Sunday, December 5, 2010
Hester Prynne: the outcast
Hester Prynne in this chapter is shown to us to be outcast-ed by her community except for when someone of high class needs her home made cloth and designs. Because of Puritan Law, the lower class had to wear clothes and accessories that never stood out, but the upper class ignored this, and called for Hester's handiwork with her sewing needle. In this chapter we also find out that Hester stays in the colony in an effort to be cleansed of her sin(adultery), by being punished in the place where she committed her sin. In my opinion I didn't really like this chapter, I felt that the story got almost nowhere besides telling us where Hester was staying, the sex of her child, and that she wants to pay for her sin, not run from it, which could've taken about 5 pages not 30 plus.
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I am afraid that you missed a good bit of material. Hester is not quite sure why she stays; she tells herself that it is because this place where she transgressed is the place where she should face her earthly punishment. She is afraid of the idea that she might be staying because she loves the father of her child and thinks that they might eventually be together. The people of the colony seem unsure how to treat her. She goes among them being punished for her sin, but there are others who are also being punished. She is treated poorly, and she accepts it. You will find that she earns a grudging respect from some but others refuse to allow her to work through the punishment without their added cruelty.
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