Tamara Haddad
Wilhite P.5

Scarlet Letter Dialectical Journal

“Like anything that pertains to crime, it seemed never to have a youthful era… a wild rose-bush, in this month of June, with delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in” (Hawthorne 45).
Hawthorne describes the door of the jail, as well as the rose bush to the side of it. I feel as if this is supposed to represent what Hester is about the experience: the harsh Puritan judgment, or the old door, along with the acceptance of certain people along her path, as represented by the rose bush.
“An Indian in his native garb was standing there; but the red men were not so infrequent visitors of the English …show more content…

He even said to Hester that he needed to know who the other man is.
“They said that it meant Abel, so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength,” (146).
I thought this entire book had a weird sort of feminist vibe, which I did not really understand coming from the time period. However, I’m sure feminism really started up during the romantic period, when people actually started thinking and questioning the world. I think this is the whole moral of the story, Hester Prynne takes lemons and makes them into lemonade. I think I really grasped that concept from the beginning, but this quote really reassured me.
“’What does the letter mean, mother?’ and why dost thou wear it? And why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?’” (163).
This quote is from Pearl, who is very innocent throughout the entire book. When Pearl was almost taken away from Hester, Dimmesdale argued that Pearl is still teaching and reminding Hester of her sin, which is true. Pearl starts to get curious about why her mother is different, forcing Hester to reflect on her sin. However the bond between mother and daughter is strong, especially Pearl and Hester, since they are somewhat outcasts.
“I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am! And Satan laughs at it!” (174).
I truly pity Dimmesdale throughout the entire book.