How Hester Changes: The strength of her character Essay Sample

In the Scarlet Letter. it is singular how Hawthorne shows Hester Prynne’s strength of character. Although Hawthorne does non give us much information about Hester’s life prior to the novel. he does demo her great character which is revealed through the figure of tests and obstructions she faced. her public humiliation and stray Puritan life. Hester seems to hold changed the greatest in character and attitude. from a haughty and proud demeanour to holding a warm and tender bosom. Throughout the novel. Hester alterations three different times. from being a shamed adult female to a capable and able adult female and so to a therapist. Her honestness. strong willed spirit and compassion may hold been in her character all along. but the vermilion missive truly brought it to the attending or others.

In the beginning of the novel. Hester is described as being a tall. slender beautiful miss with “long. dark abundant hair” ( 51 ) . She has a rich skin color. her eyes are dark and beautiful. and wholly is a gorgeous miss. Despite her outward visual aspect. she has a great personality every bit good. With her strong willed spirit and “wild and passionate heart” ( Herzog 117 ) . who can assist but love her. Nevertheless. when Hester becomes imprisoned with a kid. she is forced to go the mature female parent that Pearl needs. When Hester is eventually able to come place from prison. she emerges from the prison door. proud and beautiful have oning an embroidered vermilion missive “A” on her thorax as she carries a three month old babe “‘But Ah’ . Interposed more quietly. a immature married woman keeping the kid ‘let her cover the grade as she will. the stab of it will ever be in her heart” ( 49 ) . Her look as she exited the prison did non look to demo any sort of sorrow. She seemed to be proud and unashamed of what she had done “with a combustion bloom and yet a haughty smiling. and a glace that would non be abashed” ( 50 ) .

Hester is faced with several different penalties. While she is standing on the scaffold she becomes cognizant of the austere faces looking up at her. Hester distressingly realizes her place of guilt and shame. She was made to stand on the scaffold for three hours “here. she said to herself. had been the scene of her guilt and here should be the scene of her earthly penalty. The anguish of her day-to-day shame would at length purging her psyche. and work out another pureness than that which she had lost ; more saint like because of the martyrdom” ( 74 ) . The undertaking was both physically and emotionally wash uping for Hester and Pearl. The Puritan society will non forgiver her for the criminal conversation that she has committed. so they put her through all the shame and embarrassment. the feelings of tortures and ridicule. and the public show of her wickedness as she stands on the scaffold in the center of the twenty-four hours.

The kid that she carries is besides the greatest penalty that Hester could hold. Pearl is a changeless reminder of her wickedness that happened long ago. Pearl is the lone 1 who can see the heat. appeal and passion that Hester one time had. Pearl is described as a diabolic kid that is apathetic to the puritan society. Pearl is a hurting to delight ; she ever gets her manner because she seems to play on Hester’s guilt. Pearl is invariably mocking authorization in the novel. She is invariably inquiring stupid inquiries that she already knows the reply to. Hester and Pearl are both really secluded throughout the novel because of Hester’s wickedness. Hester and Pearl lived in a little bungalow on the exterior of town. There. Hester hides her beautiful hair under a cap and her beauty and heat is gone.

Pearl is the lone 1 who can see the existent Hester. When she takes the missive A off as she does in chapter 13. Pearl will non hold anything to make with her. Pearl angrily demands that she put the missive back on and the support her cap on. With the vermilion missive and her hair back in topographic point under the cap. her beauty. the heat and profusion of her muliebrity had faded like sunlight. Symbolically. when Hester removes her cap and the vermilion missive. she is taking the harsh and inflexible Puritan societal and moral constructions.

She is besides punished by the Puritans by holding to have on the vermilion missive “A” . which stands of criminal conversation. on her bosom. This was another signifier of public show of her wickedness and another signifier of her penalty. she suffered public humiliation by holding to have on it everyplace she went. Again. she shows herself as being a really proud adult female as she embroiders her bright ruddy “A” with gilded yarn to expose to the community. ( The vermilion missive ) I think that forgiveness is a really of import portion of life. as good portion of the novel. Without it. people can non travel on with their lives. The three chief characters either needful forgiveness or needed to forgive. Some got it. some didn’t. Whether of non they received or gave forgiveness had a great impact on there lives. Dimmesdale had sinned by kiping with a married adult female and she ended up giving birth to their girl. He needed forgiveness from everyone else before he could forgive himself. Hester had turned her dorsum on her hubby. Roger Chillingworth. and slept with Dimmesdale.

She needed forgiveness from her hubby. from the town’s people and from her girl. Pearl. She would state no 1 who the male parent was. she merely wore the vermilion missive. After Pearl and the town’s people forgave her. the red missive became known as “able” in position of fornicator ( 146 ) . Chillingworth could non forgive Dimmesdale for what he had done with Hester. The deficiency of forgiveness drove both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth to their decease. Now you can see why I think it is really of import that we as worlds give and receive forgiveness. Two of these people had their lives ruined because they had no forgiveness. When Hester hot the forgiveness she needed. she started to be accepted back into the community. but things were non so good for Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. Time will non mend their lesions. merely forgiveness.

In the terminal. Hester’s strength. honest and compassion carry her through a life she could non hold of all time imagined. After Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die. Pearl is married and Hester is left entirely. Hester moves back to their small bungalow in Boston and becomes something of a fable in the town. Throughout the vermilion missive. Hester is portrayed as an intelligent and capable adult female. It is extraordinary fortunes determining her that makes her such an of import figure. ( Spark notes ) The vermilion missive made her what she became. and in the terminal. she grew stronger and more at peace through her agony.