In The Scarlet Letter, there are many people who can be considered tragic heroes. Every tragic hero has a tragic flaw that causes their downfall. Hester Prynne is a tragic heroine due to her downfall caused by her love and loyalty to Reverend Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne is a tragic heroine because of her perseverance and determination in her journey with Pearl. Although she is given the opportunity to leave Boston and remove the scarlet letter she wears on her clothes, she chooses to stay and be with the father of her child. Her choice to stay with Dimmesdale made her life much worse than it should have been. The people she knew began to hate her. Even the homeless people for whom she made clothes ridiculed her for her ungodly acts. Even though she is ridiculed and shunned by society, she still remains positive towards people and only does good. When asked to name her father, she replies, "And my daughter must seek a heavenly father; she will never know an earthly one." Hester does her best to raise Pearl right. Saying that her father will seek God, she tells people that Pearl will be religious and will never know the identity of her biological father. The citizens of Boston are terrible to Hester because of her act. Although he has the option to tell everyone who Pearl's father is to stop her suffering, he remains silent to protect Dimmesdale's identity. She bears her punishment alone so that Dimmesdale's reputation will not be tarnished by the title of "adulterer". Hester protects Dimmesdale's image and future by not telling anyone that he is the father. Hester suffers punishment for both parties involved in the crime. Dimmesdale punishes herself with ...... middle of paper ...... of her husband, a secret of Dimmesdale's. After being told the truth about Chillingworth, Dimmesdale shouts, "Let God punish! You will forgive!" Dimmesdale goes on to tell Hester that she seduced him and that she is the devil for doing so. After all the accusations made against her, she still loves Dimmesdale and he soon forgives her. Hester could start a new life elsewhere, without ridicule, without Dimmesdale, without Chillingworth, and without her scarlet letter. Hester Prynne is a tragic heroine because of her overcoming obstacles in an unorthodox situation. She has to deal with being ridiculed every day, even though she can stop it all by revealing who Pearl Prynne's father is. Yet Hester's tragic flaw is her loyalty and love for Dimmesdale. He chooses to stay and protect his reputation and suffer rather than protect his own and live happily.