An Absurd Angel: Hester Prynne Interpreted From The Perspective Of Camus’s Absurd Philosophy

Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the most influential writers in Americanliterature in the19thcentury. The publication of his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter haswon him permanent reputation. The heroine Hester Prynne in the novel, whicharouses the widespread concern, is interpreted from a variety of perspectives. Thisthesis will adopt Albert Camus’s Absurd Philosophy to specifically illustrate Hester,and further identify her image as “the absurd angel”.The thesis is composed of four chapters apart from the introduction and theconclusion.The introduction concentrates on Hawthorne’s life and his masterpiece TheScarlet Letter, the literature review of this novel, and the questions researched in thisthesis.Chapter One explores the spirits of Albert Camus’s Absurd Philosophy, whichcomprises the notion of “the absurd”, the responses to “the absurd” and Sisyphus’simage as “the ideal absurd hero”.Chapter Two reveals Hester’s “absurd” living environment. Hester pursues hertrue love under the guidance of her “nature law” whereas she lives in the Puritancommunity established on Puritans’ beliefs and values. Her ideal to follow her“nature law” meets with the cold rejection in reality. Therefore,“the absurd” arisesfrom the contradiction and Hester is trapped into a paradox.Chapter Three specifies Hester’s response to “the absurd”. Confronted with sucha confused circumstance, Hester does not commit suicide or resort to God for help;instead, she takes the option to gain full awareness of “the absurd”. She revoltsagainst the holy God and Puritan authorities, seeks freedom to pursue her humannature and lives her life with great passion.Chapter Four indicates that Hester is a female Sisyphus and deserves to berecognized as “the absurd angel”. Sisyphus continues his constant struggle after fullacknowledgement of his hopeless destiny. He becomes the master of his fate andmanages to convert his tragedy into victory. Hester bears great resemblance to Sisyphus as she reaches consensus with him. Ultimately, her kindness and generositycolor the letter “A” and shift its meaning from the shameful mark to the token of“able” and “angel”. Hester successfully transforms her misery into happiness asSisyphus does.The thesis arrives at the conclusion grounded on the above analysis. Hester’sideal of pursuing true love in line with her “nature law” sharply contradicts thePuritan community founded on Puritans’ beliefs and values. Consequently,“theabsurd” arises from this confrontation. After gaining full consciousness of “theabsurd”, Hester makes a resolution to live with the scarlet letter “A” rather thanattempting to escape. Her kindness and good deeds win the acceptance and respect inthe Puritan community. The meaning of the scarlet letter “A”, once a symbol of hermoral sin, is shifted to the glorious symbol “able” and “angel”. Hester succeeds insetting herself free from her sin and becomes the master of her fate. She transformsher miserable tragedy into glorious victory. Apparently, she behaves in accordancewith Sisyphus,“the ideal absurd hero”, and is worthy of being recognized as the“absurd angel”.