Quote #6

Once Hester and Mr. Dimmesdale start meeting with each other in the woods more often, Hester tries to get Pearl to know her father. At this point Hester has taken off her scarlet letter, but Pearl acts as if she wants nothing to do with her without the letter on her chest. "With these words, she advanced to the margin of the brook, took up the scarlet letter, and fastened it again into her bosom."

It is somewhat sad that even though Hester feels that she can be detached from the scarlet letter now, Pearl keeps it intact. I remember when my mother went to get her hair cut one time when I was pretty young. Once she came home with shorter hair and a different look, I really didn't like it. It's as if when you're young no one and nothing is allowed to change except yourfelf.

This doesn't seem fair to Hester at all, yet I don't think she should feel as humiliated by it. Although I can understand that Hester may not think of Pearl's behavior the same way. Because of what the letter symbolizes, Pearl's actions could hurt Hester more than anything.

Quote #5

In chapter 17 of "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester finally meets with Mr. Dimmesdale and reveals the name of her husband. At first the minister becomes quite angry with Hester but in time he decides that it was really Chillingworth who did the most wrong. "Hester Prynne was now fully sensible of the deep injury for which she was responsible to this unhappy man, in permitting him to lie for so many year..." After reading this statement I found it really hard to agree. How could Hester still care for this man so much after all the punishment she's gone through?

Hester should not feel bad for Dimmesdale nearly as much as Dimmesdale should feel bad for her. He chose to punish himself and feel the guilt, however he never faced the humiliation or ridicule for the many years that Hester did. Although Hester is not innocent, she shouldn't feel responsible for the situation either. Dimmesdale is a minister; he has the knowledge of how wrong adultery is. Even fornication is wrong for that matter. Mr. Dimmesdale should be held accountable for his own injury and unhappiness.

Quote #4

In chapter 15 of "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne I came across a statement that somewhat tied in with a discussion I had in class today. At this point in the story, the author is talking about Pearl and the possible inheritance of evil. "With all these sterling attributes, thought Hester, the evil which she inherited from her mother must be great indeed, if a noble woman do not grow out of this elfish child." This same particular topic was brought up in class today. We had a bit of a debate whether Pearl could have actually done something wrong in this story or if she was the only innocent one.

I would have to say that yes I agree with the many students in my class who said something along the lines of "Well, Pearl couldn't help that she was born that way." She cannot control what she inherits at all. However, it's up to Hester to teach Pearl the right ways and to not let Pearl follow in Hester's foot steps. Once Pearl is old enough to understand what is right or wrong then it will definately be her fault for any wrongdoings. While she is a young child though, townspeople shouldn't assume that she will be just like her mother. It's not fair towards Pearl at all to recieve the same punishment as Hester.

Hester Prynne made the mistake when creating this child with the minister. However, there should be much less ridicule put upon Pearl. That's especially true when someone such is the minister deserves just as much punishment as Hester and recieves none.

Quote #3

Towards the beginning of chapter 12 the minister went by himself to the scaffold where Hester Prynne stood for humiliation. Then a statement came along that paused my reading and made me think. It said "A mockery at which angels blushed and wept, while fiends rejoiced, with jeering laughter." This chapter is mainly speaking of the minister's behavior yet I couldn't help but think about how this quote relates to just about the whole story.

Although this quote was orginally speaking about the minister's wrong-doing and the mockery that took place as he stood on the scaffold, it explains Hester's whole situation. I understand how the angels would weep because Dimmesdale was a minister and he totally went against the church. In Hester's case, not only would the angels weep but so does Hester herself as well as Chillingworth. Also, while the fiends (which is any devil or demon) laugh, they're laughing because the minister went against the church. The townspeople can also represent the fiends as they stood there watching Hester up on the scaffold and ridiculed.

Throughout the rest of Hester's life, no one is going to look at her the same. Even those you don't know her personality at all will sit back and laugh that she's in this horrible situation. As she lives the rest of her life with this permanent stain of the scarlet letter the angels will weep as the fiends rejoice.

"The Scarlet Letter" Quote #2

While reading through the 4th chapter of "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne I small surprise came up in the story. Just as Hester Prynne is put into prison, revealed to the city with a scarlet letter upon her chest, and growing into the "living sermon" of the town; Hester's husband comes back. Now going by the name of Mr. Chillingworth, Hester's husband manages to get to Hester without revealing his identity. I assume that Chillingworth will be quick to anger and attempt to scold Hester because of the crime she committed. Yet when they begin to speak the tone is completely different from my assumptions.

