Van Doren criticises the character Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his essay “Hester Prynne”. Van Doren critics to prove how outstanding and deserving of respect she is. Van Doren reveres Hester Prynne's character through use of a complimentary diction, praiseworthy tone, and literary allusion.
Van Doren uses complimentary diction to prove how strong a character Hester Prynne is. He constantly compliments Hester throughout his criticism saying that, “ Above all Hester Prynne, whose passion and beauty dominate every other person and color each event, ”stating that she is above all in the story when it comes to passion and beauty. Especially in a novel set in Puritan times, Hester especially stands out and makes the story what it is by not only going against the status quo but also owning up to it.
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He does this when comparing her “the blackest sacrifice it ever offered on its altar.” Van Doren is proving how Hester could have been one of the worst victims of the Puritans ‘moral code’ and how she could have ended up lifeless and consumed by the Puritan ways, just as Dimmesdale was. He also states how Hawthorne disapproves of the severely dreary moral codes of the Puritans. Van Doren then compares Hester to an old tragedy, “She is not the subject of a sermon: she is the heroine of a tragedy, and she understands the tragedy.” This displays how she is above all and understanding of her situation and accepting of it, no matter what the consequences may be and the obstacles that occur throughout the story. Van Doren understands that when compared to the other characters ‘sins’ Hester is the only person in the novel to accept her consequences and rise up against all odds or be able to accept it, even if she hadn’t rose against the odds, she understands the tragedy she is starring in and she understands the horrific, beauty of it and it’s