How Does Hester Prynne Change Throughout The Novel

The Scarlet Letter, one of the most sought-out novels of American Literature, holds the tragedy of Hester Prynne, the protagonist, who is constricted to wear the scarlet letter for committing such a sinful act with, Arthur Dimmesdale the glorified minister of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The novel, which is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains a multitude of hardships that force the characters to evolve and change. One of those characters being Hester Prynne, she is looked upon as the woman of sin. Hester and her child were forced to stand on the scaffold for hours, while being gawked at by the town’s people. Hester Prynne undergoes the punishment of adultery; however, Hester’s ignominy transforms her into the selfless and caring woman, …show more content…
She does not drastically change at the end of the novel, she continues to be strong knowing what people in the town think of her, however, the view the town’s people have of Hester alter. One thing that differs from the end of the novel, would be the conflict, Hester is no longer conflicted with society, her maternal instincts give the town’s people a new view on Hester, at one point in the novel there was consideration of taking the symbol of shame off. Her main conflict was with none other than Roger Chillingworth, her intelligent yet wicked husband stops at nothing to make sure Arthur Dimmesdale is suffering, Hester despises Chillingworth and reconsiders why she ever wed to the malevolent man. Hawthorne expresses Hester’s emotions by stating, “ She marvelled how she could ever have been wrought upon to marry him!” Hester will always value her daughter, Pearl, Pearl is considered an elfish child who Hester cherishes the most, the young girl wears a beautiful red dress that contains embroidered with gold. Similar to the embroidered “A” that her mother wears, Nathaniel Hawthorne creates this similarity to let the reader know that Pearl is the symbol for the her mother’s