According to “Early Modern Witch Trials” by The National Archives, In the seventeenth century, women were more likely to be put on trial because they were thought to be the weaker sex and more vulnerable to the seductive powers of the Devil. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is put on trial because she had a baby out of wedlock. Hester is forced to sew a scarlet “A”, which stands for adultery, and is made to wear it in front of the whole town. Hester is terrified and embarrassed, but she tried to act confident and unbothered by her current situation. Hester carries herself in a confident way that negates her true feelings of embarrassment and shame from the public eye. Hester acts very confident in front of the townspeople …show more content…
Hester refuses to look embarrassed, but we know she is embarrassed because she is blushing. When she refuses to look embarrassed, the townspeople will think she is confident and unafraid. Though Hester is human and will blush in uncomfortable and embarrassing situations, she refuses to show her inner thoughts. Also, when she is being publicly embarrassed, the book states, “It’s only afterward that we feel the worst pain. So with almost serene composure, Hester Prynne endured this portion of her ordeal” (Hawthorne, 85). Naturally, humans have the defense mechanism that in times of great stress, the emotions will not hit until much later. At that moment, Hester has yet to feel her true emotions. Hester is embarrassed because of her shameful actions of adultery. But her human nature makes it so she doesn't feel the full effect of her shame until after the punishment is over. Though she is hiding her feelings on purpose, her natural instincts make it easier for her to hide her true feelings behind the facade of confidence. Hester’s true feelings drastically contradict her actions in front of the