Hester's Adulteress In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Although the Puritans brand her as an “adulteress” through the scarlet letter, Hester resolutely integrates her sin into her life to prove that society has no influence over her, extolling the idea of rebellion and foreshadowing events in the novel. In a form of a metaphor, Hawthorne explains how Hester’s ignominy and sin were the “roots which she had struck into the soil”, causing her to permanently stay near the place of her great tragedy and not run away from her mistakes (Hawthorne 74). After Hester is publicly humiliated and required by the people of Boston to take on a badge of shame, her unwillingness to leave the harsh society may seem perplexing. She is not physically confined, and escaping New England would permit her to get rid of the letter and resume a

To further explain, Hawthorne personifies the “temper of souls”, referring to… who brought upon the “idea” of fleeing her sin and shame “upon Hester’s contemplation” in an attempt to relay Hester’s internal struggle of committing to the place of her sin (Hawthorne 74). Despite Hester’s refusal to strike back at the society and apparent humility, she inwardly rebels and resents against the viciousness of her Puritan persecutors. She becomes a walking symbol of immorality to the townsfolk, who view her not only as an individual but as the incarnation of evil in the world, giving her a reasonable intention to escape. However, Hester’s behavior is controlled on her desire to determine her own individuality rather than to allow others to define it for her. To her, removing the letter or running away would be considered as an acceptance of society’s supremacy over her: she would be acknowledging that the letter represents a mark of dishonor and something she desires to abscond. However Hester stays, refiguring the letter as an emblem of her own identity and