Scarlet Letter Hester

A detailed Summary of Scarlet Letter Hester

The character of Hester Prynne changed significantly throughout the novel

"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne, through the eyes

of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways,

committing adultery. For this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol

of shame for the rest of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of

Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs. She is a beautiful, young woman who

has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity"

and she can do no wrong. Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a

Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction

as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece.

From the beginning, we see that Hester Prynne is a young and beautiful woman

who has brought a child into the world with an unknown father. She is

punished by Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of

her dress and standing on the scaffold for three hours. Her hair is a glossy

brown and her eyes deep-set, and black, her attire is rich, carefully

caressing her slender figure. The scaffold is a painful task to bear; the

influence of genuine Puritan law and order. These attempts are failed, for

agent of Satan, and she both loves, and in some ways, loathes the child.

lover, the father of the child. She refuses to tell him. Later in the novel,

Pearl continuously mocks authority in the novel, a key characteristic of the

then goes back to business, telling her beloved Arthur that she will set sail

Approximate Word count = 1208
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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