In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is portrayed as a woman of remarkable strength. As punishment for her crime of adultery, Hester must wear the letter "A" on her chest for the rst of her life. Despite the hate and humiliation, she stays strong.
We can see Hester's strength when she decides to hide the name of Pearl's father, and bear all the shame. Even though she knows if she gives him up her punishment will be lessened, she decides to keep him secret. When she is asked about the identity of the child's (Pearl) dad, she states "I will not speak! My child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!" (24). She also shows her strength by saying "And that I might endure his agony as well as mine!" (24). She would rather take all the shame than give up the name of Pearl's father. …show more content…
When she shows her face to the public for the first time, the people expect to see her "dimmed and obscured by a disastorous cloud", but instead find her more gorgeous, graceful, and lady like than she has ever been (8). This shows her inner strenth, because she is not easily saddened by her situation. We can also see her strength when she stands on the scaffold while the angry crowds stare intently at her marked chest, when she thinks of repaying them with a "bitter and disdainful smile", even though deep down all she wants to do is "shriek out with all the power o her lungs" (12). She shows her strength in that she is able to hide her emotions even in such an unfortunate
We can see Hester's strength when she decides to hide the name of Pearl's father, and bear all the shame. Even though she knows if she gives him up her punishment will be lessened, she decides to keep him secret. When she is asked about the identity of the child's (Pearl) dad, she states "I will not speak! My child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!" (24). She also shows her strength by saying "And that I might endure his agony as well as mine!" (24). She would rather take all the shame than give up the name of Pearl's father. …show more content…
When she shows her face to the public for the first time, the people expect to see her "dimmed and obscured by a disastorous cloud", but instead find her more gorgeous, graceful, and lady like than she has ever been (8). This shows her inner strenth, because she is not easily saddened by her situation. We can also see her strength when she stands on the scaffold while the angry crowds stare intently at her marked chest, when she thinks of repaying them with a "bitter and disdainful smile", even though deep down all she wants to do is "shriek out with all the power o her lungs" (12). She shows her strength in that she is able to hide her emotions even in such an unfortunate