Hesters Psychological Alienation in The Scarlet Letter...

Hesters Psychological Alienation in The Scarlet Letter Throughout his book The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne is preoccupied with the relationship between the individual and society. Hesters sin and subsequent condemnation alienate her. No where is this alienation more apparent than in Chapter 5, Hester at her Needle. Condemned by her sin of passion, Hester is separated from her community, not only physically, as she lives on the edge of the town, but also socially. In this chapter, Hawthorne presents the most profoundly destructive aspect of her estrangement in her psychological condition. Hester, deemed a social pariah, is left alone in the world, with only her thoughts to keep her†¦show more content†¦Hesters own dress was of the coarsest materials and most sombre hue. Through her sewing, the wretched outcast makes enough money to live in a good deal of luxury but she feels she does not deserve it. She sought not to acquire anything beyond subsistence, of the plainest and most ascetic description. All her superfluous means were bestowed... in charity, given to wretches unappreciative of her talents, who not unfrequently insulted the hand that fed them. Hesters isolation from others causes her to concoct her own demons that are a constant haunting reminder of her sin and her punishment. She feels she is bound by iron chains that surround her heart and soul. Through the terrible ordeal of her ignominy, while she was in prison, the iron arm of the law held her up. Unable to free herself of the guilt, in her heart Hester perceives herself to be trapped by a chain...of iron links, which galling to her inmost soul...could never be broken. Hester begins to believe that all nature knew of [her sin] and her surroundings take on manifestations of evil. The sunshine, usually accepted as a pleasing omen ...seemed...as if meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on herShow MoreRelatedComparing The Scarlet Letter and A Streetcar Named Desire1833 Words   |  8 PagesCompare the ways in which isolation or alienation from society are presented in any two of the texts you have studied. We witness cases of alienation in the texts The Scarlet Letter and A Streetcar Named Desire, which are presented mainly in the female protagonists Hester Prynne and Blanche DuBois. However, although both characters experience isolation from their respective societies, it is my contention that the causes for their isolation are different. 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