Introduction
The intention to create judgments and share personal opinions about someone or something is one of the main characteristics of human beings. Sometimes, people succeed in their desire to examine an event and define who is right or who is wrong. However, there are also situations when individuals fail to reveal the essence and get disturbed by the environment or society instead of relying on personal thoughts and knowledge.
Talking about the power of social judgment, one should remember The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, where sins, prejudice, and haste intertwine to present one of the most provocative and educative stories. Although the novel was written at the end of the 19th century, it remains relevant today, underlying the worth of human strength, courage, and self-respect to deal with uncontrolled scorn, injustice, and overvalued expectations.
Resilience
In The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, Hester demonstrates resilience while going through public shaming and brutality in Puritan society, telling a story that is still relevant today. Despite a common intention to be free and independent, most modern people live according to specific rules as it was inherent to the citizens of the 19th-century society. Therefore, there is nothing strange when Hawthorne represents society as a “throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray steeple-crowned hats, inter-mixed with women” (71). They expect to see Hester, the adulteress, to be “dimmed and obscured,” but she astonished the crowd with her beauty that “made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy” (Hawthorne 80). The woman shows her resilience against the public’s prejudice and readiness to accept all their reproaches.
In Modern Society
Today, most women and men follow the same approach and do not find it necessary to meet social expectations but are ready to present their own visions because they can do it. Although today, people are far from the rules of Puritan society, where law, order, and faith prevail, they need to protect their rights and prove their interests and choices.
Inner Strength
In The Scarlet Letter
Hester’s journey in The Scarlet Letter is a testament to her incredible strength and self-respect. Despite being publicly humiliated and forced to wear the letter ‘A’ for adultery, she reveals her inner courage. Hawthorne details the letter on her dress as beautifully crafted, which shows that Hester does not passively accept her punishment. The letter “was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore” (Hawthorne 79). Instead of being damaged or destroyed by prejudiced judgments and inappropriate treatments, Hester reveals her strengths and self-respect. She uses her imagination and personal attitude as the only source of inspiration and motivation not to be broken by the burden of humiliation.
In Modern Society
Today, people do many similar things when they want to be what they are and behave how they want. They address their entire strengths and creativity to prove the appropriateness of their existence and the correctness of the choices they make.
Social Labels
In The Scarlet Letter
Hester builds a new life for herself beyond the scorn and becomes more than just the target of public shame; she is a mother, a survivor, and someone who helps those in need. Hawthorne notes that the letter ‘A’ fails to define her because “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification” (237). Instead, Hester redefines what it used to represent: she handles her challenges with grace, with no negative judgments breaking her spirit, supports her daughter, Pearl, and assists the less fortunate, changing how others view her. The letter ‘A,’ initially branding her as an “adulteress,” comes to signify “able” in the community’s eyes (Hawthorne 237).
Her motives are pure and honest with respect to all people, including her husband, who left her after her crime, and the father of her child, who does not want to be recognized. At the end of the story, Hester is no longer a criminal or an ashamed woman but a person who “had not known the weight [of the burden of shame and anguish] until she felt the freedom” (Hawthorne 301).
In Modern Society
Similar traits and inabilities can be noticed in today’s society when people continue wearing their masks to meet common expectations but neglecting their own demands and wishes. Not everyone is as strong as Hester is, and the author gives a great lesson on how to break the fetters of biased reality.
Conclusion
The tale of Hester Prynne, though set in the past, has enduring significance in the present. It touches on the universal fight against unjust judgment and the search for individual strength. The novel encourages readers to reflect on the courage needed to withstand ongoing criticism.
Sometimes, people are lucky to have someone behind them to ask for help and understanding. However, in situations like Hester’s, it is important not to lose a unique sparkle of creativity and enthusiasm and use it to resist society for personal gains and motives for survival. The Scarlett Letter is a unique story of human fight and courage against all social odds and prejudices that offers a number of lessons on how to improve modern life and the quality of interpersonal relationships.
Work Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. The Floating Press, 2008.