As a way of being shamed, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a bright red “A” upon her breast at all times, because she committed adultery. After Hester moved to Boston without her husband, Roger Chillingworth who was living in England at the time, Hester meets Mr. Dimmesdale. Hester then becomes pregnant, with her daughter Pearl, and refuses to tell the community or the church who the father of her child is, “Madam Hester absolutely refuseth to speak” (Hawthorne 75). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the author shows the reader that some perceived bad things, like the scarlet letter, can bring about happiness and joy in some individuals. Hawthorne shows that while the scarlet letter has caused many hardships for Hester, she is also
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The scarlet letter is something that Hester can never get rid of, and is stuck with for the rest of her life. Even if she feels she has paid for her sins “who had some comfortable hope of pardon of [her] sin” (Winthrop). The Letter also brings about a lot of public humiliation to Hester, “under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes” (Hawthorne 70). Hester can not do anything within the town, without being watched and judged for her actions even if she acts with the upmost Christian puritan poise. The townsfolk religion caused them to believe “that sinners… were born condemned to spend an eternity in hell” ( COME BACK ). Along with Pearl, who is also constantly being watched for signs that she is a product of the devil by the government and church …show more content…
Pearl is judged by the children of the town and is not allowed or welcome to play with them, and is forced to be a recluse like her mother. Hester wishes for a better life for her child but due to her actions and the scarlet letter she is forced to wear, Pearl will always be tied to the letter “A”. The church even tries to separate Pearl and Hester, they argued that “a Christina interest in the mother’s soul required them to remove” Pearl from Hester’s care, so that she would not corrupt Hester any more than she already had been by the devil (116). While Pearl is being portrayed as a spawn of the devil, she is in fact the only person who is able to bring joy into Hester’s life.
While the scarlet letter may not be able to be seen as completely good or evil, the letter has changed much in Hester;s and the towns people’s lives. Hester is able to acknowledge the good that this punishment she has had to endure has brought while accepting the hardships as well. Within the confides of this society where ay type of sin, especially when made public is profusely frowned upon by the colonists, can only be seen as bad, the symbolism of the letter is also able to show the true beauty in the
The scarlet letter is something that Hester can never get rid of, and is stuck with for the rest of her life. Even if she feels she has paid for her sins “who had some comfortable hope of pardon of [her] sin” (Winthrop). The Letter also brings about a lot of public humiliation to Hester, “under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes” (Hawthorne 70). Hester can not do anything within the town, without being watched and judged for her actions even if she acts with the upmost Christian puritan poise. The townsfolk religion caused them to believe “that sinners… were born condemned to spend an eternity in hell” ( COME BACK ). Along with Pearl, who is also constantly being watched for signs that she is a product of the devil by the government and church …show more content…
Pearl is judged by the children of the town and is not allowed or welcome to play with them, and is forced to be a recluse like her mother. Hester wishes for a better life for her child but due to her actions and the scarlet letter she is forced to wear, Pearl will always be tied to the letter “A”. The church even tries to separate Pearl and Hester, they argued that “a Christina interest in the mother’s soul required them to remove” Pearl from Hester’s care, so that she would not corrupt Hester any more than she already had been by the devil (116). While Pearl is being portrayed as a spawn of the devil, she is in fact the only person who is able to bring joy into Hester’s life.
While the scarlet letter may not be able to be seen as completely good or evil, the letter has changed much in Hester;s and the towns people’s lives. Hester is able to acknowledge the good that this punishment she has had to endure has brought while accepting the hardships as well. Within the confides of this society where ay type of sin, especially when made public is profusely frowned upon by the colonists, can only be seen as bad, the symbolism of the letter is also able to show the true beauty in the