The Scarlet Letter begins its story by introducing the main character, Hester Prynne. She has just been released from prison to fulfill her punishment of public humiliation. Hawthorne helps us illustrate not only Hester’s appearance, but also her personality through his syntactical description of her composure as she is being led to the scaffold to be exposed to the whole town.
“In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and …show more content…
Her fancy threading of the scarlet letter is an act of defiance, showing that she’s a bold person. Even though the occupants of the town expected her to come out of her prison to be “dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud” (Hawthorne 51), she had astonished everyone with her spirit, which she expresses through her attitude of her punishment. Hawthorne’s syntactic descriptions of people’s views of Hester creates an image of an empowering woman who appeared strong and confident despite having been stained with a defiling reputation. Hester’s beauty seems to parallel with her strength and humbleness, which does not break with the constant battering and demeaning words of her …show more content…
When Hester and Dimmesdale secretly meet in the forest, she “reveals to Dimmesdale that she’d actually been married (chastely) to Chillingworth in England--where he was a magician, an evil shaman who is now devilishly bent upon prompting Dimmesdale’s destruction under the guise of ministering to him.” (Kirkus Review No. 15) We also find out from Hester’s confession to Dimmesdale that Chillingworth always kept to himself and he cannot maintain an equitable relationship. This shows that Chillingworth is a person who lacks empathy and is the symbol of evil in this
“In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and …show more content…
Her fancy threading of the scarlet letter is an act of defiance, showing that she’s a bold person. Even though the occupants of the town expected her to come out of her prison to be “dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud” (Hawthorne 51), she had astonished everyone with her spirit, which she expresses through her attitude of her punishment. Hawthorne’s syntactic descriptions of people’s views of Hester creates an image of an empowering woman who appeared strong and confident despite having been stained with a defiling reputation. Hester’s beauty seems to parallel with her strength and humbleness, which does not break with the constant battering and demeaning words of her …show more content…
When Hester and Dimmesdale secretly meet in the forest, she “reveals to Dimmesdale that she’d actually been married (chastely) to Chillingworth in England--where he was a magician, an evil shaman who is now devilishly bent upon prompting Dimmesdale’s destruction under the guise of ministering to him.” (Kirkus Review No. 15) We also find out from Hester’s confession to Dimmesdale that Chillingworth always kept to himself and he cannot maintain an equitable relationship. This shows that Chillingworth is a person who lacks empathy and is the symbol of evil in this