Although when you hear the word protagonist you think of the good guy, a male lead character usually, it does not have to mean this at all. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne becomes a protagonist and takes on the good guy, or in this case, good girl role. She rebelled against a society that forced her into a loveless marriage and is trying to take her daughter away. Hester could very easily have been deduced as the bad girl as she was by the townspeople. That is, she was convicted of adultery, a horrible sin of the time, but maybe not even seen as criminal today. As for punishment, a sentence to wear a scarlet "A" upon her chest, it would hardly be considered a burden or extreme sentence in present day. She is faced with all this as her lover Arthur Dimmesdale is also shown as a main character in Hawthorne's novel.

Hester first comes to us as a lady facing a crowd in shame of her sin. She holds up her head high and refuses to speak the name of her fellow sinner. From this alone we start to see she is a very strong character and will play a pivotal role in the novel. Later on we see Hester caring for her child conceived in sin, Pearl. Hester's society is looking to take Pearl away from her because of Pearl's actions and beliefs in her beginning. Her lover Arthur Dimmesdale soothes Hester and soon they make plans to leave Boston and take Pearl. By this time Roger Chillingworth, Hester's true husband, is also into the story begging Hester to reveal her fellow sinner's name.

Arthur Dimmesdale is also seen as a main character in this novel but to a lesser extent. Nathaniel Hawthorne seems to keep Arthur doing the lesser work like having him deal with Hester's husband Roger Chillingworth and having him concentrate on giving big sermons. In the mean time we see Hester finding the true power of her scarlet letter and she realizes all these townspeople are also sinners. We are too caught up in Hester and her daughter Pearl to really have time to focus on Arthur Dimmesdale.

In Conclusion, Hester stands forth in The Scarlet Letter to become the true protagonist. She is seen as bad in some aspects and good in others but this can not change her role in the novel. Arthur Dimmesdale will just be seen as another main character that keeps Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter in place.