Gutterman 1

Steven Gutterman

Ms. Moss

Pre-AP English, Period 4

16 November 2017

Hester at Her Needle

Often, the everyday person overlooks the manner in which society views felons. People

appear to lack the compassion and understanding that comes with reintroducing these offenders

back into the free world; consequently, what these former convicts typically begin to feel is a

sense of alienation and detachment. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

exhibits the inner turmoil of Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman who commits adultery. Residents

of her village essentially begin treating her inhumanely and toss her down in social class.

Hawthorne utilizes metaphors, long and detailed syntax, and intense personification to dramatize

Hester’s inner turmoil regarding her situation.

Metaphors present throughout the novel comparing Hester’s situation to that of dungeons

and prison indicate her feelings of confinement. Hawthorne comments, “would bring them

together before the bar of final judgment, and make that their marriage-altar, for a joint futurity

of endless retribution” (Hawthorne 67). Offering a weighty comparison between heaven and

prison bars, Hawthorne implies that Hester feels trapped and that she cannot escape this feeling

even in the afterlife. Her turmoil as a result reveals itself to be that of fear for the future, as she

goes as far as to worry about what may unfold beyond her earthly days. The narrator goes on to

note, “She barely looked the idea in the face, and hastened to bar it in its dungeon” (Hawthorne

68). Again utilizing the theme of imprisonment, Hawthorne exaggerates Hester’s lack of a plan

to pull her out of her dire situation. By metaphorically placing the idea in its own dungeon,
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Hester mirrors her own situation where she feels as though she is in a dungeon of her own. This

imprisonment Hester feels ushers her to fuel her turmoil even more with darker and more intense

emotions.

Long and involved syntax plays a key role in exhibiting Hester’s inner darkness, clearly

demonstrating her sense of being overwhelmed by her situation. Commas are used repeatedly to

connect phrases, with Hawthorne remarking, “Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her

guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment” (Hawthorne 68). This syntax

structure mirrors that of Hester’s emotions. Just as the structure is filled with details and a

multitude of thoughts, Hester is overwhelmed by her emotions. What she is feeling can be

witnessed through the detail presented by Hawthorne when he informs, “the torture of her daily

shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost;

more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom” (Hawthorne 68). There are numerous ideas

going through Hester’s mind due to all the different details present within the passage.

Hawthorne conveys that her inner battle is much deeper than what she lets others see. She is

looking back on the decisions she so brashy made, and this is illustrated by the sheer volume of

words and phrases that together culminate into a detailed take on this young woman’s life.

Hawthorne includes examples of personification to expound upon Hester’s emotions and

thoughts exhibiting her growing insanity. He writes, “she hid the secret from herself, and grew

pale whenever it struggled out of her heart” (Hawthorne 67). There is a serious, life-altering

secret that is slowly destroying Hester from the inside. She holds the truth to a matter of which

she cannot tell, ultimately driving her into a more unstable mental state. Demonstrating more of

Hester’s insanity, Hawthorne reveals, “the tempter of souls...laughed at the passionate and

desperate joy with which she seized” (Hawthorne 67). Exemplifying Hester’s inner conflict and
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troubles, Hawthorne cleverly utilizes personification in order to give more insight. By employing

the name “tempter of souls” and coupling it with the verb “laughed,” he portrays Hester’s true

emotions by exhibiting what she views herself as: a laughing stock. Rather than outright

expressing that Hester’s emotions are becoming more intense to the point of hysteria, Hawthorne

offers a view from Hester’s perspective using personification, and ultimately this promotes a

deeper understanding of how her “crime” affects her in this moment of indecision.

Hawthorne clearly expresses Hester’s feelings throughout the passage through the use of

metaphors, long and detailed syntax, and personification. By exhibiting her inner turmoil, he

accomplishes the feat of offering a lense through the life of a felon that the general public does

not typically see. Consequently, people are able to see that everyone - no matter who they may

be - has emotions and feelings that can be fiddled with and abused.

Works Cited

Nathaniel, Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter. Introduction and Notes by Nancy Stade, Barnes &

Noble, Inc., 2003.

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