Jesse Wang

Ms. King
12/1/12
The Admirable Hester
A person is defined not by his situation, but rather by how he deals with it. People are
often expected to conform to societys standards without question. They are expected to obey
the rigid laws set forth by the community, and when they break these regulations they are
heavily chastised and even condemned by society. More often than not, these lawbreakers try
their best to conform to society in order to avoid further punishment or ostracism. They allow
society to label them, and in turn they come to associate themselves with their labels.
However, there are those who do not allow society to dictate their lives, no matter how
harshly punished they are. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, women are expected
to be faithful and devoted wives. However, one woman, Hester Prynne, breaks this rule when
she has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale. She is immediately labeled as naughty baggage
and is branded with a red A as a punishment (44). However, despite her public humiliation
and criticism, Hester retains her beliefs and her passionate self. Because she copes with her
circumstances and does not compromise her own ideals in the process, Hester is a character
worthy of admiration.
Despite the towns constant criticism and rebuke, Hester never fully conforms to
societys standards. Though she submits to the towns rigid regulations, she does so on her
own terms. For instance, before she had to bear the ignominious scarlet letter in front of the
townspeople, Hester had embroidered it with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic
flourishes of gold thread in order to show that even though she is accepting her punishment,
she is accepting it in her own way (46). Similarly, when Reverend Wilson offers to remove
Hesters stigma, she states that the scarlet letter is too deeply branded and that Ye cannot
take it off because she wants to honor her punishment in a respectable manner (60). Hester
understands that she had committed a sin and knows that she must endure the consequences.
She refuses the reverends offers because although she believes in a higher authority, she does
not believe that the towns government has the power to take away her sin. In this way, she
paradoxically obeys yet resists the regulations by physically enduring the punishment, but not
allowing the clergymen any more power over her than they already have.
Though she is seen as a whore and an unscrupulous adulteress from the colonists
perspective, Hesters characteristics do not signify promiscuity. In actuality, Hester values her
relationships and deeply cares about the people in her life. She even values her relationship with
Chillingworth and apologizes to him for being an unfaithful wife, I have greatly wronged thee
(66). Hester respects her past relationship with Chillingworth, and she does not believe that her
infidelity is justifiable. Her apology proves that she recognizes her fault in besmirching her
marriage with Chillingworth. Another character with whom Hester values her bond with is Pearl,
albeit in a more passionate way. After being forced by the townspeople to live in solitude, Hester
had no other companion except for her own daughter. Despite that Pearl is a constant reminder
of her sin, Hester nevertheless loves her and treasures her company. The most prominent
moment when Hester reveals how deeply she cares about her relationship with Pearl is her
encounter with Governor Bellingham. During the confrontation, Bellingham resolves to take Pearl
away from her mother to which Hester replies, God gave me this child! He gave her in requital of
all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!she is my torture, none the
less! (100). Hesters passionate response epitomizes how she feels about her daughter. She is
evidently distraught at the mere idea of being separated from Pearl and relates that her daughter
is the only thing that gives her happiness.
Another admirable trait of Hester is her ability to retain her passionate self even after
she endures solitude and rejection from the townspeople. Over the course of seven years when
Hester takes on the arduous task of searching for a deeper understanding of what defines
something as morally right or wrong, she does so in a manner the reflects her personality, But
Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely
estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was
altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral
wilderness (182). Furthermore, once Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest and reconciles with
him, the essence of her beauty and innate impetuousness had not been taken away by society, By
another impulse, she took off the formal cap that confined her hair; and down it fell upon her
shoulders, dark and rich, with it once a shadow and a light in its abundance, and imparting the
charm of softness in her features. (185) It is clear at this point that the disdain of the townspeople
and the years of being ostracized had no long term effect on Hesters whimsical personality as she
still breaks the rules of the Puritans by taking off her cap. Even when facing utter adversity and
estrangement from society, Hester manages to prevent the circumstances surrounding her from
affecting her mentality. Her ability to disallow societys regulations as well as to believe in herself
makes Hester a strong and versatile character most worthy of admiration.
Thus, although Hester is denounced as a whore by society, she does not allow her
circumstances define who she is. Instead, she does not allow the townspeople to dictate her life by
never fully accepting societys standards. Though she is labeled as whore, she never portrays
characteristics that reflect this label. Instead, she is a thoughtful and caring mother and values her
relationships with others. Hence, because she remains steadfast in her own beliefs and never fully
submits to the townspeoples standards in spite of her deplorable circumstances, Hester is a
character worthy of respect and admiration.