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 philosophizing and be maternal with respect to society. Through analyzing Hester¡¯s character and its contributing factors in the cline of the plots, the paper concludes that the formation and transformation of Hester¡¯s character in a long and complicated process, and it is the result of the influences of history, sexism society, Puritanism, people connected to her and her own realization and thought.
Key Words: Hester Prynne; complicated character; passionate nature; thinker; maternal respect; long process
Thesis statement: The formation and transformation of Hester¡¯s character is a long and complicated process, which is the result of the influences of history, society, religion, people connected to her and her own realization and action.
•ñ. Introduction
•ò. The influences of background on Hester¡¯s character
A. Social and historical backgrounds
2. The conflicts of Puritanism and humanity
•ó. The influences of other people on Hester¡¯s character
2. His piety to God and his own torture
1. The marital misfortune between Chillingworth and Hester
C. The influence of people in the town
•Ô. The influence of Hester herself on her character
Dating back to American literary history, there appears numerous literature elites, such as R.W. Emerson, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway. During the romantic Americn literary history, Natheneil Hawthorne ranks first in nearly everyone¡¯s mind. Some of his followers praises his as American Sha...