The Scarlett Letter

“Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport.” Hester Prynne, the main character in The Scarlet Letter, accepts the punishment of the adultery she committed against her husband. Hester, throughout the book, lives with and takes crap from everyone because of her crime, rather than running and hiding from everything. At the same time, she still …

…is still hard on herself. This book shows the determination and strength of Hester Prynne. Knowing she committed adultery, she fully accepts and endures the consequences of that act. However, Hester increases those consequences by her own actions. Her willing exclusion from everyone in town. She bears two symbols of her crime—the scarlet letter and her daughter Pearl. Still, to Hester, neither seems to be punishment enough. Hester takes things to hard on herself.