Hester Prynne In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Is Hester Prynne the best citizen of Boston? I believe she is one of the best citizens of Boston if not the best citizen. In the novel of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester gives back to the community by donating the extra money that she earns from sewing articles of clothing. She is looked upon for advice when she returns from Europe. She has been given the scarlet letter as a punishment, but this also keeps her from misbehaving. I believe, even though Hester has made mistakes, she is still the best citizen of Boston. Therefore, the first reason to why I believe Hester is the best citizen of Boston is she gives back to her community by donating the extra money that she makes by being a seamstress. She graciously donates her

Hester, after she returned from Europe, was greatly looked upon for advice because all that she had been through. People would come up to her with great problems and ask her advice because she had been in that situation before. It was stated in the novel that, “And, as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble.” (239) This shows that even though Hester wasn’t living in any type of luxury since her return from Europe, people still brought their problems to her. They brought their problems to her because they knew that she had experience with these problems and she knew what advice to give to them. Similarly, Hester is also kept in check by Pearl. An example of this is, “But here – if we supposed this interview betwixt mistress Hibbins and Hester Prynne to be authentic, and not a parable – was already an illustration of the young minister’s against the sundering the relation of the fallen mother to the offspring of her frailty. Even thus early had the child saved her from Satan’s snare.” (108) Pearl kept her from misbehaving because if she would happen to misbehave, though she never did, Pearl would be taken from