“Let us not look back!” answered Hester Prynne, "The past is gone! Wherefore should we linger upon it now?”
Those quotes sound kind of cliché. They basically mean, don’t look back, which is a common phrase among us today.
But when I reviewed The Scarlet Letter as a whole, this is what I took from it. Hester lived with an emblem, representing a great sin, on her chest- the embroidered A, for “Adulteress.” This letter promoted alienation from others, and altered her life completely. However when she finally decided to remove it, she said the above quote.
I know we all have, or will acquire, some sort of scarlet letter in our lives. Some sin or wrong doing others won’t forgive us for, or we ourselves can’t release. It lingers with us, usually mentally, but in Hester’s case, also physically. Hester struggled with this letter, because it prevented her from living like the average individual of that time. But when she throws it near the stream, she tries to focus on not dwelling on the past, as she had done before. Hawthorne goes on describe her feeling weightless and radiant. I found it this really inspiring, the idea of unfastening your burdens and feeling freer afterwards.
However in the next chapter, when Hester is letter-less, Pearl won’t “hither”. She had always associated her mother with the letter. In order to pacify pearl, Hester refastens the letter on her chest.
This also made me think about another common saying- forgive and forget. I think in unfastening the letter, Hester forgave herself, and was ready to move on. But when she reattaches it, it makes it impossible to forget about it. It’s possible to forgive, but what about the forgetting part?
One of the sole reasons I enjoyed The Scarlet Letter was because of these consistently relevant ideas it contained. I wonder. Was Hawthorne trying to convey the idea of the capability of forgiveness, but not forgetfulness? Someone lies to us, steals from us, cheats on us, hurts us- the list of possible wrongdoings is infinite. We can forgive them, but unless we are impaired from memory loss, we can not forget. Their decisions defined their character, and their scarlet letters are always a part of them in some way.
Do you think that in reattaching the letter that Prynne throws herself into the punishment, similarly to the typical "tragic hero"? Is it possible to view Prynne as ultimately happy?
ReplyDeleteHaley,
ReplyDeleteRemember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr. The Scarlet Letter reminded me of this quote the whole time. Hester wears a letter on her chest to represent her sin. Everyone seemed to judge her from seeing what was on the surface, when they didn't give her a chance to even get to know what was on the inside. Everyone has a pool of emotions inside, whether they choose to show them or not. Hester really had to give back to her community for people to start accepting her again. In an odd way, I believe that Hester loved the letter on her chest. She lived in an unloving marriage, and her heart desired someone else. The letter almost represented doing something for her benefit that she loved. Have you ever heard the saying, "If loving you is wrong, then I don't want to be right." I think this is what Hester represented in a way on her chest. If you think about it, can you really control who your heart chooses for you? Would you want to be unhappy with someone for the rest of your life just because it's what other people tell you is right? I don't think so. I think that you have to make mistakes to know what you want, and the only thing you could do is learn from it and make yourself a better person from it. No one is perfect, but that only makes us human. I think all of us ask ourselves the questions I mentioned above from time to time, and we just don't ever admit it. We all are afraid of something (whether it's our future and who we end up with), love something and have lost something. So next time, instead of viewing the scarlet letter on one's chest, maybe you should take the chance to get to know them. Well worded blog Haley, it really opened my eyes.
Always,
-Brandd. :)
Haley, you're too legit. :D
ReplyDeleteThis is so great. I love that you say each of us will have our own scarlet letter at some point in our lives. Something that people won't forgive us for. It's so strange to think that no matter what the time period, we will all have an experience similar to that of Hester Prynne. Really caught my attention.
Brandis,
ReplyDeleteI would suggest that Hester Prynne goes against the "morality" of her time because Hawthorne thinks we may be born with an inherent sense of morality. Like Pearl, whose character is never in question, despite the fact that she lacks exposure to the Puritan teachings. Hester is acting upon her conscience, much like Huck Finn...
Excellent observations. I most definitely agree with you that we can forgive but never forget. And you are spot on when you say we will all have to wear a scarlet letter at some point and time in our lives, some of us more than others.
ReplyDeleteMy question is, do you think Pearl unconsciously was connected to the letter causing her to reject her mother? I think there might be more to the forest scene than meets the eye. What about you?
On a different note, if this is how you write in a blog post, I am totally excited to read your formal writings. Great job!