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Hester Prynne Beauty

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In his Novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne suggests that the likeness of his main character, Hester Prynne, holding her baby bears semblance to the ever famous image of the Divine Maternity, an image depicting the virgin Mary holding her divinely conceived child. The two images are severely juxtaposed as Hester Prynne has been convicted of committing Adultery (in the process, she conceived an illegitimate child) and is now atoning for her sin whereas The Virgin Mary is widely recognized as a pure being free of sin who was blessed with divine conception. This stark contrast serves its purpose as such, however it also further exemplifies Hester's physical beauty and could possibly foreshadow certain aspects of her personality. In addition,
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