The Scarlet Letter6

A detailed Summary of The Scarlet Letter6

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the letter "A"

changes it's meaning many different times. This change is significant.

It shows growth in the characters, and the community in which they

live. The letter "A" begins as a symbol of sin. It then becomes a

symbol of her ability to do and help things, and finally it becomes a

The letter "A," worn on Hester's bodice, is a symbol of her

adultery against Roger Chillingworth. This letter is meant to be worn

in shame, and to make Hester feel unwanted. "Here, she said to

herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the

scene of her earthly punishment . . ." (84) Hester is ashamed of her

sin, but she chooses not to show it. She committed this sin in the

heat of passion, and fully admits it because, though she is ashamed,

she also received her greatest treasure, Pearl, out of it. She is a

very strong woman to be able to hold up so well against what she must

without it and begin a new life in England, but it was easier for her

best being there. "But there was a more real life for Hester Prynne

against a town which despised her very existence, and to stay in a

scarlet 'A' by its original signification." (156) At this point, a lot

who needed her the most proved that she was not worthy of the fate

our Hester- the town's own Hester- who is so kind to the poor, so

stand for her ability to create her beautiful needlework and for her

here in New England than in the unknown region where Pearl had found a

Approximate Word count = 682
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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