Who Is Hester A Sinner In The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter writes about a love affair between a Puritan Minister, Arthur Dimmesdale and a married woman, Hester Prynne. This affair results in the birth of their daughter Pearl, who later becomes important in the story. As a result of this forbidden relationship, Hester is condemned to public shame by wearing a Scarlet Letter. Because of the Scarlet Letter, Hester is looked down upon by the community and, at first Dimmesdale doesn’t receive any of the blame. Hawthorne uses his characters to represent transition and change in America in the 1800’s. Hawthorne uses important characters such as Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl to represent different ideals, viewpoints, and eras in America's history. Some of these ideals

Hester is seen as is a sinner, and for that sin, she can not be apart of the new era. Since Hester committed a terrible sin, she was looked down upon by the community and sometimes, “she felt an eye-a human eye” looking upon her and making her feel like “she had sinned anew”(59). The people of the community know what she has done, so they judge her. Because of the small Puritan community, not many terrible things happen and when something does, then the people become curious and start searching for gossip. Hester is treated so differently, as if she is an outcast, not part of the new era. When Hester went to the forest to meet Dimmesdale, “she took off the cap… and down it fell upon her shoulders”(139). The forest is a safe place for Hester where she can express herself. When she is around Dimmesdale, she can let her beautiful self out and not hide behind her cap and scarlet letter. Because of this, Pearl does not recognize her mother without her cap or letter on. Hawthorne uses symbolism to show that Hester cannot be apart of the new era, she still has to live her life as an adulter. Throughout the novel, Hester must comply with Puritan dress norms and “was clad in a garment of coarse gray cloth… [which] had the effect of making her fade personally out of sight and outline”(155). When she wears gray clothing it has an effect that makes her distant from others, and almost invisible. This aspect highlighted by Hawthorne conveys the change in America from the old to the new era, by Hester complying to society and expressing her true self through the way she dresses Pearl. As Hester is being pulled in two directions by Puritan ways and the new era, she expresses her new ideas through