Hester Prynne as Puritan Victim in Nathaniel Hawthornes Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter - Hester Prynne as Puritan Victim    In the first several chapters of The Scarlet Letter we can understand Hester Prynne to be a good but misunderstood soul. Labeled as an adulteress, she is the victim of the Puritan lifestyle. A person with many positive traits, she is treated as a terrible person for one unholy act. Far from the evil woman that some of her neighbors see, Hester is a strong, proud and loyal person who resists the worst influences of her community.   Once Hester has begun to wear the scarlet letter in public and is interrogated, she holds out against the preachers in a great display of strength. Reverend Dimmesdale is the first to try to entice her to divulge her accomplice's name. After his sweet speech brings all the listeners "into one accord of sympathy" (3: 5), no one dares to think that   she will not give the name of her partner. She withholds the name with determination, and even the goading calls of the crowd do not make her waver. Probably the greatest example of her strength and perseverance is when the clergyman giv...