“Why, look you, she may cover it with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever!” (49).
In this quote above, an autumnal matron is commenting on Hester Prynne and the fact that she feels no shame toward her adulterous act. To everyone it appears as if Prynne is attempting to flaunt her scarlet letter because she had the choice to place it where ever she pleased. Instead of trying to hide it and her sin, she put it in the middle of her chest so that it may be seen to everyone. Prynne shows no remorse for her actions.
“Her sentence bore, that she should stand a certain time upon the platform” (53).
To most, standing upon a platform is no punishment at all, but in the time of Hester Prynne it was. To Prynne, the real punishment was not having people stare at her in disgust or being ashamed. That did not faze her at all. But when Prynne was up on the platform she kept seeing faces: “She saw her father’s face […] she saw her own face” (55). Prynne was not afraid of the opinions of other, but of those closest to her.
Questions:
Will Hester’s child be looked down upon by society?
Will the town’s people go on a search for the person who Hester had relations with?
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