an analysis of the heroine of the scarlet letter(浅谈《红字》的女主人公

　　In Hawthorne’s masterpiece The Scarlet Letter, Hester wore the scarlet letter A, somewhat willingly, for the purpose of confessing her sin, of meditating and of reforming herself. Obviously Hawthorne stands for penitence and penance. Whenever the sinner bravely expiates his sin, he is at ease and he becomes a virtuous person again. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne makes Hester a heroin and survives to a tranquil old age just by expiating her offence. On this point, Mark Van Doren’s comments about Hester, in my interpretation, agree with Hawthorne’s original intention. Doren said that she is “heroic in size and strength…Although she came to be Puritanism’s victim, she never surrendered the integrity of her soul. Neither did she complain of her fate. Her fate was to waste her life, yet we do not feel in the end that her life was wasted. Rather it is known, she is immortal.”
　　Hester Prynne’s experience is unique in the way that her sins are encompassed in the sins of others. An example of this is her promise to keep the identity of Roger Chillingworth secret. Chillingworth is going to torture Dimmesdale and Hester does nothing about it leaving him to suffer. Hester’s guilt is derived from the fact that she cannot reveal the identity of her husband. She sees the personal anguish of Dimmesdale and yet does not try and alleviate him by telling who Chillingworth really is. Her sin of adultery is also encompassed into on of Dimmesdale’s sins. Dimmesdale was not there to help her during her time of trial and persecution. Hester was alienated and shamed by her community and was left to struggle through the experience by herself. This changes Hester’s personality and view on society. She is no longer a tender and passionate rather, the scarlet letter has made her cold and bitter; only a harsh outline of her former self. However, the scarlet letter did not change Hester for the worse. It in fact made her a stronger woman. Hester though shunned and mocked by the community still offers her services to them with no shame. She makes good use of her sewing ability and even feeds the poor.