Hester Prynne Character Study
In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is the protagonist. Hester is a good person who made a bad decision, which makes her a relatable character regardless of the year this book is read in. Hester is the protagonist, but at times she does seem more like a victim than heroine.
“[Hester] was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes”(55). Having long dark hair and black eyes, Hester Prynne was considered very pretty, even with all of the horrible things happening to heart that time. “Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped”(55). This means that even with all the problems she was facing she was, to others surprise, still pretty. Another thing that came to become part of her, as she did not take it off for over 7 years, and therefore part of her physical appearance (as her daughter did not recognize her without it) was the Scarlet (or red) letter “A” that she wore upon her chest.
Hester Prynne was very good at many things like sewing. When released from jail she became a seamstress. She even made the “A” that she has to wear.” 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. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore” (55). Many others were jealous of her skill. “She hath good skill at her needle, that’s certain,” remarked
“[Hester] was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes”(55). Having long dark hair and black eyes, Hester Prynne was considered very pretty, even with all of the horrible things happening to heart that time. “Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped”(55). This means that even with all the problems she was facing she was, to others surprise, still pretty. Another thing that came to become part of her, as she did not take it off for over 7 years, and therefore part of her physical appearance (as her daughter did not recognize her without it) was the Scarlet (or red) letter “A” that she wore upon her chest.
Hester Prynne was very good at many things like sewing. When released from jail she became a seamstress. She even made the “A” that she has to wear.” 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. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore” (55). Many others were jealous of her skill. “She hath good skill at her needle, that’s certain,” remarked