In the novel, ‘The Scarlet Letter’, Hawthorne writes chapter 5, “Hester and Her Needle”, to show the uses of Hester’s clothing to reveal Hester’s self-perception, releases the attitude of Hester’s neighbors, and explains the nature of her daughter’s conception in different rhetorical devices. In the 7th paragraph of chapter 5, it states that Hester didn’t wear the finest of clothing. She simply wears plain dresses and basic materials. Hawthorne describes Hester’s attire as “Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the most somber hue; with only that one ornament,--the scarlet letter--which it was her doom to wear.”(86).
In the beginning of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces the main character Hester Prynne, a young, beautiful member of a Puritan society being punished for her sin of love, not lust. The opening chapters introduce the reader to gossips who deem her original punishment, death, too harsh and contrary to Puritan beliefs that unborn babies should be given a chance at life. Instead, Hester and her child are to be alienated and shunned. In addition she is to wear the letter ‘A’ (which stands for ‘adultery’) on her chest which will forever display her as a symbol of shame for her sin. Though a very resilient figure who soon overcomes this pain, Hester’s isolation takes a negative toll on her life.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a novel that focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hawthorne revolves the theme around the four main characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth., and Pearl. Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ after committing adultery against her husband Roger Chillingworth, with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result an odd child is born.
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.
By wearing the “A,” Hester was publicly humiliated, however, her development in character causes a change in the meaning of the Scarlet Letter, which leads her to taking pride in the letter as it grows a part of her. After Hester’s sin the Puritan community places a false
In seventeenth-century Boston, appearance held profound significance, proven through documents of the era but also in intricate novels and how clothing was used to measure social status. Nathaniel Hawthorne may not have been studying clothing in writing his novel The Scarlet Letter, but the theme conveyed underlies within the clothing the protagonist wears as a result of her actions, and how appearances still mattered in the Puritan times but in a different manner. Clothing is ultimately used as an outlet to showcase the civilians' sins; as done with Hester since her attire not only exemplifies her sin but also reflects her evolving mental state throughout the novel shown through imagery, and how it influenced others’ perceptions of her. Sewing
The appearance of the Hester’s scarlet letter that she always wears is described as, Fine red cloth surrounded with elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. it was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy,… (Hawthorne
Even though the Puritans may have designated the letter as a representation of sin, Hester’s renewed sense of pride does not want society to define the A for her. Rather Hester wants to define it herself and by doing so she develops responsibility and power over her own actions. Because Hester has the power to change who she is, she also has the power to change what the Scarlet Letter represents. By letting the letter be “embroidered with gold thread” readers are able to see how for Hester sin is not something to be fearful of; furthermore, it allows one to see how Hester has developed into an independent individual who accepts who she is and the situation she is presented with. Hester’s lover unfortunately
The Scarlet Letter is an excellent book by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in the year 1850. Considering that the 1850’s was more than 150 years ago, I wanted to relate this book to nowadays. Hester was not seen the same with her Scarlet Letter, and people felt ashamed of her. I began to think who wore their own “Scarlet Letter” in our generation. There are many people who commit sin or are looked down upon.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, referred to the novel as a work of Romanticism. Hawthorne only describes it as Romanticism, but it also has Puritan ideals and beliefs in the novel itself. In novel, Hester, a young wife who committed adultery, was sentenced to a lifetime of cruelty, rejection, and sadness. Hester was required to wear the letter A on her chest to remind her of her sin and to remind others of what it would be like to commit a sin. Pearl, Hester’s daughter, was the only great thing that came from her sin, but Hester still saw Pearl as a sin and was afraid to consider Pearl a positive outcome because of the Puritan beliefs that she was surrounded by.
However, the scarlet letter is more than just a symbol of shame. It also portrays the punishment and consequences of sin during the 1600s, and it serves as a warning to others who may be considering similar actions. The lavish embroidery around the letter marks her sin with a sense of beauty, which contradicts directly with the shame and repentance that the Puritans associate with her adultery. The Puritan women were angry at the fact that Hester almost wore the letter proudly. This idea is shown when Hester is walking through the town and the women are complimenting how clever she is with her needle, “But what a way to show it!
As explained in the topic paragraph, behaviors of characters in The Scarlet Letter are shaped by the “Public vs. Private” dichotomy. The narrator seems to imply that satisfying one’s personal impulses is more significant than conforming to cultural/ social demands. The overall main character, Hester Prynne, is shown throughout the novel on how she should either do what makes her blithe or to conform to what society thinks she should do. The idea of “truth” often plays a key role in the progression of events and development of a character’s personality. The Puritan community is a very strong presence mentioned throughout the whole novel.
At just a glance at the back cover of The Scarlet Letter, a reader is immediately aware of the plot and the Puritan setting. If a reader receives some background knowledge, he or she learns that being apart of the community back then was not an easy task. With its harsh regulations, and strict, unlawful punishments, it is no wonder a citizen of this society would not act out of the Puritan lifestyle. In just the first couple of pages after they say Hester, Hawthorne describes the females of the community like evil villains from a Disney movie. When Prynne was initially exposed to the public, the women attacked her with criticism for she carried the beloved scarlet letter on her bosom as a sign of adultery.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was published in 1850. It focuses on the life of the main protagonist, Hester Prynne, living in a Puritan community. Both Yamin Wang and Maria Stromberg offer insight into The Scarlet Letter and analyze multiple aspects of the story.. Both Wang and Stromberg claim that there is an underlying ideology hidden in the texts of the book. Wang approaches the story from a feminist approach and states that Hester represents the feminism in the Puritan community, and she analyzes the Puritan’s outlook on women in their society.
“-was that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminate upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself.” (Hawthorne 51). This means that Hester’s Scarlet Letter is made beautifully but it makes her isolated from the townspeople. She is so guilty from her sin and judged from the people of the
