Character Analysis in Scarlet letter by Nathaneil Hawthorne

1. Character Analysis:
Hester Prynne, Pearl,
Pearl, Arthur
Dimmesdale

2.  She traveled to America ahead of her husband, a crippled physician significantly older
than her
 elegant, artistic, and beautiful young woman
 she came from a “genteel but impoverished English family” of notable lineage
 She married the much older Roger Chillingworth, who spent long hours over his books
and experiments; yet she convinced herself that she was happy
 Because her husband is away for so long, she finds solace in an affair with the Pastor
(Arthur Dimmesdale)
 She conceives a baby girl (pearl), and is shamed for it
 As the usual punishment for the sin of adultery: she is imprisoned for three months,
shamed in public, and sentenced to wear the scarlet letter on her bodice to remind all of
her crime
 Regardless of the harsh treatment Hester refuses to name the pastor she consummated
with
 She also refuses to give up Pearl up for guardianship
Facts about Hester Prynne

3.  Hester’s character is revealed through her public humiliation and isolated life in Puritan
society.
 Her traits: inner strength, her defiance of convention, her honesty, and her compassion
 Hester’s determination to stand alone despite the opinion of society.
 As she walks out on the scaffold at the beginning of the novel, Hester determines that
she must “sustain and carry” her burden forward “by the ordinary resources of her
nature or sink with it.
 Her needlework becomes her solace in her
 Her inner calm is recognized in the changing attitude of the community when they
acknowledge that the A is for “Able,”
 No friend, no companion, no foot crossed the threshold of her cottage Hester loves on,
quietly, and becomes something of a legend in the colony of Boston.
 The Scarlet Letter made her what she became, and, in the end, she grew stronger and
more at peace through her suffering.
Analysis

4.  Pearl is the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale.
 when Dimmesdale dies, she is only seven years old
 Her character is perceptive and asks thought provoking questions.
 Pearl’s innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise
crucial questions about its meaning.
 Pearl rejects Dimmesdale before he admits his guilt, washing off the kiss
he tries to give her. After Dimmesdale publicly admits his sin, however,
she cries and kisses him, showing her forgiveness.
Facts about pearl

5. • even though pearl is a consequence and representation of the ‘committed sin’, Yet
also like the scarlet letter, Pearl becomes Hester's source of strength. Pearl defines
Hester's identity and purpose and gives Hester a companion to love. Pearl's affinity
for the occult associates her character with sin and evil, but Pearl is first and foremost
a product of love, not just sin. Her rumored happiness and success as an adult in
Europe make her character a symbol of the triumph of love over a repressed and
oppressive society.
• After Dimmesdale publicly admits his sin, however, she cries and kisses him, showing
her forgiveness. The narrator comments that the scene "developed all her
sympathies" and that her tears "were the pledge that she would grow up amid human
joy and sorrow, nor for ever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it."
Facts about pearl

6.  A well-respected Boston reverend who has an affair with Hester Prynne and is the
secret father of Pearl.
 Shy, retiring, and well loved and respected by his public
 Dimmesdale secretly punishes himself for his sin by fasting and whipping himself.
 A representation of puritan faith in puritan society
Facts about Arthur Dimmesdale

7.  his role within the Puritan community. As a Puritan minister, he is supposed to be the
highest example of the Puritan faith.
 The conflict between his role as a spiritual leader and the gravity of his personal sin
demonstrates the theme of guilt versus redemption explored in this novel.
 Dimmesdale secretly punishes himself for his sin by fasting. Ultimately the suffering
and punishment he endures, though self-inflicted, proves far worse than Hester's or
Pearl's, suggesting that betrayal and selfishness are greater sins than adultery.
 Dimmesdale's guilty conscience overwhelms him like a plague, robbing him of his
health and preventing him from raising his daughter.
 He finally confesses seven years later, but it comes too late. Moments after his
confession, he dies in Hester's arms. When she dies years later, the town buries her
next to Dimmesdale, with an 'A' over their shared grave.
Facts about Arthur Dimmesdale