The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that takes place in seventeenth-century Boston, a Puritan settlement at the time, which revolved around the Bible and attending church. Hester Prynne lives in this Puritan society and she violates the rule forbidding adultery, which is also one of the Ten Commandments. Hester gives birth to her daughter, Pearl, and soon after, she is released from prison to be publicly shamed on the scaffold by the people of Boston. This is the first time the townspeople see the scarlet letter and Pearl. The reverends of the town question her about who the father of the baby is, but Hester will not reveal his name. According to Hester’s sin, the letter ‘A,’ which stands for adultery, must be worn on her
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From the day Hester is put on the scaffold in front of the people, she decides to stay in Boston and move on with her life. She could have fled the town and started over somewhere else, but she chooses to stay. “Hester Prynne, therefore, did not flee. On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage” (Hawthorne 121). Despite her isolation from society, Hester uses her talent of sewing and makes a living for herself and Pearl. “Her needle-work was seen on the ruff of the Governor; military men wore it on their scarfs, and the minister on his band; it decked the baby’s little cap...But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in to embroider the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride” (Hawthorne …show more content…
She helps the poor even though they judge her too. Hester transforms the meaning of her 'A' from “adulterer,” which implied a negative sin, to “able” within a few years. This shows that Hester is a strong woman who learns from her mistakes and moves on to make her life better. “The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers— stern and wild ones—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss” (Hawthorne 300). Hester’s decision to give her life a meaning instead of living in remorse gives her satisfaction and confidence that other women in society do not
From the day Hester is put on the scaffold in front of the people, she decides to stay in Boston and move on with her life. She could have fled the town and started over somewhere else, but she chooses to stay. “Hester Prynne, therefore, did not flee. On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage” (Hawthorne 121). Despite her isolation from society, Hester uses her talent of sewing and makes a living for herself and Pearl. “Her needle-work was seen on the ruff of the Governor; military men wore it on their scarfs, and the minister on his band; it decked the baby’s little cap...But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in to embroider the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride” (Hawthorne …show more content…
She helps the poor even though they judge her too. Hester transforms the meaning of her 'A' from “adulterer,” which implied a negative sin, to “able” within a few years. This shows that Hester is a strong woman who learns from her mistakes and moves on to make her life better. “The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers— stern and wild ones—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss” (Hawthorne 300). Hester’s decision to give her life a meaning instead of living in remorse gives her satisfaction and confidence that other women in society do not