Hester's Redemption In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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In The Scarlet Letter, a novel compose by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character Hester Prynne accepts the fact that she has greatly sinned and comes to the realization that she has a price to pay for her wrongdoing against God. This novel can be considered a redemptive work because the author takes the readers through Hester 's journey on how she tries to better herself and her society after her transgression. Redemption is defined as the triumph of good over evil, the atonement for one 's sins, conquering one 's past, and living a meaningful and charitable life. In her acknowledgement of her sin, Hester becomes overpowered with the courage and compassion she needs to face her redemptive excursion alone, with just her living scarlet letter …show more content…
The Scarlet Letter can be considered a redemptive work in light of the fact that Hester Prynne redeems her sin of adultery in many ways. The first way Hester redeems her transgression is by standing in front of the townspeople allowing them to judge her, "Her sentence bore that she should stand a certain time upon the platform, but without undergoing that gripe about the neck and confinement of the head, the proneness to which was the most devilish characteristic of this ugly engine. Knowing well her part, she ascended a flight of wooden steps, and was thus displayed to the surrounding multitude, at about the height of a man 's shoulders above the street." Another example of how Hester redeemed herself of her sin is that she becomes a maternal figure, taking great care of Pearl and bringing food and clothing to the poor at no expense, "She employed in making coarse garments for the poor. It is probable that there was an idea of penance in this mode of occupation, and that she offered up a real sacrifice of enjoyment in devoting so many hours to such rude handiwork." In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter can be depicted as a redemptive work due to the fact that Hester Prynne redeems herself by turning down Mistress Hibbins offer to meet the "Black Man." This shows Hester has redeemed herself because even at her weakest and darkest moment she did not stray from God for a second

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