A Romantic View Of Hester Prynne Essay - 1316 Words

Mason Fleischauer Rahner Collegio Ms. Slevin and Mr. Arthur Final Draft A Romantic View of Hester Prynne Individualism, emotion and the purity and simplicity of nature are at the foundation of American Romanticism. Essays such as Thoreau’s Walden and Emerson’s â€Å"Self-Reliance† call on humans to look inward and avoid conformity in order to find meaning and purpose in life. Nathaniel Hawthorne is also sympathetic to these ideals, but in The Scarlet Letter, he conveys them in the format of a novel where one of his main characters, Hester Prynne, is surrounded by rigid and unforgiving Puritanism in seventeenth century Boston. Through Hester’s struggles, Hawthorne paints a human and personal perspective of Romanticism, but, rather than using The Scarlet Letter simply to echo Thoreau and Emerson, Hawthorne also uses Hester’s story to condemn Puritanism as heartless, unreasonable and unnatural. Hawthorne’s characterization of Hester throughout the novel shows strong sympathy for the specific Romantic ideals of individualism and non-conformity, but Hawthorne also clearly wants the reader to be offended by the extreme and irrational rules of Puritanism. Through Hester, Hawthorne illustrates the words of Emerson, â€Å"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist... Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world† (â€Å"Self-Reliance†). Hester is first introduced as a young woman who comes to America to start a new life without her husband around the 1650s. These factsShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne960 Words   |  4 Pagesthat existed 200 years before he wrote his story. In this way, Hawthorne has possibly altered or romanticized a view of the life, beliefs and behavior of the Puritans who first settled in America (2, 3). We accept that authors will use their characters to express their beliefs, and in telling a story, the characters may act as the author’s â€Å"mouthpiece† for their views. This author’s views may not be based entirely on historical fact, but also on his family history as his family were among the firstRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1153 Words   |  5 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne, is a romantic novel that takes place in sixteenth century Boston, Massachusetts. 2. As a romantic novel, it focuses on the various relationships between the characters and the drastic experiences caused by the scarlet letter between the four main characters being Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingsworth, and Pearl Prynne, with the condemnation of the Puritan society 3. The unknown narrator follows the novel’s main antagonist Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale throughRead MoreRomanticism And Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1461 Words   |  6 Pagesto the great Romantic author and poet William Wordsworth, the writing process for works of this time should start with â€Å"the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, which the poet then recollects in tranquility, evoking thereby a new but corresponding emotion the author can then mould into art† (Wordsworth 2). Notable works of this period were Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, and William Wordsworth’s The Prelude. Perhaps the most well known of all Romantic literature isRead MoreWhat Is the Moral of the Scarlet Letter? Essay952 Words   |  4 Pageswhich was about a women called Hester Prynne. The scarlet letter is written in a way that in the introduction it has facts, figures and the reality of the scarlet letter A and lat er he uses fictional ideas of touching and holding the badge made him to burn his chest. The scarlet letter has both the presence of facts and fictional work which is really interesting piece written by Hawthorne. The scarlet letter is mainly about a romantic work where women called Hester Prynne falls in love with DimmesdaleRead MoreThe Inner Workings Of Hester Prynne1612 Words   |  7 PagesThe Inner Workings of Hester Prynne In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, themes of sin and guilt are prominently displayed in the traits of the characters. The novel indicates the strong romantic presence of that time. It revolves around a young woman who is struggling to fit into a new town in a 17th century Puritan society. Hester Prynne, after moving to America to prepare a home for her husband Roger, makes a mostly independent life for herself in what is now Boston, MassachusettsRead MoreDifferent Interpretations Of The Scarlet Letter1609 Words   |  7 Pagesdifferent types of symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. Focusing mainly on the characters Hester and Pearl, Carrez’ article brings symbolism to a new light as she interprets her thoughts. Carrez’ article shows that symbolism, allegories, and the different possibilities for interpretation play a vital role in analyzing the novel’s worth by using Pearl and Hester as the main examples f or the used literary devices from the novel. In Dr. Carrez’ article, she explains how symbolismRead MoreAnalysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter 1071 Words   |  5 Pagestruly was. Hester Prynne is a good example of this in the novel The Scarlet Letter written by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne is using the character Hester in this novel to show how society can truly label people. People can be defined by the biggest thing in their life and in this case the letter â€Å"A† has brought a whole new meaning to Hester’s life and has defined her apart from others in the community in a way she never thought. The Puritan society never focuses on Hester, how she actsRead MoreFeminist Movement in Nathaniel Hawthrone ´s The Scarlet Letter1469 Words   |  6 Pageseffectively uses the adulteress Hester Prynne as the symbol of women rights as she develops, matures, and expands her rights within Boston. During the colonial era, women were viewed as property, nothing more than just submissive mothers, and this view was constantly fueled by society and reinforced within families. Hawthornes romance follows Hesters life as she suffers under the physical manifestation of her sin of adultery: the scarlet letter. Even when Hester faces ridicule, isolation, and sufferingRead More Hester Prynne, of Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, and Margaret Fuller, Themid-nineteenth-century Campaigner for the Rights of Women2901 Words   |  12 PagesHester Prynne, of Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, and Margaret Fuller, Themid-nineteenth-century Campaigner for the Rights of Women Endowed in certain respects with the sensibility of Margaret Fuller, the great campaigner for the rights of women, Hester Prynne is as much a woman of mid-nineteenth-century American culture as she is of seventeenth-century Puritan New England. Is this an accurate assessment of Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter? Margaret Fuller (1810-1850)Read MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1187 Words   |  5 PagesPuritanism in Red Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter shows the early view of Puritanism by concentrating on sin, guilt, and its effects on society. Nathaniel Hawthorne conveyed a dark and romantic style of writing in â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, impacting the society by focusing on the concepts of romanticism. The Scarlet Letter is considered a classic book and is still read today. Nathaniel Hathorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. He was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Clark