A Character Analysis of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter

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A Character Analysis of Hester Prynne in The
Scarlet Letter

• Hester Prynne is the main protagonist and
• the most complicated character in The
• Scarlet Letter. Hester transfers her
• passionate nature that is strong-willed,
• impetuous, to a contemplative, stoic
• woman and thinker who speculates on human
  nature, social organization and
• lager moral question, and has independent
• philosophy and be maternal with respect
• to society.

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• Some details
• ?. All who have read Nathaniel Hawthornes The
• Scarlet Letter know of the harsh judgment passed
• by the Puritan society on Hester Prynnes sin of
  
• adultery. Hester could not rebel against their
• punishment, but she defied them in numerous
• ways. When interrogated for the name of her
• partner in sin, she refused to expose him. In
  fact,
• Hester never gave up her love to Arthur and,
• in the end, was able to be by his side. When
• faced with the possibility of losing her
  daughter,
• Pearl, she argued heatedly with the head of the

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church and the leader of the settlement in order
to keep Pearl by her side. Lastly,the scarlet
letter was her shame to begin with, but
eventually turned into a badge of honor. ?.
Hester demonstrated her selflessness and
consideration for others repetitively. She held a
steadfast course in keeping silent while
protecting Dimsdales good name in the community.
Even when he ironically questioned her in
public concerning her partner in adultery she
remained
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true however humiliating it must have been I
charge thee to speak out the name of thou fellow
sinner and sufferer. She again showed her
ability to keep secrets when Chillingworth asked
her to obscure his true identity .
My ideas In my opinion, I view
Hester as a heroine because of her undying will,
and also her casual manner of dealing with
problems. Due to their repressive nature, they
persecute Hester for her alleged adulterous
behavior. Although the times are quite
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different, we can still relate to Hester's
attitude and manner very easily. For instance,
instead of wearing simply a plain "A" on her
bosom, she instead crafts a very ornate "A",
which of course is scarlet, to wear .Hester does
not always seem to care about what others think
about her, as she is very strong-willed, and
above all, independent. She also is viewed as a
hero to some women, for her vain and regardless
concern for what others think
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about her. We can also relate to that period's
represssivness , as in the 20th century we have
seen repression against minority groups and
others frequently. And what impressed me most is
that she has the courage of seeking true love
inspite of the criticism of the Puritan society .
Hester suffers throughout the whole story alone .
Never in the story did Hester have anyone there
that could help
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her suffer. She was always single-handed,
having to be brave for herself, her child, and
her weak, selfish, corrupted lover. Hesters
character bears all the injustices inflicted
upon her by the society and she had to go
through all of that by herself.
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Thank you !