In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the heroine is admired becuase of her strong will, and disregard for other’s views of her. Hester Pryne displays her best qualities when she stands up to Governor Bellingham and his gang, when they confront her about her daughter Pearl. Hester is a woman that is well ahead of her time, she is vocal, proud, head-strong, and confident, in an age where women were to be seen and not heard. She was deeply admired by all the townspeople, despite her adultrous past, and public shame of wearing a scarlet “A” upon her breast.
Hester is a victim of a crime which was severly punished despite the fact that she could only be accountable for half of the incident. She was forced into the marriage of a man she did not love, and after being seperated for a long amount of time, she became attracted to another man. Hester is much stronger then her partner in adultry, Dimmesdale, who bottles up his guilt inside, and eventually dies due to the suffering he endures, at keeping the event a secret. Hester endures her punishment without a word against it, and grows from it, making her stronger and a woman to be admired from her puritan counterparts, and women today.