In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne Prynne redefines herself despite being shunned by the Puritan community. Although he has sinned, he does not abide in the past. He becomes stronger as a person because of the cruelty of the townspeople and the shame they place on Hester. Although everything seems to be going wrong for Hester, the story ends in her favor. Hester becomes stronger than both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. He becomes the voice of those who have sinned and shows his caring and resilient nature even under the spell of the letter. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although Hester is shunned by her community, she holds herself up with strength and acceptance. At the beginning of the story, the reader first meets Hester as she walks out of prison while the townspeople watch. Hester holds her son, symbolic of her sin of adultery, and is marked with a letter "A" embroidered on her dress. The women of the town gossip about Hester and point out that Hester's beautiful skills in embroidering the letter that was to be her punishment made it seem like she was proud of her sins. However, Hester is just making the best of her situation. Although the townspeople expect Hester to be ashamed and embarrassed, she turns the other cheek: beauty shone and haloed the misfortune and ignominy in which she was shrouded” (37). Hester shows her strength by refusing to crumble under public humiliation and be branded as punishment for her sin. He accepts his misdeeds with grace and stands his ground: "In a moment, however, judging wisely that one sign of his shame would not serve to hide another, he took the child on his arm, and, with a fiery blush, and yet a haughty smile and a look that would not be embarrassed looked upon the townspeople and her neighbors” (37). This event is an example of Hester's strength shining through her dark circumstances, and is the beginning of her journey to acceptance. of her sin and becoming a better person because of it. Although Hester is vulnerable at the beginning of the novel, she develops confidence and a new perspective as an outsider, and then shows her dominance over Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth While the sanity of Dimmesdale is deteriorating, Hester finds peace with her sin and the letter "'Hester,' he said, 'have you found peace?' She smiled sadly, looking down at her breasts. "Really?" He asked. "No one! Nothing but desperation!" He answered” (131). During the conversation between Hester and Dimmesdale, Dimmesdale is depressed and upset, while Hester is calm and comforting. This is ironic because it was Hester who was publicly punished for her sins, yet Dimmesdale is letting his secret sin ruin his life. The shame that Hester should feel affects Dimmesdale instead. Hester also grows impatient with Chillingworth's evil and decides to meet him. She explains that he no longer intimidates her thanks to her newfound strength, and that she has overcome him: "Strengthened by years of hard and solemn trials, she no longer felt so inadequate to face Roger Chillingworth... She had climbed her way, from then, at a higher point. the old man, however, had approached his level, or perhaps below it, with the vengeance to which he had stooped (115). peace and prosper over Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Hester finding peace with herself and her scarlet letter is another example of her ability to overcome challenges and isolation.