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How Hester Prynne Changes In Scarlet Letter

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We are all sinners, no matter how hard we try to hide our faults, they always seem to come back, one way or another. Written in the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows us Hester Prynne and how one sin can change her life completely. Hester Prynne changes a great deal throughout The Scarlet Letter. Through the view of the Puritans, Hester is an intense sinner; she has gone against the Puritan way of life committing the highest act of sin, adultery. For committing such a sinful act, Hester must wear the scarlet letter while also having to bear stares from those that gossip about her. Nonetheless, it will be hard; Hester is steadfast to make her daughter Pearl, have a life, just like any other ordinary child. Hester is a remarkable, but peculiar character, …show more content…

Her defiance becomes stronger and will carry her through different hardships. Her determination and lonely stand repeats again when she confronts Governor Bellingham over the issue of Pearl’s guardianship. When Bellingham wants to take Pearl away from Hester, Hester reply’s with, “God gave me the child! I will die first!”(Ch.). When also pressured even more for the child’s care, Hester pleads, “God gave her into my keeping. I will not give her up!”(Ch.). Hester turns to Dimmesdale for help, the one time in the novel where she does not stand alone. Hester is able to still take, and care for little Pearl. Through the course of the years, Pearl has gotten familiar with Hester, and having the scarlet letter on her bosom. Hester can only have a certain amount of time without the scarlet letter before Pearl angrily demands that she resumes wearing the scarlet “A”. While her punishment changes her physical appearance, it has a far more profound effect on her character. Hester seems much older and worn down with the scarlet letter on her bosom. To Hester, the scarlet letter is a

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Although, to Hester, Pearl’s “Peculiarity...should correspond with the guiltiness to which she owed her being” (85). Again, Hester thinks that if Pearl is abnormal it is due to her sin, and that she must deal with Pearl, to rid herself of her guilt. Not long after Hester is released from prison,

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Hester’s lack of money does not hold her back from providing Pearl with everything she needs. Pearl is dressed in the “richest tissue”, made others see her as “just perfect...an infant princess”. Though only three months old, Pearl evokes the image of beauty from her mother and from strangers who see her. Even though Hester’s life is not ideal, her child brings her beauty in the darkness of her life. Hester wears clothing of poor quality, in order to provide the best for her daughter.

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Even thus early had the child saved her from Satan’s snare.” This passage further supports the previous evidence, and it suggests that Pearl will continue to save Hester throughout the text. Although some may say that Hester, because she is not very caring, should not be able to keep Pearl, they are mistaken. Because of her crime, Hester is learning many lessons which she can pass on to Pearl. “ ‘this badge hath taught be,­­it daily teaches me,­­it is teaching me at this moment,­­lessons whereof my child may be the wiser and better…”’

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Eventually, the stress and pressure in Dimmesdale’s heart lead him to death. In comparison to Dimmesdale’s death, Hester’s ending is way different. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, but Hester eventually comes back to town without Pearl. Hester puts on the letter “A” again, and she starts to help people deal with their mental stress. “But, in the lapse of the toilsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester's life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with

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Pearl’s estranged behavior is believed to be a result of the way she was conceived through sin, which is just another example of how Pearl is the physical representation and constant reminder of Hester’s sin. Towards the end of the book, Pearl is finally allowed to be a real human being once Dimmesdale confesses his sin. In Chapter 23, Hawthorne writes, “The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy…” (Hawthorne 142).

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Punishment of Puritans for their sins occurred harshly and frequently, and these punishments ranged from fines, branding, and severe whippings to hanging and death. Many of these penalties involved public humiliation of some kind, which made it extremely difficult for townspeople to accept by their peers after they had sinned. Because the Puritans believed religion was immensely important, the community was often reluctant to allow citizens that exhibited sinful behavior to achieve redemption (Cox). However, in the case of Hester Prynne, an adulterer in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople eagerly made amends with her. This novel narrates the life of Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and courageously accepted the repercussions

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To Hester’s shock she discovered that Pearl was more mature and imaginative. Hester practically raised Pearl by herself and Pearl turned out to be a Godly, honest, and innovative young girl. People saw how hard it was for Hester and so things changed. Hester became known as the woman who was able to do anything.

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Pearl is the living embodiment of of the scarlet letter. Pearl constantly reminds Hester of her sins, without meaning to. Whenever she asks questions about Dimmesdale or about the scarlet letter, Hester is reminded of the things she did wrong. Pearl is very smart child, and she likes to ask questions and learn about things. If she sees something that confuses her, she will ask her mother about it.

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The Scarlet Letter written by author Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American novel based on sin and the act of Adultery. This novel is based on the early days of the Massachusetts colony and shows how differently crimes are approached then from now. Hester Prynne commits the unfaithful crime of Adultery and not only does she have to serve for her punishment, but her daughter serves for it as well. Pearl, the symbol of an act of forbidden love and passion has to live with being the reminder of her mother 's misconduct for her entire life. Growing up in a small town with her reputation, it is hard for Pearl to have any kind of normality in her life.

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Although she knew the consequences were high, she still followed through with the birth of her daughter. This is the authors’ way of showing her pride. In response to the constant criticism and humiliation, Hester kept her head up and never once let it ruin her or take her down. As long as Pearl was in her life, she would not let her sin take over her life. Hester was greatly affected by the Puritan society and the harsh life that comes along with her sin, yet in the mist of it all she maintains her

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This child is not meant to be a realistic character but rather a symbol of Hester’s sin, blessing and scarlet letter. Pearl is the scarlet letter, a blessing and curse, and the love and passion of a dangerous relationship. More than a child Pearl is a symbol of the love and passion between Hester and the minister. Pearl is a symbol that connect her parents forever even if they couldn’t be together. The narrator says, “God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonoured bosom, to connect her parent forever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!”(86)

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(Hawthorne 91). In this puritan society, she would be looked down upon heavily. These happening puts weight on Hesters shoulders to make sure she can parent Pearl in a way to protect her from shame like she had to endure when the town first found out about her committing

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Hester Prynne's inner strength, her defiance of the law, her honesty, and her compassion may have been in her character during the entire novel, but The Scarlet Letter brought them to our attention. Hester was such a strong woman who did not pay any mind to what others thought of her. For example, Throughout the novel she faced humiliation by the other people in her town,but all the while remained a woman of great probity, and she never lost her sense of pride. When she walked to the scaffold from the prison, she held her head high and wasn't affected in any way by the evil glares from the public. As an adulteress, she was forced to endure shame, and judgment from her peers and was sentenced to have the letter “A” pinned to her gown until death parted her from it.

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The townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”

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Wherever Hester goes, people will know who she is, and what she had done. Hester's punishment was unjust because Hester was sent to prison for committing adultery. 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. Although,

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