Free College Essays - Symbols of Her Crime in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter - Two Symbols of Her Crime â€Å"It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge,† calmly replied Hester. â€Å"Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport.† (163) Hester Prynne, the central character in the Scarlet Letter, realizes and accepts the consequences of the adulterous act she committed against her husband, Roger Chillingworth, as Hawthorne shows in this quotation. Hester, throughout the book, excludes and humbles herself because of her crime, rather than simply running away. At the same time, she advertises her sin through the brilliantly embroidered â€Å"A† and through her daughter, Pearl, born out of this sin. Hester realizes that she indeed sinned in committing adultery, and, being the strong individual that she is, accepts the consequences of her actions. In fact, much of the suffering incurred from Hester’s sin results from her own actions. She, by her own choice, wears humble, dismal clothes; she moves to the outskirts of her town, but refuses to run away to a place where no one knows of her crime; she excludes herself from society, while society does not always exclude her. Instead of escaping her crime, Hester embraces it. She declares, â€Å"It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge... Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport,† realizing the crime she committed and the fairness of her punishment—the scarlet letter (163). Hester goes so far as to dwell upon the letter as a symbol of her guilt. The brilliant crimson â€Å"A† resides on her humbly clothed chest, making the letter stand out all the more; Pearl, the child of sin, runs beside her mother, dressed in spectacular clothing â€Å"abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread,† in effect, personifying that same symbol (102). In each case, Hester advertises the fact that she has sinned and that she is paying for her crime, again bring more suffering upon herself. And again, she accepts it. She realizes the letter should only be removed when she is no longer guilty of her crime. She knows, therefore, that day will never come. Society, however, thinks differently.