A rock of strength By: Rachel Santiago-Serrano Hester is the protagonist in this book. She is described as a, beautiful, strong, faithful and kind woman. When she is first introduces in this story, there is a mess attached to her name that is symbolized by the scarlet letter "A". When she walks to the scaffold from the prison, she holds her head high grasping her baby girl, Pearl.”Her most impressive feature is her dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam.” The woman at the scaffold envied her beauty. “She’s certainly good with a needle” commented one female observer, “But did a woman ever parade her skill in the way this harlot did today? Girls she is laughing in the faces of our godly magistrates and proudly flaunting the symbol they intended as a punishment!” They are not very happy by the way that Hester does not care about the letter but will wear it with pride.
Hester's strength of character in public is her way of not letting what happened get to her and hurt her. Her silent suffering eventually wins the sympathy of others but still fails to gain the complete acceptance of the higher officials. The higher official thought that Hester was unfit to take care of pearl, she said” God gave her into my keeping,” repeated Hester, raising her voice almost to a shriek. “I will not give her up!” Although Dimmesdale had to help her out a little there. She stood strong. “Hester is becoming more active in society. She brings food to the doors of the poor , she nurses the sick, and she is a source of aid in times of trouble. She still frequently made an object of scorn, but more people are beginning to interpret the ”A” on her chest as meaning ‘Able’ rather than ‘Adulterer’.” Slowly but surely people are starting to accept her. Because of her good deeds Chillingworth tells Hester “The town fathers have recently considered allowing you to remove the Scarlett letter.” But she doesn’t take that very well and says “Divine providence will make it fall from my chest when it is time for it to do so.” This shows great strength because she had the easy way out and she totally denied it.
Hester's faithfulness and loyalty to Dimmesdale are reflected in her determination to hide his identity. No matter how many times people asked her to reveal who the father was, she would not. Her love for him is being shown in her concern for his health and desire to run away to the New Land. When Hester and Dimmesdale are in the forest, Hester reveals to him that Chillingworth is her husband. ” Oh Hester Prynne, thou little, little knowest all the horror of this
