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Examples Of Hester's Rationale In The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester makes the right decision to remain in the town because by doing so she serves an example of why Puritan rationale is defective, and the town is where Dimmesdale lives. Puritan logic is fallible because Hester is accused of her sin; meanwhile, others in the town are also guilty of sin. For example, when Hester is exiting the jail to begin her ignominy, the town gossips brand her with denunciative labels, such as “naughty baggage” and “brazen hussy.” Hester lives in seclusion, and “a small vacant area” is always around her that no one is inclined to enter. In addition, Governor Bellingham is an artificial Puritan because rather than embrace simplicity like a practiced Puritan, he …show more content…

At first, it is evident Hester is mindful of Pearl’s father, since she will not reveal who is, an act that would submit him to shame as well. Hester isolates herself in sin; therefore, she isolates herself in the distant cottage. When Governor Bellingham attempts to move Pearl elsewhere, Hester knows she can depend on Dimmesdale to convince him otherwise because Dimmesdale is the father. Because Dimmesdale has assisted her, Hester concludes “there lay a responsibility upon her, in reference to the clergyman” (Hawthorne 125). Likewise, when they are by the brookside, it is confessed Hester “still so passionately” loves Dimmesdale. Because of these devoted feelings, Hester affirms it is her duty to remain in the town until Dimmesdale can accept his ignominy. Moreover, only after he accepts his ignominy and dies does Hester finally leave the town. It may be believed Hester made the wrong decision by staying in the town, but had she left, the identity of Pearl’s father may not have been exposed. Indeed, it is when Dimmesdale glimpses Hester and Pearl in front of the scaffold that he is prepared to show everyone the

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