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Hester In The Scarlett Letter

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In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester represents a strong female character. The humiliation of forever wearing the embroidered scarlet letter upon her chest resulted in Hester intensifying her strength and resilience. Although Hester was very courageous, this does not make The Scarlet Letter a feminist novel. Feminism is fighting for women to have equal rights and therefore a feminist is someone who is promoting that idea. The novel itself is not advocating equal rights, it does the complete opposite. Hester is prosecuted for committing a crime of adultery while Mr.Dimmesdale is not being punished for committing the same crime. Hester is looked down upon in the community while the townspeople praise Mr.Dimmesdale. The events that took place in the story does not exemplify a feminist novel, but illustrates a strong female character. Hester was constantly persecuted by the women in town, “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die”(Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, 50) harsh words were said behind her back. Children even had the …show more content…

Hester is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter she does not receive the same treatment as Mr.Dimmesdale. Since Dimmesdale is a young and handsome preacher he is not talked badly about after he confessed. Pearl was 7 years old when people started to destigmatize the scarlet letter Hester wore daily on her chest. Hester went through 7 years of tyranny from the town before people when they started to realize she was an outstanding person. Dimmesdale stood aside watching idly by as he saw the torment that was placed upon Hester, He finally took a stand and helped her in his last preach. Dimmesdale only helped her due to the fact he felt guilty she was being tyrannized while people still praised him. He would unlikely do the same to any other

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In the book The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Dimmesdale both have sinned and they both were about of it. There are two people to make a child so it's not just Hester's fault at all. She saves Dimmesdale by not telling anyone who the father of Pearl is, and for that Dimmesdale he has to leave with knowing the father of Pearl is himself, and having no one knowing that it is him. Hester is dealing with the sin, she made with Dimmesdale, well because she knows the truth about everything and everyone knows what she has done. She wants the towns people to know what she has been.

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In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne goes against the ideals of the Puritan community by using topics, such as: adultery, hypocrisy, and revenge. Hawthorne uses Hester’s life and the people in her life to showcase each of these subjects and how much they can affect someone’s life. First, Hawthorne goes against the community by using the scandal between Hester and Dimmesdale and their adultery in order to challenge their Puritan way of life. “‘I fear! I fear!

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Once he confessed his sin to the community, his guilt was gone too. Even after Dimmesdale repented, God still did not like the sin because his has still committed an unforgivable sin. But, once he repented, he felt as though he was separated from that sin. God shows mercy on those who repent, and He showed mercy on Dimmesdale by, in a way, taking away his shame. He took away his shame by taking away

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Hester and Dimmesdale each are equivalent in the sin that they commit, but their lives and fates are different because Hester had to repent for her crimes while Dimmesdale bottled up his guilt inside. The indirect result of Dimmesdale’s concealment of the truth was Chillingworth’s torture, which played a large role in Dimmesdale’s untimely death. Chillingworth snapped when Hester did not reveal Dimmesdale’s crimes. Hester, in part, helped Dimmesdale in

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This only made his guilt worsen. Dimmesdale does not feel passionate when he is trying to do job. The people are only imagining getting help because his tainted soul could not possibly redeem other souls. He feels as if he is cheating those people in their faith. Hester then tries to rebuttal by saying “Your present life is not less holy, in very truth, than it seems in people's eyes.

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Throughout the novel, Hester is fraught by the Puritan society and her suffering is an effect of how evil society is. Hester continues to believe that the crime she committed was not wrong and she should not be punished for it. Her desire to protect and love Dimmesdale, turn her into a stronger person and become a heroine in the book. Although society still views her as a “naughty baggage” (Hawthorne 73) and is punished for her wrongdoing, Hester never thought to take revenge on them, yet she gives everything she has to the unfortunate and leaves herself with very little. She continues to stay positive no matter what society has for her.

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