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Hester Prynne Character Analysis

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, revolved around the life of the protagonist, Hester Prynne, a woman shunned by society due to her sinful rendezvous with a man other than her husband whom was later revealed to be a beloved minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result of the affair a child named Pearl was conceived. A token of red shaped into the letter “A”, the scarlet letter, became embroidered onto Hester’s chest symbolizing her misdeed while reminding society of her offense. Hawthorne addresses the struggles that women during the 19th century were confronting and exhorts his position on immoral actions: with evil comes great virtue. In this case, Hester represents a virtue character to balance the evil. Hawthorne designed Hester as a strong character with decorous manners in order to bestow an example of how women should be seen and accepted. The novel empowers women in various yet peculiar ways.
What is most remarkable about Hester Prynne is her strength of character. Readers are introduced to Hester on the scaffold with Pearl in her arms, beginning her punishment. The first description of Hester notes her natural dignity and mentioned specifically the haughty smile and strong glance that revealed no self-consciousness of her current position. While she may have felt agony as if "her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon,"(61) her visage revealed no such thought, and her demeanor is described as "haughty." She displayed a

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