Hawthornes Portrayals
In the opening chapters of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne provides a detailed description of Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale. The reader is able to look into the souls of these characters and learn of their deepest feelings. Along with this Hawthorne uses the townspeople's reactions to show how the characters are portrayed amongst them. Every person has their good qualities and their poor qualities. The representation of these characters is neither all upright nor all immoral, for everyone has their faults. Hester Prynne was a woman who committed adultery. In Puritan times adultery was not tolerated. It was often a crime punishable by death. Hester was a different story. Instead of a death sentence, she was forced to wear upon her breast the letter "A," made of red cloth. Hester had come over from England, alone. Her husband planned to join her after tending to business matters. Almost three years passed and he never arrived, it was thought that he could possibly be dead; therefore her punishment was not as severe as it could have been. The townspeople were appalled by her behavior, especially the older matrons of the town. They felt as if her punishment was way too
" Dimmesdale was involved in the scandal too. After learning this information about his wife, Chillingworth still treats Pearl when she is anguished, even though it is his wife's child by another man. "I drew thee into my heart, into its innermost chamber, and sought to warm thee by the warmth which thy presence made there!" However Chillingworth is not the innocent man that he claims to be. The reader may at first feel sympathy for him, as any person would feel for someone whose spouse had committed adultery. He was the one person least likely to be the father of Pearl . While Hawthorne portrays Hester as a sinner she is also seen as a survivor, and a person full of knowledge and strength. " Not only did she stay there, but she helped out in the town in whatever way she could. He is a modest devoted servant of God. He wishes to seek revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale. with the left shoulder a trifle higher than the right. Roger Chillingworth was Hester's husband, who had arrived in Boston almost three years after Hester.
Common topics in this essay:
Hester England,
Boston Hester,
Arthur Dimmesdale,
Pearl Dimmesdale,
Roger Chillingworth,
Hester Prynne,
Fire Brimstone,
Master Dimmesdale's,
Letter Hawthorne,
Chillingworth Hester's,
roger chillingworth,
committed adultery,
arthur dimmesdale,
committing adultery,
hester prynne,
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Acceptance Essays
