Who Is Hester A Shameful In The Scarlet Letter

Sin in puritan times was not taken lightly. Ignominy was how sinners were punished, and in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist Hester Prynne was no exception. She was publicly shamed, and forced to wear the letter “A” on her chest. Everything that was meant to be ugly in Hester’s life, turned into something beautiful. The letter Hester had to wear was meant to be ugly, but instead she made it beautiful. Also, her reputation in town was supposed to be negative but because she worked hard at what she love to do, her reputation became positive. Her daughter, Pearl, was also meant to be ugly because she was a physical representation of sin. Pearl grew from a baby that was seen as ugly into a beautiful woman. The beautiful things in Hester’s life came out of the things that were supposed to be ugly, such as the scarlet letter itself, Hester’s reputation and Pearl.

When Hester was convicted of adultery, she had to sew a letter A to wear on her chest so everyone would know that she is a sinner. Instead of making the letter small so no one would notice it, Hester sewed a large, beautiful A. The A was “in scarlet, fantastically embroidered with gold thread” (57). The A that was supposed to be ugly, brought a beautiful reputation for Hester. Hester was supposed

The scarlet letter she was made to wear, was supposed to be ugly and cause her shame, instead it was ornately made and turned out to be beautiful. The way Hester was seen in her town was also supposed to be ugly, but through hard work Hester’s reputation became beautiful. The biggest thing in Hester’s life that was supposed to be ugly was Hester’s daughter, Pearl. Pearl defied all expectations, and grew into a beautiful girl who was Hester’s only reason for living. Going against all expectations, all ugly things in Hester’s life turned into something