Question

How do the women of Boston feel about Hester Prynne in this scene? Quote specific words from the text to support your response.

Answer 1

Answer:

The women of Boston felt disgusted and were angry about the crime of adultery committed by Hester Prynne.

Explanation:

In Chapter 2 of Scarlet Letter, when the crime of Hester Prynne was out, she was punished by the Puritanical Society for it. She wore an embroidered letter A (adultery).

Hester Prynne was convicted of the crime of adultery. Many women in the crowd, who were waiting outside the prison, were scorning Hester and gossiping that she should have been given much stricter punishment. Some church women thought only if they had a chance to handle the case of Hester, she would have been punished more severely.

"I’ll tell ye a piece of my mind. It would be greatly for the public behoof, if we women, being of mature age and church-members in good repute, should have the handling of such malefactresses as this Hester Prynne." (Quoted Text).

Some said that the letter should not be embroidered on her chest but on her forehead to shame her for life.

The ugliest woman of the crowd even suggested death punishment for Hester.

"This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it?" (Quoted Text).

Answer 2

Answer:

The women believes that Hester Prynne has brought shame on the womenfolk and so she should be killed for her sin of adultery.  

Explanation:

Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter" revolves around the case of one woman's adultery. Set during the puritanical religious beliefs of the people, adultery was accepted as a most sinful act against God, leading to the characters in the story to really and hatefully despise the protagonist.

Hester Prynne has been accused of adultery and made to wear a scarlet letter on her chest as a symbol of her sin. She was also made to stay in prison for some months. But this punishment was deemed too less by most of the women, who believe that she deserved to be given a more harsh punishment. In Chapter 2, we see the discussion about her taking place in the marketplace. Most of the women being staunch believers of the puritanical beliefs of morally good, they despised her for her adultery. Some demanded for her exile out of the town.

While some others believe that she had been given a light punishment due to her beauty, which she must have used to influence the men who were judging her. Some even suggested they "should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead." They believe that "this woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die".