SEND ME AN ANGEL Hester Prynne was so bold and beautiful. I only wanted to love her, not bring harm to us both. I was her loving, sincere Reverend. How was I to know we would go so far? Well, I couldn't do anything but rest my eyes upon her. Her eyes were such a vibrant blue, they could pierce the darkness. Her long, soft, flowing hair drifted upon her face like whispers soft and sweet. I always wanted to be so close and near to her because the temptation was irresistible. I think she felt the same about me, but I can't be sure. After spending time talking, laughing, and going out together it finally happened.
You can't blame the poor girl. Why, her husband was off at sea somewhere for over a year, if I'm correct. He was much older than she and Hester wasn't even positive that he would be coming back, or if he had died out there.
English: Hester Prynne & Pearl before the stocks
The Scarlet Letter (1934 film)
The Scarlet Letter (1926 film)She wanted some loving that she just wasn't receiving and me, in my numbness for her, could do nothing to resist giving her what she needed. I longed for someone to love all of my life and felt that she was an angel sent to me.
It was a huge mistake. A couple of months down the road she realized she was pregnant and that was a huge sign showing that she took part in adultery. The Puritans soon found out. How, you ask? Here was a woman holding the newborn baby of a husband who had been away for over a year! Now wouldn't you think there was something wrong with this picture? Instead of giving her the death penalty, which is what the Puritan law called for, they made her stand three hours on a platform with a scarlet letter A that stood for adultery, with everyone in town watching. Plus, before she was convicted she was staying in a Custom House. The day this was going on I was standing above the platform getting ready to preach my sermon to her to make her speak the name of her adulterer. Can you believe what was going on inside my head? I was nervous to begin with, but now I had to try and make a woman tell the name of her partner in crime which was me!!! How ironic is that!? Hester put herself in an awkward position not speaking my name, but I'll be forever grateful to her for it. All these burdens she had to carry must have been atrocious, but that's how loving and caring she was to me. With the strength of an angel she did something that would have been near to impossible for me to do. Hester had to wear her scarlet letter A throughout her life, that is, unless she left the community, but she never had the heart to do that. She wanted to carry out her punishment to the fullest for it's what she felt she deserved. I, on the other hand, thought it should have been me, carrying out a much worse sentence. Hester's scarlet letter was stitched by herself. Her most spectacular talent was crocheting and people even paid her to make beautiful things for them. The money she got bought expensive fabric that made Pearl's, her lovely daughter's, clothing. Hester's scarlet letter was beautifully designed and very fancy with gold thread woven throughout it. Hester and Pearl struggled day and night from ridicule and torture the rest of the community would do or say to them. Sometimes Pearl would set them straight and they would leave them alone. People called Pearl a child of the devil, but she had her good and bad moments. Hester gave Pearl her name because she was her one and only treasure in the world. I struggled throughout my life with all my hidden sins and secretly would torture myself. I also had a habit of clasping my hand over my heart every time I was reminded of bad things. I felt a type of pain there and secretly you could see a scarlet letter engraved into my chest if you had a good enough imagination. Chillingworth was the first to find out about this.
At first Chillingworth seemed like a godsend to me. A doctor for my illness even though it was only physiological. After a while I realized he was a devil in disguise! He secretly tormented me while I was living. Hester finally told me that he was her husband and you couldn't believe the shock and bewilderment I faced. Never in my life had I imagined! Hester seemed so very strong and brave through all of this. Once she took the scarlet letter completely off and felt a huge burden lifted off of her chest. She stayed strong through having to raise a child who was her joy as well as her torment. Pearl was a living version of the scarlet letter. Always, throughout everything, Hester always cared for me and I can never forget her for that. I should have been the one to wear a scorching hot scarlet letter instead of her.
Hester stayed with me until the very end. I confessed my sins to the whole Puritan community while standing on the platform with Hester and Pearl, a place where they once stood so many years before. Hester held me as I drew in my very last breath and took one last look into her brilliant blue eyes. She moved out of town, but never forgot her place back in Boston, and soon came back to die in Boston. I don't actually know what became of Pearl, but there are stories that say she went and had a family and did something good with her life. Out of everything I wouldn't forget anything or any of the boldness and strength she showed me. She was my crutch throughout the bad times. There is something that people have forgotten about her though. Nearly everyone forgot what the scarlet letter symbolized on her and she once again became a normal person. She will always be kept forever in my heart. May my beauty rest in peace where she was buried, next to my grave, in that once Puritan ruled town of Boston.
Hester with airplane, 1917
Hester in airplane, 1923
Hester's Curtiss Canuck