Many think of alienation and isolation as very similar concepts, if not the same thing. The terms are commonly used interchangeably when describing one who is separated from society. However, alienation and isolation are two widely different concepts, as alienation is separation from society caused by others ' deliberate avoidance, by believing that they are foreign, while isolation is the conscious choice to stay aloof from society. The differences between the two concepts are revealed in Chapter Five of Nathaniel Hawthorne 's novel The Scarlet Letter, where Hawthorne portrays Hester Prynne as a strong and charitable woman after committing a sin and being publicly punished for it. By portraying Hester as fallen and strong, Hawthorne describes
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After being released from prison, Hester had the choice of going anywhere since she was not restricted, and had the freedom to return to London or other European land to escape from the Puritan settlement. However, Hester decided to stay "on the outskirts of town," which was not "in close vicinity to any other habitation" (71). Hester isolates herself from the town, displaying her tendency to remain distant from the Puritan community, which had publicly punished her. By continuing to stay in Boston, Hester demonstrates her strength, choosing to stay near where she committed her sin as punishment for having Pearl, despite the townspeople 's judgment and ridicule from all, including children. She refuses to show the Puritan community 's strength to fully alter her life and ability to reduce her worth as a woman because of her sin. Hester also feels that her "happy infancy and stainless maidenhood" felt "foreign" to her afterwards (71). Hawthorne presents Hester as a bold woman, daring to forget everything but those that connect her to her present life as a sinner. Hester distances herself from the past, revealing the isolation that she has placed on herself, while the townspeople condemn her when she enters town. Hester is apart from human society, feeling as if she is a ghost, who can "no longer make itself seen or felt, no more smile with the household joy, nor mourn with the kindred sorrow" (75). As she feels like a ghost, Hester has "died", but also has came back near the fireplace, the Puritan society, as someone different. By metaphorically representing Hester as a "ghost", a non human being, that came back, Hawthorne reveals Hester as a strong and bold woman, coming back to stay in Boston after being publicly punished on the scaffold for Pearl. The ghost, isolated from the people, as
After being released from prison, Hester had the choice of going anywhere since she was not restricted, and had the freedom to return to London or other European land to escape from the Puritan settlement. However, Hester decided to stay "on the outskirts of town," which was not "in close vicinity to any other habitation" (71). Hester isolates herself from the town, displaying her tendency to remain distant from the Puritan community, which had publicly punished her. By continuing to stay in Boston, Hester demonstrates her strength, choosing to stay near where she committed her sin as punishment for having Pearl, despite the townspeople 's judgment and ridicule from all, including children. She refuses to show the Puritan community 's strength to fully alter her life and ability to reduce her worth as a woman because of her sin. Hester also feels that her "happy infancy and stainless maidenhood" felt "foreign" to her afterwards (71). Hawthorne presents Hester as a bold woman, daring to forget everything but those that connect her to her present life as a sinner. Hester distances herself from the past, revealing the isolation that she has placed on herself, while the townspeople condemn her when she enters town. Hester is apart from human society, feeling as if she is a ghost, who can "no longer make itself seen or felt, no more smile with the household joy, nor mourn with the kindred sorrow" (75). As she feels like a ghost, Hester has "died", but also has came back near the fireplace, the Puritan society, as someone different. By metaphorically representing Hester as a "ghost", a non human being, that came back, Hawthorne reveals Hester as a strong and bold woman, coming back to stay in Boston after being publicly punished on the scaffold for Pearl. The ghost, isolated from the people, as