The Scarlet Letter Essay, Research Paper

Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes, the most

powerful being punishment. In this novel, Hester Prynne becomes a

highly respected person in a Puritan society by overcoming one of the

harshest punishments, the scarlet letter. This object on “her bosom”;

however, does the exact opposite of that which it was meant for.

Eventually, Hester Prynne inverts all the odds against here due to her

courage, pride and effort. Hester went beyond the letter of the law

and did everything asked of here in order to prove that she is “able.”

Hester became quite a popular seamstress, admired all over the

town of Boston for her work. Hester is modest in everything that she

does. Hester herself wears only poor clothing while she embroiders

marvelous works for the rest of Boston. The only piece of clothing

forbidden to create was the wedding vail. How could a woman wearing

the scarlet letter create a dress that represents the values of

marriage; having committed sin as she did to be involved in the

marital bonds of another couple. Although she does the job willingly

and rarely ever looks back to the horrid past behind. The scarlet

letter was constantly worn by Hester with pride and dignity. Hester

knew that what was done in the past was wrong and that the scarlet A

was the right thing to do, therefor it is worn with a sense of pride.

The child, Pearl, is “a blessing and as a reminder of her sin.”

As if the scarlet A were not enough punishment there “was a brat of

that hellish breed” which would remind Hester of what happened in the

past. The “brat” could have been given away to Governor Bellingham yet

Hester proclaimed that Pearl “is my happiness!…Ye shall not take

her! I will die first!” Not a person in Boston, nor Hester herself

thought highly of the little child and Hester refused to let Pearl go.

Hester carried the kid around only because it was a direct reflection

of her sin and to cast away here sin as freely as that to give it away

would be unjust and unfair to Hester and Pearl. From now on Hester

would continually and proudly be near Pearl. Hester would go against

the grain in everything she did. Very rarely did she ever give up

hope; never did she complete a job poorly. In the city of Boston “many

people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original

signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester

Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” By now the people of Boston believe

in Hester and accept her because Hester is an arduous, productive

worker in the puritan society. The townspeople were reconsidering

whether Hester was still worthy of wearing the scarlet letter by the

time Hester was about to leave with Dimmesdale. The people of Boston

realized what a good job Hester had done wearing it and what once was

evil inside of Hester turned into good.

The fact that Hester committed adultery was soon forgotten by

the people around Hesters’ everyday life. Yet another meaning for the

scarlet letter was brought about when a meteorite appeared above

Boston, a sexton thought it represented the word “Angel” coming from

above. What was once an ignoble member of the puritan way of life

became a decorous woman. This turn in events was inevitable because of

Hesters.