International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL)
Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2016, PP 100-106
ISSN 2347-3126 (Print) & ISSN 2347-3134 (Online)
www.arcjournals.org
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Individualism of Hester Prynne in the Seventeenth Century
Puritan Society: The Scarlet Letter
Ms. Mursalin Jahan
Assistant Professor and Research Scholar, Integral University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Prof. Syed Zaheer Hasan Abidi
Senior Professor, Head in the Department of English/Languages & Dean
Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Integral University, Lucknow,India.
Abstract: In Nathaniel Hawthorne‟s The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne, the female protagonist living amidst
the strict puritans is a typical individualist. After being charged with adultery, she is shunned, mocked and
viewed as a living allegory of sin. Her punishment is to wear the scarlet letter „A‟, a symbol of sin, on her bosom
throughout her life. She does not dramatically and apologetically beg for forgiveness; instead, she endures her
punishment and ultimately, with her “natural dignity and force of character”, she turns a symbol of sin into a
symbol of strength. She is an emersonian self-reliant woman as she trusts her deepest instincts and values her
own inner truth in making her judgments. The present paper focuses on how she crushes the puritan‟s codes of
conduct and moves forward in her life based on her own principles of right and wrong.
Keywords: Adultery, allegory of sin, codes of conduct, Emersonian self-reliant, individuality, puritans
The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is Nathaniel Hawthorne the most renowned and well-
were submissive and obedient to the wishes and desires of the males. They were not permitted to
express their views, opinions or emotions in public. Puritans believed that knowledge, intelligence
and the freedom of expression were only meant for males. They were of the opinion that women were
more tempted to evils and in turn more likely to go to hell than men . In brief, female population was
The
Scarlet Letter
Hester Prynne, the female protagonist living amidst the strict
puritans is different from the women of her time. She is a typical individualist. After being charged
with adultery, she is shunned, mocked and viewed as a Her punishment is to
convinces her fellow sinner to abandon the narrow- minded community and settle with her sin-born
daughter Pearl elsewhere in a free atmosphere to assert her individuality. She is an emersonian self-
reliant as she trusts her deepest instincts and values her own inner truth in making her judgments.
The word individualism was first used in 1820 in a pejorative sense by Joseph de Maistre, a French
thinker, but it was applied to America by Tocqueville to describe the new emerging ideology of the
s both source and beneficiary of
-reliance and
propagates that the interest of the individual should be given priority over the state or a social group.
Ralph Waldo Emerson who led Transcendental Movement propagated the notion of self-reliance
tincts. The heart-
- -conformity to society. He put
non-
-4). Hester is self-reliant as she is inclined to listen to her own conscience
and trusts her own ability to make her judgments.
Hester Prynne, the anti-puritan rejects all the codes of conduct set up by the puritans. In the beginning
Ms. Mursalin Jahan & Prof. Syed Zaheer Hasan Abidi
International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Page | 101
way she
comes out of the prison is enough to penetrate deep into her intention of non- conforming to the
the anti-Puritan, arrives in splendor and grandeur, shocking the spectators with her self-assurance and
boldness. Such an introduction to her hints that she has no intention of obeying the Puritan
The puritans want to punish Hester so horribly to set an example in front of others so that they dare
where she is to be humiliated publicly by criticism and shaming words. Though the puritans intend to
break Hester down with public humiliation, but ironically the platform serves as a mean to strengthen
her inward sphere. The puritan community wants to obliterate her individuality by compelling her to
wear a badge of shame on her bosom but the badge has been transformed into the lamp, illuminating
dress has a magical effect, taking her out of the crowd surrounding her in a sphere by herself. She is
ment but suffers the humiliation silently. She on one hand
obeys the puritan laws but on the other hand crushes them intelligently. She wears the badge of shame
astic
Due to its orateness, the letter is far away from serving its real purpose. Matide Mansilla writes in her
The Scarlet Letter
through such provocative exhibition of individuality that Hester makes it known that while enduring
When Hester is asked to reveal the name of her fellow sinner, she remains silent. She uses silence as
Hester's
Revenge: The Power of Silence in The Scarlet Letterstudied her silence in the context of feminine
because of Dimmesdale's own silence; ironic because, as feminist critics have argued, women are
customarily "silenced" in male-
Silence, a submissive trait of a woman becomes a powerful weapon to assert her individualism against
puritans. Though, she is free to remove the scarlet letter if she repents and reveals the name of her
lover, but she refuses, because she does not want puritans to exercise their power over her. Puritans
attempt to curb her independent spirit but they are unable to force her to comply. Suzan Last writes in
inine Voices: Reading The Scarlet Letter
to name the father of her child confounds the leaders of the community. This refusal to be bound to a
"father," even if beyond the laws of marriage, gives Hester a greater individualit
The Scarlet Letter
She chooses her own course, dismisses the cultural framework surrounding her, and leans heavily
from all the principles set up by the puritans. These initial steps taken by Hester shows that she is
- reliance.
