Hester Prynne As A True Hero In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

What is the meaning of being a hero? Some people believe that a hero is someone who wears a cape and has impressive superpowers such as flying or super strength. Others believe a hero is someone who has performed a “heroic act” such as rescuing a cat from a tree. There are several definitions for this little word. But a true hero is someone who is selfless and puts others in front of them before they worry about themselves. They are willing to be in tough situations and show strength and courage. These are also people that others look up to as their role model. Some people that can be considered “heroic” are firefighters, police officers, and soldiers in the nation’s army. But in the story of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, none of these heroes are mentioned. A woman by the name Hester Prynne makes one big mistake that changes her life forever. But as she moves on through life, she spends her time caring for others rather than feeling sorry or guilty for herself. As the story goes on, Hester’s heroic qualities begin to emerge from her love for her daughter, Pearl, and her lover, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. In the book, The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Hester Prynne, has been convicted of adultery and results in the Puritan …show more content…
While Hester is being punished for her sin, her husband who she left in Amsterdam finally arrives in America. When they have the opportunity to talk, her husband, who unofficially changes his name to Roger Chillingworth, tries to get Hester to tell him who the father of her child is, but she is not willing say anything. She wants to protect Dimmesdale from her husband. She loves Dimmesdale enough to even leave with him to travel Europe after he finds out the truth about Chillingworth’s identity from her. Hester cares about Dimmesdale’s safety and does what she can to protect him, even if it means keeping secrets from her