CANDY BOX: An Open Letter to Hester Prynne

An Open Letter to Hester Prynne, protagonist of The Scarlet Letter

Spoiler warning: various plot points of The Scarlet Letter

For a female character written in the 1840s and placed in the 1640s, I expected much less of you.  I would argue that the concept of a heroine hardly existed at the time, and yet you proved that you would not stoop to denial, dishonesty, or gaslighting, the way all of the men around you did.  Despite being the most objectified woman in all of literature, you continued to exercise courage and give love to your neighbors.  For all this, I see you as a much greater hero than characters such as Harry Potter; anyone in any situation ought to view you as a role model.

An artist's interpretation of Hester

 I knew from early on in the story that you had a reserve of strength that few people possess.  In one day, you, along with your infant daughter, were paraded from the prison to the scaffold for the town to ridicule, and were then reunited with your husband, who, after having disappeared years earlier, showed up at the exact moment that the Deputy Governor asked you to reveal to the town who you had slept with.  In the face of public humiliation, you protected Arthur’s identity, electing instead to bear the scarlet letter.

Before the day had even ended, your husband Roger had the gall to visit you in prison under the guise of examining your health.  He again pestered you to confess the identity of your daughter’s father, over a thinly-veiled threat to the man’s life.  Exhausted and frightened, you protected Arthur’s identity.

Your caring behavior continues and, if anything, increases throughout the novel.  All your selflessness does, however, prompt me to ask this: why, Hester, is your choice in men so misguided?  Arthur clearly lacks guts; he stands up for you only when it is convenient, and he only attempts to help himself through physical self-torture rather than practicing what he literally preaches and confessing to his sin in order to move on and contribute to society.  I assume you embraced his kind heart, and I appreciate that, but still.  Woman, you deserve more.

From left to right: Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl Prynne,
Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth

Your husband is an even worse match.  Consider: you refused to let the scarlet letter ruin you, instead continuing to help the less fortunate and giving Pearl all of your love.  You took a social device that should have crippled you and instead shrugged it off until eventually everyone saw the letter and you as an emblem of hope.  Alternatively, Roger was gifted a second chance at life, returning to civilized America from his native American kidnappers, and he completely blew it.  Rather than rekindle his relationship with you or use his talents as a physician to keep the town thriving, he spent his new life in a single-minded, self-destructive mission to torture Arthur.  By the end of the book, we are left to see your husband as the Devil; he has been so consumed by hatred that there is no man left underneath the monstrous shell.

Hester Prynne, you are a hero against patriarchy and prejudice, but, for God’s sake, I hope Pearl didn’t consult you when choosing her husband.

Sincerely,

Jonah