Is Hester Prynne Selfish

Ellen G. White, a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer, once said, “The sin which is indulged to the greatest extent, which separates us from God and produces so many spiritual disorders, and which are contagious, is selfishness.” This quotes proclaims that selfishness excludes people from God and people. This theme is furthered in the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The main character, Hester Prynne, is convicted of adultery, has a child, and goes through many trials involving the baby’s father, Arthur Dimmesdale, and her husband, Roger Chillingworth. Hester Prynne is a egoistical person who thinks of her needs over everyone else’s which leads her to be the most abominable sinner in the novel. Hester Prynne

After being gone for almost two years, Chillingworth arrives in the town only to see his wife condemned of adultery. When he visits her in jail, he announces he “…shall seek this man… Sooner or later, he must needs be mine”(69). Hester took a vow to be faithful and love this man, but she cheats on him and breaks their oath.Chillingworth is now determined to find who his wife’s lover is. Because Hester’s sin, he no longer can live a normal life, but is broken due to the fact the woman he loves cheated on him. Later on in the book, Hester and Chillingworth meet up and talk about the sin when Chillingworth questions her and asks, “And what am I now?” Without giving Hester a chance to respond he exclaims, “…I have already told thee what I am! A fiend! Who made me so?” Hester takes responsibility and says, “It was myself…”(162). Roger Chillingworth recognizes what his quest for revenge turned him into and blames Hester which he is correct about. If Hester remained faithful, Chillingworth never would be consumed by the devil, therefore proving that Hester, not only broke his heart, but caused him to be taken over by evil which leads to his death. Hester Prynn’s actions led to Roger Chillingworth being overtaken by the devil making her the most atrocious

After her decision to stay in Boston, “Hester bestowed all her superfluous means in charity”(78). Although this is a noble deed that Hester accomplishes, this does not prove she is not selfish. Her charity work is so that she would feel less guilty for her sin. Hester is responsible for her child and is supposed to make the best life for her which would be to flee the city to avoid Pearl being mistreated by the town, instead Hester stays because “… there trade the feet of one with whom she deemed herself connected in a union, that, unrecognized on earth, would bring them together before the bar of final judgement, and make that their marriage altar…”(75-76). Hester did not only stay in Boston to work off her debt. She stayed because Dimmesdale is there. Her selfishnesses is revealed because she never gives a second thought about what is best for her child. Although she helped the poor, Hester Prynn’s ulterior motives and self-centered decisions regarding her child proves she is