19th Century Literature/The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter
Hawthorne's tale revolves around the life of Hester Prynee after having been forced to wear the mark of an A on her blouse; the A originally stood for Adultery, the crime which Hester committed, yet was later taken to stand for able. Hawthorne is critical of the Puritan morality that he thought was preoccupied with punishing other's sins.

Extract One
In this extract, Hawthorne shows us a crowd that waits for Hester Prynne to leave the prison and to make her way to the place where she will be publicly humiliated.

Explanation and Analysis
Hawthorne's commentary is revealed in this extract through the characterization of the members of the crowd. Consider how the first woman to speak is described - 'a hard-featured dame of fifty'. This is certainly not a flattering description. She asks the crowd to let her 'tell ye a piece of my mind'. Her dialogue is coarse and unforgiving - 'if the hussy stood up for judgement'. She is not only 'hard-featured' but also very judgmental, unforgiving and moralistic. Also notice that the only one to sympathize with young Hester was the young female holding a child by the hand, thus re-emphasizing the rosebush representing a new era and hope for the future compared to the rusting iron door.