The Scarlet Letter: Part 1

Even though I have not read too much of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is still much to say about it. Within the first fifty pages, pivotal characters (or, what I can assume to be pivotal characters, are brought to life and given shape. Before the infamous Hester Prynne is even introduced, a group of townswomen gossip about her and the mystery that surrounds her existence (although, if a reader has any knowledge of this book previous to reading it, they would know exactly why Hester is such a hot topic). And then, we meet Hester.

From the town gossips, readers would gather that Hester is not someone who should be admired. One of the women actually says  "'At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead'" (Hawthorne 47). Clearly, she's not someone these women are fond of. Most readers know before hand that this book revolves around adultery, which was handled back then with a form of public humiliation. In Hester's case, she was put on display before the general public in town square with her child and a red "A" embroidered onto her clothes (the  scarlet letter referenced in the title, for those who haven't caught on). Nathaniel Hawthorne chose not to portray her as a woman who has done something wrong (although at this point, readers still don't know who the father of this child is and therefore the severity of the adultery), but as a strong, independent woman who is living with her decision. When she walks to present herself and her "A" and her child, the women are in an almost awe-inspired shock from her elegance and grace under the circumstance. In fact, one of them even compliments her embroidery work.

Obviously, the red "A" is a motif, but not just on the surface level that it appears. Clearly, it represents her adulterous actions, in addition to being something meant to publicly shame her. But, on a deeper level, red is a color of strength and is often associated with femininity and womanhood, all things that would represent Hester Prynne's character. I'll be curious to see how the letter "A" and the color red are presented in other areas of the book.

So far, I'm very impressed with Hawthorne's presentation of Hester's character. She just as easily could've been a weak women who was ashamed of her decision and living in regret, but instead he chose to make her an empowered, proud woman, which i commend. I'll be very curious to see how her character continues to develop, and the development of the others alongside her.

I'm also a big fan of Hawthorne's writing style. It's appropriate for the time period in which it's written, yet still understandable and descriptive in a way that someone like myself, a suburban high school student, can still comprehend without too much additional effort.