A single event often has the potential of becoming life changing. As revealed in The Scarlet
Letter, Hester‘s punishment for adultery takes its toll on all the main characters. Hester is able to hide her pain from the public, but when you look at her carefully it reveals huge changes in her mood due to the sin and public persecution. The change in her personality can be seen through her attitude towards others, her appearance, and her hidden emotions in the first scaffold scene when she holds the weight of the letter and in the forest when she is released from the embarrassment.
The punishment of adultery affects Hester’s attitude. On the scaffold, she looks down at the townspeople with “a haughty smile and a glance that would not be abashed” (Hawthorne 50).
Even though this phrase shows Hester’s strength, it also suggests that she is hiding grief from the public with a smirk. The “halo of misfortune and ignominy” that hung over Hester indicated
“something exquisitely painful” (51). This shows how the burden that Hester would have to endure for seven years, lessens her determination. When Hester removes the scarlet letter in the forest, she experiences “a happiness before unknown” (183). Even though the letter doesn’t make her happy, Hester still seems to be determined. When Hester comes out of the prison she refuses to be lead outside, “an action marked with natural dignity and force of character” (50). Overall, Hester’s sin does not appear to directly change her character.
Hester’s appearance does not change much from the first scaffold scene and the forest scene, but a few things are important in noticing her change in character. During both times,
Hester blushes. However, her “burning blush” on the scaffold is different from her glowing
“crimson flush” in the forest (50; 183). The smile Hester wears is different. Hester’s