Hester Prynne a Tragic Character in the Novel “The Scarlet Letter

Answer

 Do you consider Hester Prynne a tragic character in the novel “The Scarlet Letter”? Illustrate your answer.

The novel “The Scarlet Letter” (1850) is a psychological and tragic romance composed by the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864). In the novel, the protagonist, Hester Prynne, is a tragic character from the beginning to the end. A tragedy has a tragic hero or heroine as its central character. Usually, tragic heroines or heroes have heroic qualities that make the audience sympathize with them.

Hester Prynne as a tragic character: Hawthorne’s novel describes Hester as a tragic character. If we judge any character as tragic or not, we first evaluate the characteristics of a tragic character. But Hester is a different tragic character from the conventional tragic character.

Excessive courage of herself: Hester Prynne’s character is characterized by her courage and bravery in the face of adversity. She was imprisoned, and a child was born in the prison house. She wears the letter “A” as a sign of adultery. She imprinted  “A” as a sign of her sin on her dress. In the story, because of her sin, she becomes a symbol of Eve, who has sinned for eating the forbidden fruit. In the novel, we see the bravery of Hester. She is too brave. And bravery is one of the traits of a tragic character. So, Hester is a tragic character। We can site quotes:

She turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real

Tragic flaw of her life: Tragic flaw is an essential feature of a tragic hero or heroine. In the novel, we see that Hester is obsessed with the tragic flaw of her entire life. She has been imprisoned for her adultery. According to the Puritan law, for her adultery, she has to lead a secluded life and faced various problems in her life. So, we can say that Hester is a tragic character. 

Patience