Scarlet Letter
Hester and the Scarlet Letter: Unobtainable SimplicityThe achievement of simplicity in life never occurs because things are not simple, but manifold, being viewed differently, and speaking more than one purpose. Nathaniel Hawthorne journeys to seventeenth century Boston and introduces Hester Prynne as he makes his awareness of this idea evident. Through The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne presents the complexity of life’s components whether they appear as simple as an embroidered letter or as intricate as a life changing circumstance. The focus on sin and the consequences and atonement that follow exemplify Hawthorne’s tragic moral vision. A moral vision dealing directly with human nature through Hawthorne's own creation of Hester Prynne provokes this idea, this problematic truth. A woman publicly acknowledged for what her society held as a grave sin stands before them. She begins her journey, a journey that will forever change the views of not only her fellow characters, but also those to whom Hawthorne tries to reach through his writing. In this journey, meet a woman who’s weakness became her strength, who was looked upon in ways as changing as the seasons. Hester Prynne and the scarlet letter, standing n
He never takes a firm stance in the ever-changing meanings of the scarlet letter, yet merely casts it to his moral vision with the idea of “atonement. The letter shapes the way they look at Hester and the way they treat her. However, they never would know what it was like to be the person who bore that scarlet letter. The letter A was to be worn as a punishment, to be worn in shame, to be worn as “adulteress. ” At this point, many the townspeople realized what a high quality character Hester possessed. In addition to the convictions of his characters, Hawthorne also expresses his own opinions in regards to his central character, and one might refer to it as a biased opinion. ot only as character and prop, but also as universal defendants of the idea of multiple views, are tools for the exploration of this truth. The citizens of Boston deem two manifest opinions of Hester and the letter: that notion from the opening scene, which differs greatly that by mid-novel. Hawthorne’s tragic moral vision is illuminated in his beloved character and the letter she bore. The way Hawthorne chose to illustrate his character enables the reader to acquire the author’s attitude toward his subject. Hester’s pride sustains her from the opening scene until she dies, still bearing the scarlet A. They isolate Hester socially and geographically, which ultimately causes her own emotional isolation. The universal idea that there is more than one way to view things is not only a truth, but also a complexity in itself. When referring to Hester in the opening scaffold scene, Hawthorne remarks that “never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, in the antique interpretation of the term, than as he issued from the prison” (50). Hester’s acceptance transformed the scarlet letter to being much more than a symbol, it was a guide, “…her passport into regions where other women dared not tread.
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Acceptance Essays
