“Let her cover the mark as she
will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.” - Hawthorne
In
the book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne has a big
problem. While living in Salem, Massachusetts in the 18th century,
she has committed adultery. With religion being a big part in the lives of the
Puritans, they believed that she had to be punished. The people of the society
were ashamed of her and sent her to live on the outskirts of town with her
daughter, Pearl. She also had to wear a scarlet letter “A” as a symbol of her
guilt. The Puritans in the town were so focused on making Hester feel guilty,
but she tried her best to not let the isolation affect her.
By
making Hester feel isolated and different, people believed it would make her
feel guilty. In chapter two it says, “Ah, but let her cover the mark as she
will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.” The members of the Puritan
society wanted Hester to know how ashamed they were of her. They hoped that by
banishing her away and making her wear a scarlet letter, she would always know in her heart that she was guilty, even if she tried to conceal it. In chapter two it also says, “The Reverend Master
Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to his heart that such a
scandal has come upon his congregation.” Not only did people physically exclude
her from their society, but they also showed their disappointment clearly. The
reverend was an important figure for the Puritans and people would feel guilty
if he were ashamed or disappointed in their actions. This made Hester feel
different from the others because she was no longer accepted, even by the
reverend.
Many
times, Hester showed that she would not be affected by the isolation or by the
way the society made her feel different. When people first saw Hester’s scarlet
letter, they were astonished by the way she had sewn and embroidered it on. “On
the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate
embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A.” If
Hester had to wear the letter, she might as well make it look pretty. It shows
that she cared about her appearance, and also that her appearance would not be
completely drowned out by the bad ideas people had of her. In chapter eighteen it
says, “She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.” Hester had not
fully recognized how limited she had been to the society until she was finally
introduced to the real experience. She had come to accept that everyone felt
isolated, until she realized that she was the only one. While this feeling of
being different may have bothered some people, it hardly even affected Hester.
Throughout the book, Hester Prynne
made it a point to show that she would not be brought down by the way the
society pushed her out and made her feel different. She showed that she was
brave, strong, and defiant, and nobody could take those characteristics away
from her. It took a lot for Hester to stay strong while everyone was making her
feel so guilty, and most people might’ve broken down from the pressure, but
Hester was a strong and independent woman who was able to care for herself and
her daughter when nobody else would.
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