Hester's Struggle: Following the Consequences of Hester's Sin Throughout the Novel
...e letter A”(37). This letter that she is ordered to sew herself and wear at all times is the mark of her sin. It shows others in her community what she has done, and by wearing the letter all the time she cannot hide from or deny her sin. Also, in consequence, she is ordered to stand upon the scaffold wearing the A and be shown to everyone; by exposing her to the entire community, her reputation is ruined. While on the scaffold, she has to tolerate all of the stares and insults thrown at her by the audience: “She hath good skill at her needle, that’s certain,” remarked one of the female spectators; “but did ever a woman, before this brazen hussy, contrive such a way of showing it! Why, gossips, what is it but to laugh in the faces of our godly magistrates, and make pride out of what they, worthy gentlemen, meant for a punishment?”(37-38) This quote yelled by one of the women in the crowd suggests that Hester is arrogant and takes pride in her sin, based solely on the fact that her A is so elaborate. Although, the only reason for its brilliance may be the fact that in jail, her needle work made her happy, so she took pride in creating a beautiful letter but not necessarily in her sin. Not only physical consequences follow Hester’s crime; in addition to public humiliation, Hester has to suffer through emotional turmoil. Her lover, Dimmesdale, is slowly wasting away from the weight of his sin:“His form grew emaciated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it; he was often observed, on any slight alarm or other sudden accident, to put his hand over his heart, with first a flush and then a paleness, indicative of pain”(82). Watching her lover’s health worsen takes a toll on her soul. Knowing that it is her hand that is causing his pain and that she cannot help in any way tore her soul into pieces. Another factor that contributes to her emotional pain is the fact that she cannot be with him. They both have to live secret lives in which they must pretend they have no affection for each other, other than the affection between a priest and a follower. Also, Hester begins to try to help in her society again, but is still insulted and looked down upon; “Hester bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on wretches less miserable than herself, and who not unfrequently insulted the hand that fed them”(57). This quote gives more light into the ideas of the Puritan people: it is better to be looked down upon because of poverty than to be looked down upon because of a sin, or in Hester’s case, a mistake. In Hester’s case, she did not know that...