punishment is to wear the scarlet letter, the symbol of shame throughout her life. The condition of a
punishment does not compel her to live in Boston, remote and obscure puritan settlement. She is free
to return to her birth place or to any other European land and lead a life without shame with a new
exterior but, to the surprise of all she chooses to settle in Boston at the outskirts of the town away
from the other inhabitants in a small thatched cottage. It is argued that she can hide her identity as an
adulterer with a completely another state of being by settling herself away from a place where she is
identified as an adulterer. But, the cruel taunts and alienation which she faces while standing on the
scaffold for three hours infuses her determination to face the puritans boldly rather than leaving
Boston. She gains new energy and vigor to rebel against the puritans. Her sin and ignominy has given
re is the scene of her sin, then it
should also be the scene of her punishment. Another reason is that she cannot bear to be departed
(Hawthorne 60). If she had f
Individualism of Hester Prynne in the Seventeenth Century Puritan Society: The Scarlet Letter
International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Page | 102
individuality. Also, she does not leave Boston because she wants to redeem of her sin in her own way
by staying among the puritans without the guidance of the magistrates. She does not want to hide the
stigma of shame by her new exterior but she wants to eradicate it by her actions to lead a respectable
life in front of those who hate her. She wants to emerge as a new individual within the puritans. She
cher of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out
another purity than that which she had lost: more saint-
Hawthorne 61).
without open rebellion against the puritans, but she is courageous enough to rebel openly when the
time demands. When she is asked to hand over Pearl to magistrates, she exhibits her courage and
almos
daughter and is ready to defend her right to her death. She stands alone against the puritans for the
sake of her little Pearl and raises her voice almost to a shriek and says, "God gave her into my
undertakes the responsibility of upbringing her daughter alone which gives Hester a great
individuality. She is neither ready to disclose the name of the father of Pearl nor wants to take off the
The Scarlet Letter as a Tragic
They admire Hester Prynne for the strong determination that she shows in refusing to disclose
the name of her partner in her crime. Neither the terrible threats of the reverend Mr. Wilson
nor the eloquent appeal of the reverend Mr. Dimmesdale has any effect upon her. By
disclosing the name, she can perhaps have the scarlet letter taken off her breast and she can
also give her child a father. But she tells the priest that the scarlet letter is too deeply branded
on her breast to be taken off and that her child must seek a heavenly father. Not only does she
not disclose the name of her lover, but she declares that she would like to endure his agony in
nowledge her strength
and her generosity. (205).
She is not ready to act against her impulses just to set herself free from harsh puritans. She does not
conform or surrender herself to the demands of the puritans instead emerges out to be an individual
who asserts her individualism by stepping forward on the path chosen by herself against the desires of
the puritans. She does not refrain herself from being the member of the society but is separated from
She judges what is right and wrong based on her
own principles and acts accordingly.
does Hester takes her sin as?
Is she ashamed or proud of her sin? There are so many instances in novel which clearly reflects that
she is proud rather than ashamed of her sin. The orateness of the scarlet letter, the symbol of shame
seems to declare her feelings in context with the sin of adultery with Dimmesdale. She does not wear
it as a sign of shame but as a token of love which makes her feel individually different from the rest of
in The Scarlet Letter
interprets the golden embroidery around the scarlet letter as a tribute to that love, which does not go
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 a pride out of what they, worthy
gentlemen, meant for punishment? (Hawthorne 40).
