Hester Prynne In D. H. Lawrence's On The Scarlet Letter

The essay, “On The Scarlet Letter” by D.H. Lawrence, analyzes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of the main character, Hester Prynne, whom Lawrence believes is a sinner. Lawrence believes Hester is the primary character at fault for the events in and preceding the novel. To illustrate the idea that Hester is a villain, Lawrence uses short, choppy syntax, repetition, and both Biblical and secular allusion to help him prove his point drawing attention to Hester’s role in the adulterous crime. Lawrence uses short, choppy syntax to explain Hester is at fault for an adulterous crime, and this works because it simplifies the crime and puts the blame on Hester. Early in his essay, Lawrence is summarizing the basic plot of the novel. He says “the first thing she does is to seduce [Dimmesdale]. The first thing [Dimmesdale] does is to be seduced” (Lawrence). In these two sentences, there is very little detail given of how and …show more content…
He succeeds because his use of repetition magnifies the negative aspects of Hester’s personality and past decisions. One of the first examples of repetition is in the beginning, when Lawrence says “Abell Abell Abell Admirable!” and then later “Adulteress Alpha Abel Adam A. America” (Lawrence). Here, Lawrence repeats the letter ‘A’, which in the novel stands for adulteress. By repeating the letter ‘A’, Lawrence continuously reminds readers of the crime Hester committed. His use of repetition helps him prove his point that Hester is a sinner because he is drawing attention to the scarlet letter, which is a symbol of the sin she committed. Later, Lawrence writes phrases like “keep up appearances of purity”, “pure!”, and “make a fool of purity” (Lawrence). Lawrence uses the word pure or purity repeatedly throughout his essay. Lawrence’s use of repetition helps him prove that Hester is a villain because it focuses on her lack of