Van Doren's Allusions

In his essay, Van Doren uses heroic allusions to create a connection between Hester, Greek mythology, and tragedy. Van Doren uses a quote that compares Hawthorne to Homer and Hester to Odysseus: “He is the Homer of that New England, as Hester is its most heroic creature” (Van Doren, 566). The quote implies that Hawthorne is the author of New England mythology and he chose Hester to be a Queen of the people and a heroine for her followers and many others. Homer wrote The Iliad and the Odyssey, which were stories passed down orally by bards from one generation to the next. The practices and beliefs the stories included was tradition and people did not intentionally break the traditional behavior. Hester faces the same idea with Puritan views. The Puritans view her sin as a tragedy. However, Van Doren disagrees the view stating that, “She is not the subject of a sermon; she is the heroine of a tragedy, and she understands the tragedy” (Van Doren, 567). In this quote, Van Doren …show more content…
A quote in the essay states that, “...she makes more show than she needs to make of the letter on her bosom…” (Van Doren, 567). Van Doren uses the quote as a compliment of her strength and dedication to her sin. Hester is described in the quote above by making her letter an example of her obedience to the rules, but Hester knows she made one mistake and shows everyone her sin. The people who see her letter tend to judge her as a sinner or a life wasted. Van Doren disagrees again with Puritan views and states, “It has been as beautiful as it was terrible; Hester’s life has not been hollow, nor has her great nature been wasted” (Van Doren, 567). Van Doren’s compliment to Hester in the quote is his belief her life is not wasted, but an example for younger women who look up to her as a role model and leader. Van Doren’s compliments are all based on Hester’s strength and perseverance to not hide her