The Scarlet Letter: Hester's Alienation
Beginning of paper
Throughout his book The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne is preoccupied
with the relationship between the individual and society. Hester's 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 pa ....
Middle of paper
.... been alienated from and by her community Hester forces
herself to live plainly and simply. She "strove to cast ["passionate and
desperate joy"] from her." She loves to sew, as women such as herself
"derive a pleasure…from the delicate toil of the needle," but she feels she
does not deserve the gratification. Though sewing could be "soothing, the
passion of her life …Like all other joys, she rejected it as a
sin." Hester no longer feels worthy to wear the finery she is capable of
sew ....
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Word count: 1280
Page count: 5 (approximately 250 words per page)