The puritan women do not dare to take such a bold step because of its strict imposition upon each
member demanding moral responsibility and discipline. She does not wear the scarlet letter for
redemption but as a reminder of her affair with Dimmesdale. Nina Baym adds:
repentance, but nobody really cares and this indifference is Hester's freedom. In fact, the effect of
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s concerned is the opposite of what was intended: turning
her into a public symbol, it conceals her individuality and thus protects it. (69).
He love for Dimmesdale with whom she has sinned ; her love for the scarlet letter, the symbol of sin ;
her love for Pearl, the product of her sin clarifies that she is not guilty of her act of adultery and does
not take it as a sin. Further, she does not consider her act to be evil because she is not disloyal to her
estranged husband, whom she has never loved or to the traditional morality in which she has never
believed. She herself has never admitted to any sin other than deceiving Dimmesdale and has never
acted selfishly and has worn her scarlet letter triumphantly, rather than penitently. She preserves
s secret because she wants him to assert his own free will and confesses his sin.
In puritan society, women are regarded as dependent upon men, which results into the tragic life of
women. Hester revolts against this social order of puritan society tenaciously and gains self- reliance
Puritan society, who would succeed and who would fail are not determined by himself or herself, but
by God. Man is divided into two groups. And the bad people cannot save or relieve themselves until
which is not subjected to change is changed by Hester by her indefeasible courage and
possessed an art that sufficed , even in a land that afforded comparatively little scope for its exercise ,
the Governor; military men wore it on their scarfs, and the minister on his band; it decked the baby's
62). But, she is not allowed to prepare a white bridal dress which indicates the relentless
condemnation which society frowned upon her
- reliance in the patriarchal community
when it is almost impossible for a lady to do (Hawthorne 262). Relying on her own potential, she
works as a seamstress to forge a new life and new identity without conforming to the rules set by the
denying the entire rationale of the Puritan community, their certainty that their laws conform to divine
Hester neither complains against public opinion for her nor claims anything in requital for what she
suffers. She starts increasing her activity in the society. She extends her helping hands to the poor by
providing them with food and hand skilled plain clothes. When pestilence stalked through the town,
a well of human tenderness in her heart which has not been dried up by the indifference, contempt,
people are forced to re-
Her breast, with its badge of shame, was but the softer pillow for the head that needed one.
She was self-ordained a Sister of Mercy, or, we may rather say, the world's heavy hand had so
ordained her, when neither the world nor she looked forward to this result. The letter was the
symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her--so much power to do, and power to
sympathisethat many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification.
They said that it meant Able, so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength.
(Hawthorne 121).
the puritan society in which she lives. She gains a respectable position in the society by the dint of her
own efforts and compels the people to re-
- relia
is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps
Emerson 5). She is a self- reliant woman
because even by remaining as a member of the puritan society, she separated herself from the
conformist life style of her fellow people. Kohhoul Imene also highlights the importance of
community to shape once identity
Individualism of Hester Prynne in the Seventeenth Century Puritan Society: The Scarlet Letter
International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Page | 104
ed only with the interaction with other selves or other individuals for
democratic individualism asserting itself in a hostile environment formed by a political and
r-78).
She is self-reliant because despite the scathing remarks and disapproving glares, continues to live her
life and raises her daughter. She does not dramatically and apologetically beg for forgiveness; instead,
she endures
a symbol of sin into a symbol of strength.
Though the meaning of the scarlet letter is re--
evaluation of the letter. She does not let puritans feel that their punishment has humbled her. Infact
humiliate Hester. Even when she is asked to remove the letter she refuses, because for her its removal
is as futile as its original placement. When Chillingworth informs her that the badge can be taken off
she says, "It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off the badge, were I worthy to be quit
of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a
different purport" (Hawthorne 127). The animosity towards Hester has softened and eroded but on the
other hand she herself has become hard and repulsive. She is indifferent towards that changed attitude
of people because she has not given them the power to judge her. Those seven years of her
punishment has toughened her to the extent that she is no longer afraid of her husband Chillingworth.
