Chapter 5: Hester at Her Needle

Summary:

Hester is released from prison and comes to terms with the fact that she is going to have to be strong if she is to remain sane, since from now on society will only know her as a symbol of sin, and not a person. The narrator addresses one of the primary questions of the novel: why does Hester stay in Boston, when she is free to go elsewhere and possibly avoid the constant shame that will be put upon her on her by Puritan society? The narrator offers a couple explanations. The First being that there is some force that compels humans to stay in the location where some important event that shaped their life occurred. In addition he says that it might be Hester's love for Pearl's father that is keeping her there. Hester's reasoning to herself is that staying at the scene of her crime and accepting her punishment would eventually purge her soul of the evil from her sin. Hester makes a home out of an abandoned cottage on the outskirts of town, alienating herself from the rest of society. Hester copes with the loneliness of her new life by knitting elegant garments that are used by many members of the town for a variety of functions because they are such high in quality that they allow people to overlook their shameful creators. Her garments are used by the governor, babies, funeral services, and pretty much anything you can think of besides marriage. Hester also goes well below her ability and creates ragged clothing for the poor, despite the fact that they look down upon her. Despite the fact that Hester is contributing to society and readily functioning, she still feels alienated from society, since she can't escape the reputation that has come with her scarlet letter. Wherever she goes she is subject to people pointing her out as a living example of sin. Hester also starts to believe that because of her constant punishment she can sense if other people have sinned, and she struggles with the reliability of this sense.

1. Hester's Decision to Stay in Boston

One of the most pressing questions in chapter 5 is Hester's decision to remain in Boston, where she is 

doomed to live a life of severe judgement from her peers, with little hope to ever become a regular member of society. It seems that she has everything to gain if she returns to Europe, or travels off to some other town that may not know of her sins, or will be more understanding of them. Still Hester remains and the narrator offers some insight as to why she decides to stay, "All other scenes of earth—even that village of rural England, where happy infancy and stainless maidenhood seemed yet to be in her mother’s keeping, like garments put off long ago—were foreign to her, in comparison. The chain that bound her here was of iron links, and galling to her inmost soul, but never could be broken."(Hawthorne 60) Too much has happened to Hester for her to simply leave Boston, and she feels an obligation to stay. The first and most overtly stated by her is that she believes her punishment should be carried out in the location where the crime was committed. By doing this she believes it might cleanse her soul of the evils brought about by her sin. Another reason she stays, though she doesn't want to admit it, is her love and eternal connection to Dimmsdale. The narrator describes it, "There dwelt, there trode the feet of one with whom she deemed herself connected in a union, that unrecognized on earth, would bring them together before the bar of final judgement, and make that their marriage-altar..."(Hawthorne 60) Not only is Hester staying out of hope that her and Dimmsdale might be together one day, but she also feels bound to him, since even though it is not readily apparent on earth, they are both bound together and will face final judgement together. The final reason is that Hester is a strong woman and doesn't want to give in to society's pressures on her. If she leaves town, then she acknowledges the power of society's harsh judgments toward her. Hester decides to stay to prove to them that she is comfortable with who she is and plans to live a long and honest life, so as to go against Puritan society which is filled with people living lies out of fear of judgement. 


2. Hester's Knitting
Hester's ability as a knitter serves as an insight into her character. After her punishment and self imposed alienation from society, Hester provides such fine garments for society that they are willing to overlook her sins and wear them. One of the most telling is when she makes ragged garments for the poor. She feels as if she is limiting herself by making such crude garments, as the narrator describes it, "It is probable that there was an idea of penance in this mode of occupation, and that she offered up a real sacrifice of enjoyment in devoting so many hours into such rude handiwork."(Hawthorne 63) This relates to how Hester's sins have deprived her of achieving her full potential in society, and that she has made a similar "sacrifice of enjoyment" in the broader scope of her life. Additionally it also develops her as a walking example of sin. Hester is ashamed by her tremendous knitting ability, because Puritans are supposed to dress simply, yet Hester is capable of making ornate clothing.

Wow Factor: Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird

Boo Radley from Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird is similar to Hester in character and is cast into a similar situation to Hester. Little is known about Boo, so Jem and Scout start rumors that he is an evil man and perceive there is a creepiness about his house. The basis of their hatred for Boo is a rumor about a trial he underwent as a teenager. This is exactly what happens to Hester, she is automatically thought of as a terrible person by people who know little about her besides her adultery, and as a result becomes an outcast of society and her house immediately arouses suspicion from the townsfolk  Boo in reality is a good person, as evidenced by the gifts he gives the kids, despite their unwarranted fear of him. The way Boo acts as a protector to the children, despite their hatred of him bears a strong similarity to the way Hester provides her knitting abilities to many in society, even going so far as to provide clothing for the poor as a form of charity. Despite their unsolicited actions of good, both Boo and Hester remained looked down upon by society by the very people they are trying to help.