'"Wehave wronged each other," answered he. "Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into false and unnatural relation with my decay..."' To my surprise, Chillingworth actually admits that he had done wrong. He also admits that he did wrong first at that. Yes, I've begun to stereotype men a bit. But in this case, I feel somewhat happy for Hester. Not only did her husband explain his wrong-doing, he plans no revenge for her at all.

I'm excited that Hester was united with her husband again even though I'm sort of ashamed that she previously committed adultery. Mr. Chillingworth shows that he still cares for Hester because he wants to find out who this other man is and seek revenge. I think it's going to be very difficult to keep Chillingworth's identity hidden, but I'm excited to see what happens.

"The Scarlet Letter" Quote #1

While I began reading “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, I came across a quote that reminded me of many other real life situations. At the point in the story where I found this quote, a sort of debate was taking place about Hester Prynne and the A stitched into her clothing. Someone stated that Hester could simply hide the letter under a broach. ‘“let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.” After reading this I thought about the many things that people around us try to hide. Whether it’s a crime that was previously committed, a hidden physical feature, or a simple secret; many of us have one thing or another that we try to keep private. Nothing is wrong with keeping your own privacy; it’s that just because no one else knows your secret, doesn’t mean that your guilt and regret won’t exist.

Although I definitely have not committed adultery, I can think of more than a few situations that can relate to this quote. Just about everyone makes mistakes here and there. Even though it’s not exactly something to share, you can still feel the guilt or regret inside. In Hester’s case however, the whole town has seen her scarlet letter. After everyone knows about the crime she had committed then there’s no point in hiding anything. It would be more trouble to try to hide something that everyone knows is there.

From Advice to Young Men

After reading through a small portion in the back of "The Scarlet Letter" or more specifically pages 246-253 I came to realize how different the society is today. Most women wouldn't ever imagine having to fight for the right to be involved with the community, politics, and work environment. Staying home all day and everyday while cooking, cleaning, and raising the children really isn't ok with many women these days. Many people nowadays want to get their full education and follow their passions to what ever career best suits them. I know that being nothing but a housewife has never been an option for me. Although many may feel that there's nothing wrong with that, it's definately not something I'd like to live the rest of my life as.

The section that I read started out speaking of how men and women are simply equal through law. However, there is a wide difference between the consequences that come to men and women. During this time period, it was said that all women are to be more delicate than men. That makes prositution, adultery, etc. extremely filthy and gross for a woman to do. Also at the time, it was fair to say that men didn't have the manners as women did, and while the women were more reserved, the men's habits did not matter as much.

One thing that I disliked while reading was that in "old law", the husbands had the permission to restrain their wives upon misbehavior. Who's to say that what a woman does is misbehaving? If I were stuck in the house all day cleaning I would probably get in trouble too. I don't think it should be up to my own husband to restrain me though. While women are raised equally with men and learn the same thing, it shouldn't be fair that the woman is treated as a child by her own husband.

Towards the end of the section I read, the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls was spoke about. It went more into how women and men are equal and deserve the same rights. I think that women today are very lucky that it wasn't them who fought to earn these rights. Women are still stereotyped when it comes to polotics and such, yet we have come a long way. Even though men and women tend to play a certain role when it comes to a family and sometimes work, it's out of our own choice and not by law.

Adultery

In the article "Adultery" in "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne laws from Massachusetts Bay and New Plymouth colonies regarding adultery and crime. They spoke about sewing letters into a prisoners uniform to resemble their crime. For example, one who comitted adultery would have the letters A D sewn into the upper half of their clothing. The writing continues to explain that the main punishment of adultery was frequently debated and it always resolved to being death.

Granted that these events took place around 1647, I still question why death was the necessary punishment at the time. More or less, how could the laws of adultery ever be equally enforced? Especially after looking at the society today, adultery is comitted very often and it hasn't seemed to become a makor issue within the government. It's just one of those things that should stay one's own business.

A second thing within the writing that specifically caught my attention was the quote "Cobbet advises men that themost important quality to look for in a wife is chastity...that made adultery a greater crime for women than for men." I found that statement extremely sexist and it somewhat aggitated me. However, again looking back at the date where this took place it does make sense. Although men were most likely comitting adultery much more often it's not exactly fair that women would still recieve a harsher punishment than men.

Overall, it took quite a bit of effort to get into this reading of adultery. Remembering the time period in which these laws took place will definately help understand the situations better.