Scarlet Letter Character Analysis

“The Scarlet Letter” is generally about Hester Prynne, the novel is not so much a reflection of her character, but a view of her transformation through out every chapter.

The author told very little about Hester life prior to her affair with Dimmesdale and her resultant public shaming. She married Chillingworth although she did not love him, but never fully understand why. In the early chapters of the book, prior to her marriage, Hester was a powerful and spontaneous young woman, the fact that she has an affair also suggests that she once had a passionate nature.

What happens after Hester’s affair is what makes her into the woman we are familiar with. Shamed and alienated from the rest of the community, Hester becomes reflective on life. Hester’s troubles also lead her to be stoic and a free spirit. Although the narrator pretends to disapprove of Hester’s independent philosophizing, his tone indicates that he secretly admires her independence and her ideas. Hester also becomes a kind of compassionate maternal figure