Scarlet_Letter

The A In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter,” Hester Prynne commits adultery and is punished by having to wear the letter A on her clothing at all times. Hester’s A means different things to the religiously devout Puritans and Hester. To the Puritan community, the A serves as both an example of sin and a reminder to stay close to the bible. To Hester, the A becomes a part of who she is as a person. Throughout the novel, Hester is given countless opportunities to remove the letter, but does so only at the end of the novel, when she has gained control over both her personal and public identities. For Hester, to remove the scarlet letter would be to acknowledge the power the letter has in determining who she is. In the Puritan community where Hester lives, people take sin extremely seriously. So when Hester commits adultery, she is punished severely and is forced to wear the scarlet A on her clothing at all times. When Hester comes out of the courthouse at the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne describes the A, “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” (Hawthorne50). This quote shows how significant Hester’s sin is on the Puritan community. The Puritans see the A as a fitting punishment for an awful sin. The Puritans also see Hester’s A as an example of sin. Near the middle of the novel, a group of Puritans see Hester and stare at her. In the book it says, “They stopped to stare at Hester and whispered amongst themselves” (Hawthorne72). This quote shows how the Puritans have made Hester’s A an example to stay close to the bible. They see Hester as a sinner and an outcast, which discourages them from doing wrong. At the end of the novel, after Hester has regained her respect in the community, the Puritans change the meaning of the A from adultery to able. In the book, it reads, “The people of Massachusetts started to see the A as meaning Able” (Hawthorne145). Hester regains her respect with the Puritans and the community. The Puritans now see Hester and her A as a role model to the entire community. Throughout the novel, the Puritan’s view of Hester’s A changes. Hester does not see her A in the same light as her Puritan community. Hester wants to be the person to decide the A’s meaning. In the book Hester says, “I need to be the one who decides what this letter I bare means” (Hawthorne104). Hester knows that she cannot change the letter, so she decides to change the meaning of it. She wants to be the one that is in control of herself. Hester is determined to change the meaning of the letter to her own self perception through her words and actions. Hester also sees the letter as a reminder of her previous sin. When Hester is talking to Pearl she says, “I have been with the Black Man, this scarlet letter is his mark!”(Hawthorne78). The A is a reminder to Hester that she has sinned. By continuing to wear it she shows that she is aware that she has committed sin, but wants to be reconciled. To Hester, the letter symbolizes her own past deeds and decisions, and she wants to be the one to control the meaning of those events. Hester is determined to make the A out to be what she wants it to be. Hester Prynne is given countless opportunities to remove her letter, but never does. For Hester to remove the scarlet letter would be to acknowledge the power the letter has in determining who she is. In the book it says, “I mustn’t remove this letter and must serve my punishment. Hester knows that if she were to remove the letter, she would be accepting her life as a sinner. But by not removing the letter, Hester shows that she wants to serve her punishment and be forgiven for her sin. At the end of the novel when Hester finally does remove her letter, she is in control of her life. The book reads, “She was seen without the scarlet letter on her breast” (Hawthorne136). When she finally does remove her letter Hester has gained control of both her personal and social identities. She knows that the A is no longer necessary in living her life the way she wants to live it. This shows that she feels that she has been forgiven for her sin. Hester does not take off her letter until the end of the novel because she knows that she is in control of the type of person she wants to be. Hester’s A means different things to Hester and her community. She does not remove the letter until the very end of the book because she feels she is in control of her life. The scarlet letter was a good book!