The Interpretation Of The Characters Of Hester Prynne

Hester Prynne is unlike any other woman back in the 1650 's. She had to shamefully wear a scarlet "A" on her chest, that she sewed herself. Back in the day women were supposed to only take orders from the men of the house. Women were to cook, clean, and take care of their husbands. In the village where Hester lived she had done quite the opposite. Hester Prynne committed one of the worst crimes possible back in those days. She had an affair with a well known man and even carried his child. In the 1700 's women were to only live around the house; which involves housework and keeping their man happy. Hester was unlike any other woman that she shared a village with. In some ways some women may have been jealous with her actions, but most …show more content…
A passage from Scarlet 's says, "In the early days in Puritan New England a scarlet A for ‘adulteress’ was branded or sewn on a guilty woman 's dress" (Scarlet 's, 1). She had to wear a long dress with an embroidery "A" across the front. After the townspeople found out about her affair with Author while she was still married to her husband they hated her. The Scarlet Letter says, "The people were Puritans. They followed a strict religious code. The men had beards. They wore dark clothes. The women wore white caps. They were waiting to see the prisoner. Her name was Hester Prynne" (Hawthorne, 5) The Puritan 's has their own way of doing things and if anyone was to go against their beliefs than he/she should be punished. They also believed that a man was head of the house hold and that women should do everything, such as cleaning, cooking, etc. Living the Puritan way meant that everyone had to go by the "book". If someone did not then they were sinners. Hester was probably the biggest sinner of that village. She was looked upon as a "whore". An article by Hugh Rawson states, "a person who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse, usually a woman. This vivid biblical image seems to have tinged scarlet forever with sinful associations, e.g., Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, of 1850 (the letter in question being A for “Adultery”)" (Rawson, 1). Jane Richardson also writes, "In the 17th century some women who were found guilty of this kind of crime were punished by flogging, and in extreme cases were put to death" (Richardson, 1). Unlike women men were not punished as severely if they had committed such a crime. Richardson also states that if "men on the other hand were normally handed down a less severe punishment, as the blame was given only to women" (Richardson, 1). In the Puritan