How Does Hester Prynne Change In The Scarlet Letter

The Infamous “A” Committing sin is an inevitable condition of human life. Forgiving a sin is not always easy; neither is forgetting. A reputation could be destroyed with one sin. It is troublesome enough to forgive one’s wrong and move on, but what about peers? In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne was branded with a scarlet letter A after being founded as an adulteress. She became an outcast and always had the constant reminder, for herself and those around her, of her sin. The letter’s significance transformed as time passed and became more compelling. Throughout the novel there was a tremendous evolution of the scarlet letter A from the views of Hester, the villagers, Pearl (Hester’s daughter), and Hawthorne himself.

When the villagers found out the sin of Hester Prynne, they were quick to punishment because they did not want her sin to affect their chances of heaven. Ironically, the villagers views on Hester and her scarlet letter A dramatically changed from beginning to end of the novel. The villagers branded Hester with the scarlet A to constantly remind her of the horrible person she was and to give them the opportunity to judge her. They viewed the letter as a reminder of what kind of person not to be. Everywhere in the village they spoke of Hester and her scarlet letter, taking any and all dignity away from her. After many years, an incident happened in the village that completely altered the villagers view of Hester’s scarlet letter A. The governor had died and when they had buried him, the letter A appeared in the sky. Most of the villagers believed that the A in the sky meant that the governor had became an angel at that moment; therefore changing their meaning of Hester’s A. The villagers began to accept Hester into the community and forgiving her of her sin because they believed that Hester’s A corresponded with the one in the sky. They viewed her A as “abel” because of Hester trying to do good deeds for the village. They saw the scarlet letter A as a new way to look at life. It made them begin to believe that good can transpire from