Scarlet letter chapter 5 Essay example -- essays research papers

Chapter Five Hester at Her NeedleSummaryHester is released from prison and finds a cottage in the woods, salutary the outskirts of the city, to set up her new life. Hawthorne comments on the fact that she does not aid herself of the opportunity to escape to a new life without shame in some other city. He remarks that often people are overpoweringly drawn to live near the place where a great has occurred. He further comments that even if that is not the reason, Hester may have been inclined to hang on in Boston because her secret lover still lived there. Hesters skill at needlework, earlier shown in the fine way that she displayed the orange red letter, allows her to maintain a fairly stable lifestyle. However, her reputation as an outcast and loner causes a certain aura to be cast around her. Thus, Hawthorne points out that youthful children often crept up to her house to spy on her spot she worked. He also comments that in spite of her excellent needlework, she was never cal led upon to make a bridal gown due(p) to her reputation. Hester spends her time working on the projects which puzzle in her income, and devotes the remainder of her work to creating garments for the poor. She lives simply with the sole exception beingness that she creates amazing dresses of fine fabrics for Pearl. Hesters social life is virtually eliminated as a result of her shameful history. She is treated so poorly that often preachers entrust stop in the street and start to deliver a razz as she walks by. Hester also begins to hate children, who unconsciously realize there is something contrary virtually her and thus start to follow her with "shrill cries" through the city streets. One of the things which Hester starts to notice is that every once in a while she receives a sympathetic glance, and feels like she has a companion in her sin. Hawthorne puts it, "it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts." This is fire because many of the people Hawthorne accuses of hypocrisy as regards the ruddy letter are, "a venerable minister or magistrate," people who are viewed as models of " pietism and justice." AnalysisThe fact that Hester stays in Boston is likely due to the fact that she is too ashamed to go anywhere else. With the humiliation of receiving the scarlet letter, her tenacity and allow-power are destroyed, causing her ... ...nister for support, and makes the other men aware that Dimmesdale knows Hester break than they thought. Dimmesdale steps forward with his hand over his heart, again hiding the scarlet letter which he feels upon his breast. This also ties back to Chillingworths comment that he will recognize Pearls true father by "reading" his heart. Dimmesdale then decent compares Pearl to the scarlet letter upon her mothers bosom, and manages to keep the mother and daughter together. Pearls response is unique at this juncture, in that she takes the ministers hand and p laces her cheek against it. This simple communicate is full of meaning, because it implies that Pearl recognizes Dimmesdale as being connected to her. Dimmesdale responds by necking her on the forehead, in a sense claiming her as his own child. The background in which Mistress Higgins invites Hester into the woods to meet the Black Man is important. It more often than not acts to foreshadow events, but also serves to make a statement about the woods. The forest is the wilderness around Boston, and thus is an amoral backdrop. Thus, when Hester meets with Dimmesdale later in the story, the group meeting will also take place in the forest.