Of the Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester Prynne is first introduced to the reader by many gossipers who are waiting outside of the courthouse to witness Hester’s arrival back into the town. The first impression the reader gets is that Hester is a disgraceful woman The many women on the town speak of Hester with nothing but disgust and disdain. They are discussing how the punishment Hester has received for her crime is not harsh enough, and they wish she had to endure a more psychical pain such as actually branding a mark onto her body.

This first impression the reader receives from the gossiping women is nothing that Hester’s character comes to be As soon as Hester emerges from the heavy prison doors, she radiates nothing but self-confidence Hawthorne writes, “He laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will”.

Hester is showing her strength in character here Even though she will be ridiculed for the rest of her life, she knows she must be stronger than the harsh ways of her community. Instead of letting the crowd’s jeers get her down, she embodies self-confidence to show her community that she cannot be brought down by a simple marking of an. The A she chose to show off, though, also gives insight into her character.

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While in prison Hester created her punishment, a scarlet. A that she must wear on all of her clothing, but instead of being a traditional Puritan and creating something simple, Hester decided to make this. It a beautiful by creating many embroideries on it. This was not seen only as distasteful, but even along the lines of gaudy, The fact that Hester took this risk continues to show how she has confidence in herself.