Quote #1

On page 78 of The Scarlet Letter, the narrator is talking about Hester and makes a point that shows a lot about Hester even before her crime. The narrator states, “In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it.” This quote speaks a great deal about how Hester was before she committed adultery. She never fully fit in anywhere with anyone; she has always seemed a little different from everyone else. And after she committed the crime, she became even more dissimilar from everyone else in society.

This quote is explaining that even before most society disowned her, she still didn’t fit in with them. She was always different and knew it. After this sentence on page 78, the narrator goes on to explain that every word, gesture, and even the silence with the people she came in contact with implied and expressed that she was alone as if she “inhabited another sphere.” She never felt fully connected with people in society and her crime just made that feeling worse.

This quote is very significant because it shows insight into Hester before the crime. The start of this book is all about the crime and how Hester is after it. The reader gets no information on how Hester acted or was seen before all of this happened, but this quote tells a lot about Hester as a person. It gives the reader an idea of what Hester was like before her offense and how people treated her then. After reading this, it seems as if society didn’t even accept Hester before the adultery because she was just a little different from them. Now, since she committed a horrible sin, they have an actual reason to not accept her.