5th Blog- Quote Analysis

In the book The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a particular quote caught my eye. On page 160 of the book, this quote was found: "The stigma gone, hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit." This quote is so significant to everything she's going through. It is referring to her Scarlet Letter leaving her dress. As it falls, everything she has felt in the last few years (shame, guilt, angusih) also lie there with it. She hopes to leave it there, never to see it again (although her daugter Pearl won't have any of it). It represents a moment of peace and freedom for the woman that just wanted to be accepted. It seems unfair that she was put int he position she was put in, so this moment where she sighs of relief makes the audience react in sucha way that they almost sigh with her. The stigma from the quote is obviously referring to the Scarlet Letter that was stitched onto her dress. The uniqueness of this quote is partially the emphasis on the sigh. She did not just let otu any sigh, but it was a "long, deep sigh." There is a quite a difference between the two. The other significant part of this quote is where the shame and anguish depart from. The soul is an extremely "powerful" part fo the body for most believers (of anything to do with soul). Using the word soul, to have the bad depart from, means that she is altogether better for eternity because of what she has done. The moment she left that letter on the ground, she was cleared and free from the sinful nature society has to see in her. The soul is arguably the strongest (and most effective when writing) part of the body. This quote really has an impact on the reader's vision of the scene.