In Chapter XXIV, Hawthorne
writes,
And
Hester Prynne had returned, and taken up her long-forsaken shame! But where was little
Pearl?....But, through the remainder of Hester's life, there were indications that the
recluse of the scarlet letter was the object of love and interest with some inhaitant of
another land. Letters came, with armorial seals upon them, though of bearings unknown
to English heraldry.
These
letters are from Hester's daughter, who has married. She sends lovingly little
ornaments, and beautiful things that have been sewn by hand, indicating that Pearl has
learned the art of needlework from her mother.
Other
imagery comes in this chapter from the resumption of wearing the scarlet letter by
Hester Prynne. However, Hawthorne writes that the meaning of this symbol has been
altered to
a
type of something to be sorrowed after and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence,
too.
Hester has weathered the
scorn and shame placed upon her by the strict Puritanical code. She has redeemed
herself through her good works; for, on her grave, there appears "the semblance of an
engrave escutcheon." Albeit sombre, and in shadow, the scarlet A
now adorns the grave much like a coat of arms. Hester Prynne has earned
respect; she has, at last, earned a place in her community as Hawthorne points to the
idea of redemption from sin through good works, a concept counter to that of
Puritanism.
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