Scarlett Letter & Isolation
Everyone knows what it feels like to be alone. When your friends won't listen and it seems like they don't care, it's hard to deal with. Imagine being Hester Prynne and feeling that pain everyday. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's classical novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is a strong woman who was ostracized by her entire town for an act that she considered to have "a consecration of it's own." Her separation from the town allowed her to become her own person without the infernal public eye judging her, but it also proved to hurt her in several circumstances. Hester was never the kind of person who wanted to conform to the mold of society. She was her own person right from the beginning when she denied any helping hands as she emerged from the prison. Many readers believe that Hester's unique personality developed as a result of her isolation from the town, but I believe that her untamed personality is what led her into her isolation. Most Puritans in Hester's time weren't the type of people that would go around doing actions that would constitute a scarlet letter, and by Hester taking the steps that she did proves that she is not the ordinary Puritan. Her willpower and character encouraged her to make the
With heart problems and other issues on his mind, Dimmesdale cannot even seem to control his own emotions when he sees Hester and Pearl. Over time it proved to both help and hurt the people that she loved, but I believe that she made the right choice. The ridicule, the constant judging glances, and the pain are all things that Hester would have willingly done without. Hester Prynne was helping her self and Pearl by being separated from the town, but she was also inadvertently helping Arthur Dimmesdale as well. Purposely hurting Dimmesdale is not what she intends to do, but her isolation has pulled a shade over normal town life and ultimately hurt Dimmesdale. Hester's spontaneity encourages Dimmesdale to run away with her on a boat to another part of the world, and leave everything behind. The other children in the town were constantly mean to Pearl because they were feeding off the resentment that their parents felt towards Hester. Being cut off from society, Hester was then free from public scrutiny and was allowed to become her own person once again. The Puritans weren't ready for her beautiful and powerful spirit; they were used to the type of woman that cooks, and cleans, and blushes at even the idea of some of the things Hester did. Any amount of pain can change a person forever, and in a way, Hester was protecting Pearl from that pain by living outside of the town. She would have faced her tormenters, and hurled stones right back at them, only escalating the problem. He often has serious troubles and clasps his heart with his hand whenever there is any conflict involving Hester and his child. Hester, however, has some malicious effects on Dimmesdale at the end of the novel. Away from constant ridicule and harassment, she was free to raise Pearl anyway she chose. When such a strong woman came along the community didn't know what to do with her, and they immediately resorted to banishment and shame.
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