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  • Essay / The redemption of Hester Prynne as depicted in The Scarlet Letter

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne accepts that she has sinned and realizes that she must pay the price for her crime. In doing so, she is overcome with courage and conviction and assumes a redemption that is denied to most of her fellow citizens. For a woman who possesses Hester's strength of character, the path to the desert of escape would also be a path to the desert of admission that those who judge her are her superiors. Hester Prynne's strength of character and willingness to accept her fate prove to be valuable and necessary qualities to succeed in an environment of conformism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hester understands that she must make up for her offense, but her actions reveal veiled disobedience. Although Hester herself is not allowed to wear anything but drab clothes, the only point of light being her bright red letter, she rebels by dressing her daughter Pearl in cheerfully colored clothes that express a "mood wild, desperate and defiant” (66). . A similar example of Hester's quiet rebellion and steely independence is presented in the form of her behavior when she is released from prison; her boldness compares favorably with the rather somber congregation before which she passes. In this moment, in Hester, there is a glimmer of self-awareness and dignity far from what the other townspeople expect of her as she moves forward with the determination to be the master of her destiny . Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hester continues to publicly challenge the strict moral culture that defines her society and its laws. While walking down the street, it is others who react with contempt towards the red letter she carries, but Hester herself never attempts to camouflage the manifestation of her sin, even by covering it with her hand. Isolation from those who would inflict their perverse values ​​and morals on her might be Hester's best companion. Although loneliness is not a desired situation for most people, it still has its benefits. The way a person perceives the world is not instinctive; there is nothing natural about it. Thoughts, opinions, and philosophies are not formed in a vacuum, but are created as a result of what one learns and acquires through interpersonal interaction. Isolation offers the distinct advantage of freedom from the mindless clutter of so many chattering moguls. Freed from the advice of those who would drain her of her intelligence, Hester begins to view the scarlet letter she carries as having a kind of supernatural power that gives her far more empathy and sympathy for the sins committed by others than these people have no feelings towards her. . "Hester Prynne, possessed of a mind of natural courage and activity, and for so long not only an outsider, but an outlaw, of society, had accustomed herself to a latitude of speculation which was completely foreign to the clergy She had wandered, without rule or direction, in a moral desert. The scarlet letter was her passport to regions where other women had not dared to tread. These had been her teachers, stern and. wild, and they had done it she was strong, but she taught her many things It was the feeling of relief that came over her to know that she may still be in Puritan society, but she. is not part of the puritanical society that frees Hester from the bondage of carrying the letter even though it is constantly wrapped around her At the same time, she remains fully aware of her own sin and remains convinced that she is..