Quote Reponse #1-The Scarlet Letter

    In chapter five of, The Scarlet Letter, I found a very interesting quote which began on the bottom of page 80 and ended on the top of page 81. The quote reads,             “ Again, a mystic sisterhood would contumaciously assert itself, as she met the sanctified frown of some matron, who, according to the rumor of all tongues, had kept cold snow within her bosom throughout life. That unsunned snow in the matron’s bosom, and the burning shame on Hester Prynne’s-what had the two in common? Or, once more, the electric thrill would give her warning- “Behold, Hester, here is a companion!”-and, looking up, she would detect the eyes of a young maiden glancing at the scarlet letter, shyly and aside, and quickly averted with a faint chill of crimson in her cheeks; as if her purity were somewhat sullied by that momentary glance”. While this quote is rather long and shares a large amount of information, I believe I have a rather good understanding of it.
    The above quote explains the similarities between women with “cold snow within her bosom”, and Hester Prynne. A woman with “cold snow within her bosom”, is simply meant to be a woman who is cold-hearted or simply put a person who acts cold to others. The quote also explains that the woman’s cold heart and Hester’s scarlet letter are basically one in the same. It is as if these two types of women, cold-hearted ones and adulteresses, are meant to be companions. Whether or not Hester is cold-hearted like these other women does not even matter. Her scarlet “A” on her bosom is enough to qualify her as one of these women just because the stigma attached to it. Then, in the last sentence of the quote it states that many young women attempt to steal glances at Hester’s scarlet letter, but Hester meets their gazes and they then become embarrassed. It is as if they lost some of their own purity just by looking at Hester.
    I believe this quote is rather significant because it shows how many stigmas were attached to Hester. She had a child with someone who was not her husband and because of this fact, she immediately was treated like she was pure evil. I find it so crazy that a community would turn on one of their own members due to her personal sin. It is as if they want to be in total control of everything that their community members took part in. This quote truly shows just how significantly America has changed from the time of establishment up until now.