chapter 18
"The tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread."
the letter now adopts the symbol of a passaport that allows Hester to escape from the jail (the society in which she is in). As well as before, the A becomes not the symbol of infamy, but the emblem of a holy and wise woman. The very A makes her special: always exiliated because different from the other women, but in a good way.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
essay /
Exile is seen as a dramatic experience, where a person is ripped out from his or her “home” intended as a birthplace, family, homeland.
Cicero and Napoleon are two famous personalities that, separated by centuries, felt the same way about their exile: the feeling of not being home, not feeling safe, loving something that they couldn’t be in touch with- changed their lives and their point of view.
Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about two kinds of exile in his book –The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne is subjected to the pitfalls of a place new and different from the one in which she has always lived. A second type of exile, less concrete, is the exile caused by alienation from society: his main character remains physically in the society itself, but is any longer part of it. This makes Hester’s condition even more difficult, and hard to live and deal with.
After having reached the New World, having lost therefore her own family and birthplace, Hester has to deal all by herself a series of problems, such as integration in the society that will kick her out, settling a place to live and how to earn bread. Although this might be a main point, the real pain is cause by Hester’s sin and her life after that.
Hester Prynne is left alone to fight the difficulties of her new life, and her husband is not there to help her. Guilty of love, her love itself will cause seclusion from society. The punishment of carrying an ‘A’ on her bosom seems a too merciful one: people say that she should have been marked on the forehead with an iron, but to Hester it burns as if she had been scarred.
The letter seems to be a cruel mark that will never help Hester, but remind her how evil she is. Maybe this is what makes Hester do her best to improve her condition: the ‘A’ is a constant reminder to Hester to help others and be kind in response to others’ offences. Therefore, the letter becomes not anymore a symbol of shame and infamy, but even its meaning changes to the society’s eyes: A stands for Angel.
The exile that the society tried to punish Hester with, actually helped her to become a better, almost holy person.
If she hadn’t been exiled, or if she had stayed among her relatives, protected with familiar love, her life would have been different, her character wouldn’t have become sweeter and kinder, but Hester would have remained a normal woman who once committed a sin. But the fact that her alienation and punishment changed her soul in good, changes her figure from sinner to saint.
Cicero and Napoleon are two famous personalities that, separated by centuries, felt the same way about their exile: the feeling of not being home, not feeling safe, loving something that they couldn’t be in touch with- changed their lives and their point of view.
Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about two kinds of exile in his book –The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne is subjected to the pitfalls of a place new and different from the one in which she has always lived. A second type of exile, less concrete, is the exile caused by alienation from society: his main character remains physically in the society itself, but is any longer part of it. This makes Hester’s condition even more difficult, and hard to live and deal with.
After having reached the New World, having lost therefore her own family and birthplace, Hester has to deal all by herself a series of problems, such as integration in the society that will kick her out, settling a place to live and how to earn bread. Although this might be a main point, the real pain is cause by Hester’s sin and her life after that.
Hester Prynne is left alone to fight the difficulties of her new life, and her husband is not there to help her. Guilty of love, her love itself will cause seclusion from society. The punishment of carrying an ‘A’ on her bosom seems a too merciful one: people say that she should have been marked on the forehead with an iron, but to Hester it burns as if she had been scarred.
The letter seems to be a cruel mark that will never help Hester, but remind her how evil she is. Maybe this is what makes Hester do her best to improve her condition: the ‘A’ is a constant reminder to Hester to help others and be kind in response to others’ offences. Therefore, the letter becomes not anymore a symbol of shame and infamy, but even its meaning changes to the society’s eyes: A stands for Angel.
The exile that the society tried to punish Hester with, actually helped her to become a better, almost holy person.
If she hadn’t been exiled, or if she had stayed among her relatives, protected with familiar love, her life would have been different, her character wouldn’t have become sweeter and kinder, but Hester would have remained a normal woman who once committed a sin. But the fact that her alienation and punishment changed her soul in good, changes her figure from sinner to saint.
sentences!
Opaque- the opaque glass didn't allow Sally to see what was going on beyond the window.
