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Hester Prynne Character Analysis Essay

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Hester Prynne, The Scarlet Letter’s protagonist, is a strong, kind, and proud yet humble woman. Through all of the struggles in her difficult lifetime, she persevered and did her best to make up for her sins. Hester raised her illegitimate child to be a wonderful, upstanding person without the help of her male counterpart. She taught Pearl the difference between right and wrong. Hester used her sin as a lesson to her daughter to learn from your mistakes, but not to let them define who you are. Throughout all of Hester’s difficulties in life, she persisted through them and used them to better herself. Hester was bold and embellished her scarlet “A” that was forced upon her chest. Instead of wearing the letter with shame and deep regret like everyone in the town wished she would, Hester shocked everybody and instead wore it proudly without the remorse attached all the way from the prison to the scaffold in the center of the village. When Hester exited the prison, “she took the baby on her arm, and with a burning blush, yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed” (Hawthorne 50-51). Expecting her to look dismal and dull, her daring blue eyes and her shiny, brunette hair shocked the entire …show more content…

The scarlet “A” on her bosom and the bonnet covering her ebony locks weighed on her as a physical representation of the heft of her sin. She lost her edge and began to give up. Hester was no longer enjoying life and blocking out judgements like she once was that day on the scaffold. Seven years is a long time to be publicly shamed for a sin you once committed. The gravity of the secrets she kept to herself was causing her to fade. She had no joy and no interest in life, she was unable to focus on herself. Hester’s entire life was based around others around her like Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl. Hester was forced to worry about others thoughts and needs, she never had time to tend to her

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