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Hester Prynne: A Role Model That Transcends Time

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A Role Model that Transcends Time Hester Prynne changed dramatically throughout the course of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. Initially she was viewed as the antagonist and was a destructive character to those around her. After being confined in her cottage with Pearl, she began to develop a sense of who she needed to become in order to efficiently raise Pearl. Hester’s ability to do what was necessary for her improvement made her into a respectable role model for women to shadow. Hester chose to isolate she and Pearl to create a wave of self-improvement. Because of Hester’s mysterious, seductive, and rebellious actions, she demonstrated the characteristics of a byronic hero. Hester Prynne was eventually able to overcome her rebellion by maturing and accepting herself for who she is as a person. After the events of being humiliated in front of the townspeople, Hester isolated herself in a small cottage in order to overcome her “monster.” The Scarlet Letter led Hester to change and become the person she was at the end of the book and, “...was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her …show more content…

The new opinion of the townspeople further proved that Hester was capable of changing from an immoral woman to a respectable and strong female. After her self-inflicted temptation, Hester was able to prove herself to the people around her as well as proving to herself that she was able to change. Society around her now visualized her as a new person who was capable of finding her inner strength, and instead of labeling her as the woman who possessed the Scarlet Letter, she became a woman who was powerful and respectable. By being able to realize how her change affected the folks around her, Hester continued to leap down a positive path of accepting herself and beginning to let go of her rebellious ways, even though this is all she had known in the

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Hester’s undeniable ability to overcome hardships is what keeps her stable throughout the events dramatized within the novel. When the author mentions, "[t]hey said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength," he is allowing the reader to recognize Hester's ability to care for others while ,on the other hand, no one cares for her (Hawthorne 124). Her true ability to conquer troubles without any additional help made the people reconsider their views on Hester. She is belittled and neglected by the Puritan people, but her strength allows her to carry on. With her courage, Hester Prynne learns to accept that her sins are part of her.

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Hester Prynne was suffering the most in the book “The Scarlet Letter” that Mr.Dimmesdale couldn’t relate because the strong independent women had to suffer through punishments, promises, and responsibilities. Hester Prynne is a beautiful young lady as described in “The Scarlet Letter”, but what a puritan village made her suffer through changed the women she was before the scarlet letter was attached to her chest: “Her sex, her youth, and the richness of her beauty came back from what men call the irretrievable past” (Hawthorne 321). She was once known to be a gem of god until the puritans punished her in harsh ways. Because of the Scarlet she lost everything almost instantly such as the village putting her in her own world where she felt

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While her punishment changes her physical appearance, it has a far more profound effect on her character. Hester seems much older and worn down with the scarlet letter on her bosom. To Hester, the scarlet letter is a

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Everyone in the community saw Hester at her weakest point, therefore her character and abilities could only grow from there. The power of the Scarlet Letter has provided Hester with a new found freedom for

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In the beginning the scarlet letter represented adultery and shame, but then the A represented “able.” Hester Prynne showed people that greatness can come out of huge mistake. One bad chapter does not mean your story is over. Willingly, Hester wanted to pick herself up again and move on with her life and eventually people noticed that. They began to respect her and think of her as strong and commendable

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She did good deeds towards the sick, so comfortable to the people. “The tendency of her fate and fortunes had been set free. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dare not tread” (208). Hester is a daring woman who has the courage and who has taken risks that could have destroyed

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731 Words | 3 Pages

The Scarlet Changeling One of the base human principles that have followed us through time and insured our survival is the ability to adapt and change to best suit our current needs. In “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The main things that bring about Hester Prynne’s acceptance of the Letter are her reflection, self realization, and adaptation to survive and thrive in her ignorant troubled world. As she reflects on what the Letter has done in her life she realizes that she should not be suppressed by the Letter that it should be the factor in what makes her unique and as she empowers herself she changed in ways that redefine her current and future self from her past self. And not only does Hester’s Letter affect every aspect her it, but it forces her to reflect on how it has affected her.

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Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hester always put on a brave face without worrying about what might could happen. “Hester Prynne, therefore, did not flee” (61). Through all the judgement and hardships, Hester

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Logan Whitehead Period 2 Smith 31 August 2015 Reading Journal for The Scarlet Letter Chapter 2 and 3: When we first see Hester in The Scarlet Letter she is surrounded by town folk as she is leaving the jail within the town. Hester Prynne is a very strong women that seems to make the best out of the worst things. This is shown when Hester takes the letter that is forced upon her and makes it into a beautiful embroidered design. This came across to the town folk that she was mocking them as the letter was meant to be a punishment, but as she and her “babe” took the pillar in front of them she realized that the letter will always label her as an outcast.

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Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, there are multiple instances where sin and redemption driven by the small Puritan community, aid to the plot of the story. In the midst of the novel is a young women named Hester Prynne. Hester is a women who becomes completely defied by the Puritans and receives multiple consequences due to her actions. Hester has gone against the religion and committed adultery, and now is viewed as an extreme sinner. The Puritans believe that Hester is not worthy of anything and requires a great deal of thorough repentance.

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Although she is looked down upon by the society in the beginning of the novel, she is transformed into a symbol of strength, something typically reserved for men, towards the end of the novel. “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her,—so much power to do, and power to sympathize,—that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 146). Through her suffering, Hester had become an inspiring symbol of strength for the community.

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In the book ‘ the Scarlet Letter’ Hester Prynne makes a lot of mistakes in her life, but She is trying to fix what She messed up on. She does a crime that will forever change her life forever. She has a child with another guy. She is a sinner, but She is also an object because some of the stuff She done can never be taken back. Hester will do anything to get her life back in order.

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Hester Prynne is the very embodiment of feminism because of her refusal to adhere to the societal norms, her independence in thought, and how the view of the society around her changes through the novel. One of the main reasons why Hester Prynne is an important and progressive feminist character in The Scarlet Letter is her refusal to follow societal norms or to be put down by her peers. A primary example of her refusal to be put down by her peers is when Hester brandishes her

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She realized that everyone will eventually find out about the sin, so she became courageous and took responsibility for her action. After she had completed her punishment in prison, she moved to a cottage. Hester was guilty for what she had done, but she started to help the poor, even though they rejected her. The guilt deprived her from all the “joys [of life] [because] she rejected it as sin” (Hawthorne 130) Hester ceased enjoying anything that a normal person would think as amusing because it was wrong for her since she became the outcast of the town.

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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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