Hester’s House: Symbolism of her Societal Label

Written by Anon

Following Hester Prynne’s public humiliation, her house represents her overall situation and status within Puritan society. Hester’s home is “within the limits of the Puritan settlement” but removed from the rest of the town to display the division that exists between her and the rest of the townspeople (Hawthorne 67). Despite the fact that she is stuck with the same rules and regulation, as well as the shame of the scarlet letter imposed on her by society, she does not get the camaraderie and security that society provides, and is instead faced with loneliness and isolation. Because Hester lives on the border between the forest and society, she is evidently living a life in which she is both ridiculed by society and condemned by the government’s laws, but isolated from Boston’s citizens and the warmth of human intimacy. Living between the forest and society, representing freedom and oppression, Hester is unable to take advantage of the best of both worlds, as she clings onto her citizenship of Boston and willingly stays within society’s clutches, though just barely. Just as her cottage is partially covered by trees, indicating that her house is “... some object which… ought to be, concealed”, whenever Hester leaves her house and enters the town, she is treated like an untouchable (Hawthorne 90).