Who Is Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter

In the essay “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence uses several literary devices to convey his opinion of the main character of the novel, Hester Prynne. The author manipulates each device to support his argument and persuade the reader to view Prynne in a negative way. D.H. Lawrence’s unique use of literary devices successfully proves his argument. In Lawrence’s essay he uses allusion, an indignant, mocking tone and sarcasm to express his opinion that Hester Prynne should be denounced instead of adored for her sin. D. H. Lawrence uses biblical allusion to emphasize the true meaning behind Hester Prynne’s scarlet letter, which stands for “adulteress.” He repeats religious words all beginning with “A” to mock the scarlet letter and connect

Lawrence emphasizes Hester Prynne’s falter away from God to persuade the readers to see her as an enemy of the church, like the Puritans did in the beginning of The Scarlet Letter. This quote helps Lawrence achieve his purpose of degrading Prynne because he erases the false facade of goodness that many people see and replaces it with her true, unholy nature, which will influence people to outcast her. Furthermore, he alludes to Adam, a biblical character who betrayed the Christian God in the Garden of Eden when his partner, Eve, bit into a forbidden apple. This allusion refers to Hester Prynne as a traitor, specifically of her religion. Lawrence connects Prynne to Eve because it shows her as an untrustworthy character, which further damages her reputation. Next, Lawrence says “All begins with A. Adulteress, Alpha. Abel, Adam. A. America,” (Lawrence). Lawrence changes the perception of Hester from adulteress to victim because of the allusion to Abel, another biblical character who was murdered by his brother. Lawrence shifts Prynne’s character because many people begin to see her as a victim of a strict, oppressive town, instead of

Lawrence uses sarcasm to criticize Hester Prynne and reveal the true nature of her sin. The author’s use of this literary device destroys the illusion of virtue that Hawthorne and the audience create on Hester’s behalf. For example, Lawrence states “to seduce a man. To have everybody know. To keep up appearances of purity. This is the greatest triumph of women,” (Lawrence). Lawrence again states that women’s highest achievement is to beguile men. In contrast, the author does not think this of females; he uses sarcasm to illustrate women as a provocative gender at an attempt to arouse rage towards Prynne. Lawrence reaches his goal of persuading his readers to see Hester Prynne in his negative depiction because his sarcasm blames her for casting a shameful image on women, which makes the audience resent Prynne. Furthermore, Lawrence says “put her upon the scaffold and worship her there...It becomes a farce,” (Lawrence). In this event, Hester Prynne is placed on the scaffold to be punished, however throughout the book she gains respect from her peers. Lawrence reveals his sarcasm by stating that it becomes a farce because he wants the readers to know that the book’s outcome is humiliating towards women. Lawrence achieves his purpose through sarcasm by exposing the book’s ridiculous plot and creating anger among his audience to view Hester Prynne as the adulteress that she