so it makes her a sympathetic

At the beginning of the novel, she is turned into a walking symbol of sin but by the end of the novel she is a role model for women.” (Alicia, 2012) As the story progresses we see that Hester becomes stronger and independent as well. As mentioned above, Hester is able to earn a living for her and raise Pearl as a single mother as well by making clothes for the people living in the Puritan community. She also chooses to stay at the outskirts of the town and face the people rather than settling in a different town where no one knows about her crime. Even though Hester becomes an independent woman the two men in her life always over powers her. Hester’s husband Mr. Chillingworth and Mr. Dimmesdale who she committed adultery with are the main causes for her misery. Hester commits adultery after her husband deserts her and she bears the consequences alone without any complains because her partner is not bold enough to accept the sin he committed. She had the choice to name who her partner was but she chose to stay silent for Mr. Dimmesdale’s sake as she loves him. Hester accepting everything without any complains makes her a sympathetic character.

Hester’s character makes her a sympathetic character. She accepts everything silently without any complains. Even though people of her community looks down at her she makes clothes for them and helps the poor. At the beginning of the novel Hawthorne has portrayed Hester more like a weak character