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Hester Prynne Exile Quotes

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Edward Said wrote, “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience.” Hester Prynne cheated on her husband with the head minister of the town and had a bastard child. In 16th century Puritan Massachusetts, this is essentially one of the worst possible things you can do. As a result, the town forces Hester to wear Scarlet A on her chest and shuns her. She worsens the situation by refusing to tell anyone who is the father of the bastard child. The people of Hester’s community loved to shun and ridicule her and her daughter and they all loved to view their exile. Hester’s experience with exile was alienating and enriching, and this experience illuminated the meaning of the work as a whole. Hester Prynne was an adulteress and this caused her to become separated from her community. …show more content…

In committing adultery, Hester caused the community to shun and ridicule her. “So that both men and women, who had been acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time, was that Scarlet Letter… It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and inclosing her by herself” (51). This quote is stating because of the Scarlet A, Hester is alienated from the rest of the community. The Scarlet A separates Hester from everyone else, even her child Pearl. It stands out because it is colorful and this convoys that Hester is a sinner because in the Puritan religion it is believed that colorful clothing is only to be worn by the Lord. If you follow the Puritan faith, you have ti wear dark and dreary clothing. Therefore, wearing a Scarlet A on her bosom instantly makes her different than everyone else in the community and causes everyone who sees it instantly know she is different from everyone else. The Scarlet A written on Hester’s bosom alienates her from the

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