"She was also distinguished, in the manner of the female nobility of that time; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent and indescribable grace which is now never had Hester Prynne appeared more distinguished, in the ancient interpretation of the term, than on her release from prison. Those who had known her before and had expected to see her obscured and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even surprised, to perceive how her beauty shone and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped" - this is almost the first description of the main heroine that the reader receives . Hester Prynne is not deterred by the serious crime with which she is accused. She walks towards the scaffold with her head held high and an air of confidence. But why? Did she not commit an adulterous act which was revealed to the entire society in which she lived? Didn't she give birth to an illegitimate child? Shouldn't she have worn on her chest the immutable sign of her disgrace – the scarlet letter A? She did it, but she still had a reason to be proud and gracious. Hester was in the midst of her journey of self-discovery. Hester was a passionate person and being passionate about someone or something was a natural state of being. But according to Puritan society where “religion and law were almost identical,” passion is a sin. And how could denial of something she felt be true? Did not the denial of passion deny the truth about Hester? Not letting go of passion, not committing the “crime” that Hester had committed, she would have become one of the “matrons” with “well-developed busts and round, ruddy cheeks”. And this... middle of paper... But the passions themselves were awakened in her soul, rocking her, whipping her, as the waves struck her splendid body daily. She was trembling, she was choking and the tears were blinding her. » Literature knows other examples of stories that also describe women's desire to realize themselves, to be independent and to have self-confidence. Edna's story is very similar to that of Anna Karenina, for example. But as for me, I rather prefer to achieve self-discovery not through passion for men – I want to be independent to be with the man I want to be – but through personal motivation, hard work and perseverance (a good example would be Jane Austin). ). I'm not saying that our heroines didn't possess these characteristics, but for the most part, their lover was number one for them, and only at the end of the stories do they reach the level of self-confidence without their side man..