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How Does Hester Prynne Deserve His Punishment

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's Novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is punished for committing the crime of adultery. Hester must wear the letter "A" upon her bosom to represent the adultery she has committed with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. It is argued whether Hester is the culprit of her crime or if she has fallen victim of it. Early on in Hester 's life she becomes a victim when she is forced into an arranged marriage. Her parents arrange her to marry Roger Chillingworth, a wealthy yet infamous man. Roger Chillingworth was a man who valued possessions and Hester become nothing more than that to him. He was able to do what he wanted and go wherever he wanted due to his wealth. Roger lived many different lives leading him to abandon …show more content…

QUOTE Arthur and Hester dreamt of running away and creating a life together. They finally devised a plan to get away and start their life together, where no one could judge them for their actions. Arthur announces to the community his involvement with Hester Prynne. He stands up proud, the community holding him high in the their opinions, and confesses his sin. He soon falls to his illness and dies after admitting his involvement with Hester Prynne. Her obsessive love for Arthur ultimately broke her heart and robbed Pearl of her innocence. This love caused Pearl to lose her freedom that only youth can provide. Therefore, to answer the question of whether Hester is the culprit of her crime or whether she is a victim of it is answered; she has shown characteristics of both. Her behavior repeatedly displayed that the stigma of the scarlet letter fueled her but she also fell victim to its effect. The views of Hester 's personality change as the novel progresses. Many think that under no circumstances may anyone break the commandments of the Lord ergo that could prove Hester 's infidelity. Nonetheless, her crime could also be viewed as one of passion and love for another human. Hester 's is both a culprit and a victim of her crime, seeing the good and the

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The scarlet letter ‘A’ did not stand for “adultery” anymore. It stood for “able.” “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.”

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Hester's divine beauty outshines others corrupt beliefs of her. While Hester walks stumbles out the prison doors and onto the dreaded scaffold, Hawthorne describes Hester as "the young woman [who] was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale" (40). Hester Prynne is being publicly shamed for the act of adultery she committed along with the minister who condemns her. She is forced to stand on the scaffold and beat the sorrow of he sins with the scarlet letter "A" on her bosom to represent her shameful acts. This mark of embarrassment serves a purpose to make her appear unrighteous, but the author chooses to focus on her beauty, which outshines this emblem.

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On the other hand Hester doesn’t want or try getting attention through her actions. Also she becomes an outcast of the Puritan community and she slowly finds her way back through hard work and showing she cares. Secondly the way the two characters

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The audience first engages with Roger Chillingworth in Chapter 4. Hester was awaiting in jail when she and her child, Pearl, became ill. The magistrates paid the Indians to hand over a physician which they had hostage for many years. This physician happened to be Roger Chillingworth.

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Now, in Chapter 12 after dealing with Chillingworth's remarks and hate towards Dimmesdale, he is evidently fed up with his presence. As he, Hester, and Pearl are on the scaffold and Pearl points towards Chillingsworth. He makes this remark toward Hester, “ ‘Who is that man, Hester?’...’I shiver at him! Dost thou know the man? I hate him, Hester!’

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Although publicly admitting to sin can be a challenging task, time will heal the initial pain. Hester Prynne, of the Scarlet Letter, lives this lesson as she commits the sin of adultery. Her punishment for the sin is to wear the letter “A” on her bosom until she is allowed to remove it by the Puritan authorities wishes. Initially, Hester feels guilt and shame as she wears it. As Hester’s character grows in strength, she overcomes the letter’s original purpose of punishment.

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Considering the townspeople’s reactions toward Hester’s sin of adultery, it can be concluded that in the Puritan era, religion was of utmost importance, and the Puritans met sins with extremely harsh punishments. Because the majority of the Puritan town viewed Hester as a disgrace, she became “Lonely . . . and without a friend on earth” (56). This made it effortless for the inhabitants of the town to continue to insult and degrade Hester because they did not care to learn her true personality. While a few civilians had sympathy for Hester, the town mostly regarded her as shameful and

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Hester never took her anger or frustration out on Pearl, and that took great patience from Hester. Pearl was the one who brought curiosity and happiness into Hester’s life. Undeniably, Hester truly loved Pearl, there was no doubt about that. Hester did not want Pearl to make the same mistake when she got older and Hester just wanted the absolute best for Pearl. Pearl was a strange child and Hester thought that was because of the sin she committed, but in all honesty, Pearl just looked at things in different perspective.

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She receives three punishments from the townspeople, who claim they will free her from her sin. The community orders Hester to go to jail, wear a scarlet letter on her chest, and stand on the town scaffold for hours. Hester wears her scarlet letter proudly on her chest, and endures much suffering because of her public ridicule. Hester is “kept by no restrictive clause of her condemnation within the limits of the Puritan settlement” after she was released from prison, but she chooses to stay (Hawthorne 71). Later, Hester’s child, Pearl, symbolizes the Puritan view of Hester.

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Hester Prynne is guilty as charged for committing a sin towards her Puritan religion, committing adultery, and refusing to give up the identity of Pearl’s father. Hester deserved the punishment she was given. She knew what cheating would turn into, and the consequences of it, but she did it anyway. Thank you for taking the time to read this

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Hester was initially married to a man whom she never loved and was thought to be dead after being lost at sea for five years. After waiting for the arrival of her husband which never came, Hester had an affair with another man and together they produced a child. When Hester had an affair with a man who was not her husband she had committed an act of adultery and had to be punished in the eyes of God and of her community. It was decided that Hester would have to serve time in jail and

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Hester was sentenced to wear the scarlet letter "A" for the rest of her life and Hester was forced to stand on the scaffold, so she could be publicly humiliated for her sin. Hester and Pearl will go through life, being shamed by others. The townspeople want to see Hester suffer. Hester and Pearl are strong enough to receive the looks and the talks that they will be getting from the

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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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