With philosophical being defined as spirit of attitude, there are changes that have taken place in Hester herself in Chapter XIII of "The Scarlet Letter." For, she has changed in her person, as well as in her position:
The links that united her to the rest of human kind--links of flowers, or silk, or gold, or whatever the material--had all been broken.
Hester feels only the "iron link of mutual crime" with the Reverend Dimmesdale, who has sought her strength on the scaffold in the previous chapter. Now, with a new object for her emotional energies, Hester no longer battles with the public, but
submits uncomplainingly, to its worst usage; she made no claim upon it, in requital for what she suffered; she did not weight upon its sympathies.
This new attitude is certainly in contrast to her earlier stand against the governor and the Reverend Mr. Wilson who want to take Pearl from her in Chapter VIII. And, Hester's submission is symbolized in the loss of luster from her hair which is now hidden by a cap. Her warmth, charm, and passion are replaced with coldness, and drabness. Standing alone in society, Hester apparently has ceased to be a woman. Because of her compliance and drab appearance, Hester is no longer a threat to the other women of her community; and, for this reason, they feel comfortable in attributing new, kinder meanings to the letter that she wears upon her bosom. Ironically, however, the townspeople do not understand that Hester has not submitted totally.
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