In many stories there is always that one character that changes throughout the course of the book. In The Scarlet Letter the main character that changes is Hester. Throughout the book Hester changes from being an arrogant, unremorseful woman to a nicer and helpful woman. Even though Hester seems to have learned a lesson from her sin and punishment, has she really changed from her sinful ways? If so, is she going to leave for Europe with Dimmesdale?.
Towards the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, we see Hester being punished publicly for the sin she has committed with Dimmesdale. In chapter 2, Hawthorne writes, "He laid his right hand upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air as if by her own free will." (Pg 35) A few paragraphs later, Hawthorne also writes, "And never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, in the antique interpretation of the term, than as she issued from the prison. Those who had known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped." (Pg 36) At this first appearance to the townspeople, Hester acts as if nothing is wrong, as if she has chosen to appear before the people, rather than take it as a punishment. Hester's haughty appearance does not really reflect the way she is feeling on the inside. Right at the end of chapter 2, Hawthorne writes, "Could it be true? She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast that it sent fourth a cry; 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. Yes!- these were her realities,- all else had vanished!" (Pg 39) Hester has no reason here to clutch the child fiercely or to question the reality of the events occurring if the ordeal is not affecting her on the inside.
