In the romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commit adultery, but only Hester receives the consequences of their shared sin, which is to wear a scarlet letter and face public shame. The intensity of Hester’s punishment is partly due to the fact that she’s married, a woman, and has a child, due to her sin. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne portrays Hester Prynne’s identity and opinions as pertinent, yet useless at the same time
Sin and Rebirth Everything that happens has cause and effect. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, it talks about Hester Prynne’s story, who commits to adultery in a Puritan society and transform herself. She wears a scarlet letter “A”, which stands for adultery, for rest of her life as the punishment of adultery. She learns from the letter, and eventually the meaning of the scarlet “A” changes to able. However, her sin influences her in multiple ways. She bears humiliation, feels
people have judged others, often leading to alienation or abandonment. The Scarlet Letter is about a woman named Hester Prynne who commits adultery and is alienated from her Puritan society. She was miserably judged and made fun of the rest of her life while living with two of her consequences. One of these consequences was her daughter, Pearl, who was a constant reminder of her sin. The second consequence was a scarlet letter “A” on her chest. Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals the standard of how the Puritans
Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter in 1850 in a time much later than the Puritan setting. The main character, Hester Prynne, commits an act of adultery, subsequently has a child, and is forced to wear the scarlet “A” as punishment. The child produced from Hester’s sin is called Pearl. Pearl is her mother’s greatest treasure, as well as the greatest price Hester has ever paid (Hawthorne 499). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Pearl to symbolize the Scarlet Letter; her fiend-like actions,
The clearest way not to condemn a character is to empower them. In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne accounts the tale of Hester Prynne, a woman in Puritan Boston accused of adultery and forced to wear a red embroidered “A” on her chest. For the past two centuries, Hester Prynne has fascinated literary critics and readers, such as Nina Baym and Kathryn Harrison, startled by her unorthodox characterization in such a conservative and religious environment. Although Hawthorne is harsh
Making someone a public outcast as a form of punishment can bring many negative consequences for him/her. In the novel the “Scarlet Letter”, Hester was treated differently and was unwelcomed by the public because of her scarlet letter. Also, in the article “Concerns Raised On “Scarlet Letter” For Drunk Drivers,” people could be targeted by police and others if everyone knew what they had done. In “Companies ‘Named And Shamed’ For Bad Behavior,” the author explains how newspapers are trying to shame
American Heroine The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 17th century. The novel takes place in a Puritan association in Boston, Massachusetts. The Scarlet Letter is about a woman who commits adultery and is coerced to live with the consequences in the Puritan association. Hester Prynne is the central character who committed adultery. In a Puritan society, a person is supposed to be hardworking, determined, modest, and live in simplicity. At first, Hester may look more like a
nature. The Scarlet Letter was a famous book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that implemented anti transcendentalism. In the first chapter the reader was introduced to 3 symbols; a prison, a cemetery, and a rose bush. All puritanical meanings, the prison symbolized justice and judgement, the cemetery symbolized death of course, and the rose bush simply meant forgiveness. Hawthorne continued his story with a woman by the name of Hester Prynne upon a scaffold, or raised platform. Hester was on the scaffold
An analysis of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, reveals several symbols, one of the most prominent being the scarlet letter. Throughout the novel the scarlet letter contributes to the plot by being the object of concern. Nearly every event in the novel is due to the scarlet letter and its significance to others. The scarlet letter takes several forms throughout the novel, first being adultery and sin. Branded on her chest by the letter glowing with scarlet, Hester Prynne is commanded to
through his imprisonment, power obtained through persecution is exemplified in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic tale, The Scarlet Letter. Punishment ultimately engendered empowerment in the novel. From Hester’s literal