She breaks her oath of keeping her hu
soul is committed to the one whom she loves but not bound by church ceremony, rather than the one
whom she does not love but bound by the church ceremony. By hiding the secret of Chillingworth she
has surely been untrue to Dimmesdale that she has the power to be true to. Thompson opines that
Hester admits to herself that although her redemption exists outside the bonds of strict puritan
on to inform Dimmesdale of
She believes that she has sinned to Dimmesdale by keeping him unaware of the identity of her
husband. She blames herself for all th
wants redemption. Her redemption lies to be faithful and devoted to Dimmesdale whom she loves but
leads her to the path of individualism which is the path of sin in the eyes of puritans. She is humiliated
and suffered by her initial act but she does not want to give up her individual right to love
Dimmesdale. Her individualism has become a weapon to fire Puritanism.
She cannot see her lover being leeched by her estranged husband, so she decides to commit adultery
once more by betraying her husband in order to save the life of her lover. She is willing to risk her
own life in order to save the life of the
herself, a lonely woman struggling independently for survival in a totally alien land, wins certain
Her meeting with Dimmesdale in the forest demonstrates that she is not guilty of her sin but still feels,
thinks and acts as an independent woman. She shares her emotions with him ignoring all the
constraints imposed on her by the puritan society. She sees her sin as having been no more than the
fulfillment of the natural law. Hester whose mind and soul is not bound by the ministerial rules and
universal laws urges Dimmesdale to flee from Boston to some other land where they three can lead
their life as a family. In the forest, she is invigorated, lets her hair falls down and throws the scarlet
letter. But she puts on the letter when she realizes that Pearl is a living embodiment of the letter (a
letter endowed with life) and thus throwing the letter away is like throwing Pearl away. For Hester,
both Pearl and the letter are not the badges of shame but the badges of love. Her decision to flee away
own course, dismisses the cultural framework surrounding her, and leans heavily upon creating a
reuniting with Dimmesdale to lead a happy life. Though society changes its perception towards her,
but she is not greedy of that respect. She raises herself beyond their life styles. Neither she accepts
their forgiveness, nor does she want to forgive them. Her morality arises to an extent that she never
raises her head to receive their greetings, instead lays her finger on the scarlet letter and passes away
on.
Ms. Mursalin Jahan & Prof. Syed Zaheer Hasan Abidi
International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Page | 105
taking her judgments. She posseses the fortitude and mental balance which is stronger than the worn-
out principles of the puritans. Though she has the vigor, but she is not rebellious and disobedient to
conventions but distinguishes herself from the women who are part of that society. She refuses to be
defined by society and its trivial constraints, continues believing in her potential despite her crime,
and comes to define herself as she sees fit; thus relying on her individual perception and openly
disregarding the collective consciousness. Hester's unshakable trust in herself, her unconditional love
for Dimmesdale, and her profound devotion to her daughter, empowers her to resist and transcend
enforced Puritan conformity. She celebrates her
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AUTHORS’ BIOGRAPHY
Ms. Mursalin Jahan, is an Assistant Professor at Integral University, Lucknow, India. She is also a
research scholar pursuing her PhD in English Literature. She has a vast teaching experience of twelve
years in which she dealt primary, junior, senior, senior secondary, graduate and post graduate
students, teaching English Language, English Literature, Professional Communication and Soft Skills
as the main subjects. Her area of specialization is American Literature. She presented many papers in
national and international conferences and seminars.
Prof. Syed Zaheer Hasan Abidi, is a Senior Professor and Head in the Department of
English/Languages & Dean, in Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Integral University,
Lucknow. He was educated at the Universities of Gorakhpur and Allahabad. He held the position of
Professor & Head of the Department of English & Modern European Languages, University of
Lucknow, Lucknow. During his teaching career of almost 45 years, 35 research scholars were
awarded the Ph.D. degree under his supervision. He contributed numerous research articles to
different journals and delivered keynote addresses in various national and international conferences.
He is the founder and editor of the journal SPIEL (Society for the Promotion of Indian English
Languages).
