In The
Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the narrator classifies Hester
Prynne as a sinner worthy of being put to shame, but it is difficult to
determine whether this is the actual belief of the narrator or merely a
description of the multitude's attitude towards her within the novel. However,
she is frequently revealed as a symbol of darkness and Pearl a symbol of light:
"The Governor, throwing open the leaves of the great hall window, found
himself close to little Pearl. The shadow of the curtain fell on Hester Prynne,
and partially concealed her" (p. 99). "'Mother,' said little Pearl,
'the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is
afraid of something on your bosom'" (p. 165). These implications suggest,
notwithstanding Pearl's title as a "demon child," that Pearl is a
chance at redemption for Hester and the minister; her kiss "breaks [Hester
and the minister's] spell" (p. 229) and allows them to escape the vengeful
wrath of Roger Chillingworth, which supports this theory. Moreover, Hester is
at one point referred to as the equivalent of a ghost who wishes to remain in
her haunting place. This places an entirely new perspective in the narrator's
analysis of Hester's character and implies that his conception of her may in
fact be quite negative, with little Pearl indeed being her only hope for
redemption.
Assuming that Hawthorne and the
narrator are of separate minds - that is, the narrator conceptualizes the story
and Hawthorne gives the historical/religious background - it is recalled that
Hester defies all the Puritan customs that were extant at the time. At every
instance when a religious reference is made, Hester exemplifies an opposition
to it. In the novel, as Hester's ability to change her nation is expanded upon,
she is compared to Anne Hutchinson and it is explained that, if she were to
become a recreational prophetess, she would have suffered a similar fate of
being executed. This reflects Hawthorne's views more so than the invented
narrator, so he likely believed that she deserved to be tortured and not
praised or sympathized.
The opinion of the community
towards Hester is especially interesting, because it seems to vastly drift back
and forth between shame and sympathy throughout the story, a concept which the
narrator actually expands upon. During Hester's first hour of ignominy standing
on the scaffold, the multitude is prepared to sentence her to death and even
proclaims that Scripture would allow it as a consequence; yet, as the narrator
states, years later the people "had quite forgiven Hester for her frailty;
nay, more, they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of
that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her
many good deeds since" (p. 147). Not only that, but at this point Hester
is classified as a saint and, as aforementioned, is believed by the majority to
have the potential to change an entire nation for the better. Such a drastic
change in the multitude's conception of Hester's predicament is referred to by
the narrator as an example of human nature leaning more towards pity than
anything else, or at least not permanently resorting to hatred and ridicule.
Subsequently, however, the people's shame in Hester's scarlet letter is renewed
as the foreigners arrive in the marketplace - perhaps, it can be inferred, as
punishment for Hester's attempt to rid herself of the letter in the forest - as
the horrific symbol "flames" upon her bosom once again. Moreover,
many years later, "the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which
attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of thing to be
sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too" (p. 234),
almost precisely the same attitude with which it was received prior. This
pattern shows that the multitude experiences opposite feelings towards Hester
at some point or another, which is appropriate since the letter itself is
shameful but is so beautifully embroidered that even Pearl considers it a token
worthy of praise.
As for Hester
Prynne herself, her scarlet letter tortures her more so than the people,
regardless of whatever the people's tentative attitude towards her may happen
to be. The most frequent comparison mentioned is the novel is that the letter
is a "flaming" symbol that "glows like a red flame in the
dark" (p. 216) and burns through Hester Prynne's bosom as long as it
remains there, a concept which she herself abides by and so is consumed by
evil, at least in her own mind. The evil eats away at the minister as well, and
is evident by his placing his hand over his heart, notably to the point that it
becomes uncontrollable. Hester and the minister alike, however, do not believe
that they have committed the greatest sin, but rather the physician
Chillingworth, who takes consistent jabs at the minister's spirituality and
relies on Hester's scarlet letter to torture her equally. Whether or not
Chillingworth is truly the greater sinner in this scenario is up to the reader.
My own thoughts
concerning Hester virtually reflect her own; I don't believe that her actions
were punishable by death as the people commanded, nor do I believe that she was
to go unpunished. Although, I don't think that Chillingworth was entirely in
the wrong for agitating the clergyman; Hester shouldn't have been the only
sufferer. It's true that the anguish of not admitting to his sin disturbed and
tortured the minister to no end, but in my viewpoint that is not the equivalent
of a physical reminder (the scarlet letter). Such a cursed token seems, to me,
an unbearable feat when compared to merely having the sin in one's memory and
not being prone to public humiliation. Therefore, I thought that the
physician's additions to the preacher's agony were fitting, but only because it
allowed him and Hester suffer equally, which was actually the physician's goal.
Undoubtedly,
Hester Prynne's character is thoroughly evaluated and the positives and
negatives are both equally identified. The reader's interpretation of the woman
varies with the reader, however. The physician, for example, is classified as a
"dark and terrible old man" (p. 229) for having been vengeful and
distorting the clergyman's spirituality, but the reader may consider his
actions as a reasonable response to Hester's adultery against him;
comparatively, a different reader may agree that Chillingworth was foul and
praise Hester for being with the clergyman instead. Such views vary depending
solely upon the values of the reader and their own assessment of every
infinitesimal detail that is given about Hester, Chillingworth, and the
minister, for it is all vital to both comprehending and thoroughly judging
their character as well as the situation in its entirety.
