Hester Prynne vs. Scociety
Hester Prynne, the Scarlet Letter’s protagonist is a huge sinner and adulteress. Throughout the novel, she must carry the weight of her sin by wearing the letter “A” on her chest. As a result of this letter, the town’s people looked down on her, and think of her as a wretched, and arrogant woman. The people believed that the magistrates were too merciful on her, and thought that, a woman so wicked and scandalous as her should suffer a more severe punishment than the one enforced on her. The women gossiping outside the jailhouse concurred that, Hester, “had brought shame upon [them] all, and ought to die”(Hawthorne 60). When Hester walked out onto the scaffold, she was cast wicked glances from her fellow town members. They glared at the letter on her breast, and stared at the illegitimate child in her arms. This public shame was not severe enough a punishment for this wretched woman, in the eyes of the town folk. Any other form of torture, or penalty would not have been too harsh in the eyes of the community, for this woman was a huge sinner, and deserved the worst sentence possible.
After Hester had served her jail time, she was released. After being released, she took her child with her and lived in a cottage on the outskirts of town, becoming isolated from her community. In order to support both herself and her child, she took up the craft of needlework. Her work being beautiful and fit for the governor was required for making christening gowns, and the robes of high officials. Hester Prynne’s needlework was chance for repentance; she made garments for the poor, and reached out to society and contributed however she could. Never the less, the people still shunned her, refused to acknowledge her existence and the wage of her sin. To the people of the town, Hester was “like a ghost that revisits the familiar fireside and can no longer make itself seen or felt”(Hawthorne 98). They ignored her when she passed, because they were disgusted to be around her. In the eyes of the town Hester was invisible.
Although the town was cold and alienated her, Hester, as a remorse for her sin remained submissive and selfless to the public. She helped out those who needed her, and became known as a “Sister Of Mercy”(Hawthorne 192). As years progressed,...