Propensity- one of the main trait of Chillingworth's character was the propensity to the evil
Propensity- one of the main trait of Chillingworth's character was the propensity to the evil
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Vocabulary
1) opaque - adj. not clear; not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy;
2) Propensity - noun a disposition to behave in a certain way;
3) Esoteric - adj intended to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest
4) Vitiated - adj
5) Magnate - noun
6) Malleable - adj capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out/ easily influenced
7) Dearth - noun (paucity) an insufficient quantity or number
8) Florid - adj elaborately or excessively ornamented;
9) Evanescent - adj
10) Veneration - noun religious zeal; willingness to serve
2) Propensity - noun a disposition to behave in a certain way;
3) Esoteric - adj intended to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest
4) Vitiated - adj
| ruined in character or quality |
| a very wealthy or powerful businessman; |
7) Dearth - noun (paucity) an insufficient quantity or number
8) Florid - adj elaborately or excessively ornamented;
9) Evanescent - adj
| tending to vanish like vapo |
Monday, November 1, 2010
34 DJ
17 chapter
"Dost thou not see what I would say? That old man!... the physician!... he whom they call Roger Chillingworth!... he was my husband!"
the fact that Hester has the strenght to tell A. that R.C. is her husband is another demonstration of how Hester is stronger compared to her lover. She didn't have to tell A.D. that he was her husband, but she's pure and honest and her soul is actually "clean" cause she has no secrets now.
"Dost thou not see what I would say? That old man!... the physician!... he whom they call Roger Chillingworth!... he was my husband!"
the fact that Hester has the strenght to tell A. that R.C. is her husband is another demonstration of how Hester is stronger compared to her lover. She didn't have to tell A.D. that he was her husband, but she's pure and honest and her soul is actually "clean" cause she has no secrets now.
33 DJ
17 c
"More misery, Hester!... Only the more misery!" answered the clergyman with a bitter smile. " As concerns the good which I may appear to do, I have no faith in it. It must needs be a delusion. What can a ruined soul like mine effect towards the redemption of other souls?... or a polluted soul towards their purification? And as for the people's reverence, would that it were turned to scorn and hatred!" [...]
"Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!"
A.D. must be a good man, because his pain is evident, and his whole sould is exploding with regret. But at the same time, this very line (happy..) tells us that Dimm. is not strong enough to tell people what happened, although he had the chance. And her being strong is shown also when the people wanted to take the A out of her bosom, and she didn't want to, to show that she had actually cheated on her husband, but also to "keep" dimm. with her all the time.
"More misery, Hester!... Only the more misery!" answered the clergyman with a bitter smile. " As concerns the good which I may appear to do, I have no faith in it. It must needs be a delusion. What can a ruined soul like mine effect towards the redemption of other souls?... or a polluted soul towards their purification? And as for the people's reverence, would that it were turned to scorn and hatred!" [...]
"Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!"
A.D. must be a good man, because his pain is evident, and his whole sould is exploding with regret. But at the same time, this very line (happy..) tells us that Dimm. is not strong enough to tell people what happened, although he had the chance. And her being strong is shown also when the people wanted to take the A out of her bosom, and she didn't want to, to show that she had actually cheated on her husband, but also to "keep" dimm. with her all the time.
32 DJ
17 c
"It was no wonder that they thus questioned one another's actual and bodily existence, and even doubted of their own. So strangely did they meet in the dim wood that it was like the first encounter in the world beyond the grave of two spirits who had been intimately connected in their former life, but now stood coldly shuddering in mutual dread, as not yet familiar with their state, nor wonted to the companionship of disembodied beings."
The two "spirits" are both alienated by society and they hadn’t talked openly to each other in maybe 7 years. This relationship has got colder because of their non-talking, but at the same time they feel the strong love that they have felt for each other and that didn't fade.
"It was no wonder that they thus questioned one another's actual and bodily existence, and even doubted of their own. So strangely did they meet in the dim wood that it was like the first encounter in the world beyond the grave of two spirits who had been intimately connected in their former life, but now stood coldly shuddering in mutual dread, as not yet familiar with their state, nor wonted to the companionship of disembodied beings."
The two "spirits" are both alienated by society and they hadn’t talked openly to each other in maybe 7 years. This relationship has got colder because of their non-talking, but at the same time they feel the strong love that they have felt for each other and that didn't fade.
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