There’s No Dichotomy Between Hester and A Farce
In D.H. Lawrence’s, “On The Scarlet Letter,” it is made clear that he does not praise the character Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.” To Lawrence, the portrayal of Hester Prynne is a mockery. Lawrence employs a sarcastic tone, repetition, and precise allusion to critique Nathaniel Hawthorne’s vision of Hester Prynne. This method is effective because it allows the reader to focus on Hester Prynne’s sin itself rather than the consequences of her sin.
Lawrence uses a sarcastic tone when writing about Hester Prynne’s character to emphasize how inaccurately her character was represented in the novel. He finds it ironic that Hester is being treated like a victim for the crime …show more content…
He declares, “She is the KNOWING Ligeia risen diabolic from the grave. Having her own back. UNDERSTANDING” (Lawrence). Ligeia is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe about a woman named Ligeia, as beautiful as Hawthorne describes Hester, who rose from the dead. She was able to overcome her sin and is revived through another character. Hester knows she committed a sin and understands what she did was wrong, but she does not do anything about it. Lawrence sees how like Ligeia and Hester are and wants to point it out to the audience. If the audience saw Ligeia as a sinner then they should see Hester as one too. Lawrence then simply says, “it is Arthur Dimmesdale who dies… she lives on as Abel” (Lawrence). Lawrence is referencing Cain and Abel the sons of Adam and Eve. This makes the reader question why Hester is Abel if he was the brother who died; he was the victim. The verbal irony behind associating Hester as Abel is that she really isn’t anything like Abel that’s just how Hawthorne portrays her. Hawthorne places this idea of Hester being the victim in the audience’s eyes without them knowing it. Lawrence feels that certainly this allusion will cause the readers to rethink Hester’s character and realize that she is by no means the victim.
Lawrence supports his lack of praise towards Hester Prynne with a sarcastic tone, repetition, and precise allusion. Lawrence wrote, “On The Scarlet Letter,” to explain how Hawthorne portrayed Hester as a mockery to the Puritan society. He focused on Hester’s sin itself which is why he feels like since she committed the crime she deserved to be punished. Lawrence does not write his article to bash all of Hawthorne’s writing, but to specify why the portrayal of Hester is a
In D.H. Lawrence’s, “On The Scarlet Letter,” it is made clear that he does not praise the character Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.” To Lawrence, the portrayal of Hester Prynne is a mockery. Lawrence employs a sarcastic tone, repetition, and precise allusion to critique Nathaniel Hawthorne’s vision of Hester Prynne. This method is effective because it allows the reader to focus on Hester Prynne’s sin itself rather than the consequences of her sin.
Lawrence uses a sarcastic tone when writing about Hester Prynne’s character to emphasize how inaccurately her character was represented in the novel. He finds it ironic that Hester is being treated like a victim for the crime …show more content…
He declares, “She is the KNOWING Ligeia risen diabolic from the grave. Having her own back. UNDERSTANDING” (Lawrence). Ligeia is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe about a woman named Ligeia, as beautiful as Hawthorne describes Hester, who rose from the dead. She was able to overcome her sin and is revived through another character. Hester knows she committed a sin and understands what she did was wrong, but she does not do anything about it. Lawrence sees how like Ligeia and Hester are and wants to point it out to the audience. If the audience saw Ligeia as a sinner then they should see Hester as one too. Lawrence then simply says, “it is Arthur Dimmesdale who dies… she lives on as Abel” (Lawrence). Lawrence is referencing Cain and Abel the sons of Adam and Eve. This makes the reader question why Hester is Abel if he was the brother who died; he was the victim. The verbal irony behind associating Hester as Abel is that she really isn’t anything like Abel that’s just how Hawthorne portrays her. Hawthorne places this idea of Hester being the victim in the audience’s eyes without them knowing it. Lawrence feels that certainly this allusion will cause the readers to rethink Hester’s character and realize that she is by no means the victim.
Lawrence supports his lack of praise towards Hester Prynne with a sarcastic tone, repetition, and precise allusion. Lawrence wrote, “On The Scarlet Letter,” to explain how Hawthorne portrayed Hester as a mockery to the Puritan society. He focused on Hester’s sin itself which is why he feels like since she committed the crime she deserved to be punished. Lawrence does not write his article to bash all of Hawthorne’s writing, but to specify why the portrayal of Hester is a