Analysis Of Catherine Maria Sedgwick 's ' The Scarlett Letter ' Essay

In the 1850’s, America was undergoing a massive internal changes via the industrial revolution. With this new era, American culture was drastically changed as women started to take a more prominent role in American society. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempts to stimulate this change by illustrating the positive influence of a strong female character in a Puritanical society through his heroine, Hester Prynne, by putting her in a scandalous situation capable of drawing out the worst in people.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the greatest American authors of the nineteenth century. He published his first novel Fanshawe, in 1828. However, he is widely known for his novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables. His novel, The Scarlet Letter, can be analyzed from historical, psychological and feminist critical perspectives by examining his life from the past, as well as his reflections while writing The Scarlet Letter. In order to understand the book properly, it’s necessary to use these three perspectives.

Comparing Hope Leslie or Early Times in Massachusetts and The Scarlett Letter is interesting because at first glance both novels don’t appear to have much in common aside from having a female protagonist and taking place within Puritan society of early America. (keep but not as first sentence). However, despite obvious differences between both novels such as the character presentation of the female protagonists in Hope Leslie who range from the free-spirited Hope Leslie, obedient Puritan Esther, and character of Magawisca as a noble but proud Native American contrasts with the Hester Prynne’s presentation as a shamed but deeply contemplative woman in The Scarlett Letter. The different purposes all these characters each serve in their respective stories begins to show commonality in that Hope Leslie’s Hope, Esther, and Magawisca and The Scarlett Letter’s Hester Prynne all have to overcome the adversity and social expectations with Puritan society so they can follow their hearts and do what they feel is right by relying on their wit, intelligence, and inner strength. By examining how both Hope Leslie and Hester Prynne overcome the challenges they face in their respective Puritain socities it will be easier to observe how these novels presentation of their female protagonist illustrates the gender politics of each text.

The title character of Catharine Maria Sedgewick’s novel, Hope Leslie, defies the standards to which women of the era were to adhere. Sedgewick’s novel is set in New England during the 17th century after the Puritans had broken away from the Church of England. Hope Leslie lives in a repressive Puritan society in which women behave passively, submit to the males around them, and live by the Bible. They allow the men of their family to make decisions for them and rarely, if ever, convey an opinion that differs from the status quo. However, Hope Leslie does not conform to the expected behavior of women during that time, behavior that only further expressed the supposed superiority of males. Hope

Women have been battling for their rights since before the colonization of America. Whether they be the right to vote or simply the right to sit down, the issues the female gender has dealt with have rarely afflicted white men. Sexism is caused by social pressure and insecurities, harbored by both men and women; it can originate within the mind of any group of people and creates unnecessary tensions between sexes. The sexism integral to The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, manifests itself in the whole community and contributes to the completion of Hester’s harsh fate.

The plight of each female character begins in the historical settings of each novel, in regards to The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne depicts a society controlled by “magistrates [who] are God- fearing gentlemen,”(Hawthorne,44) and continues with the

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a novel set in an early 17th century American Puritanical colony, highlights the struggle between societal conformation and moral independence. Matthieson quite accurately contends that Hawthorne intentionally conveyed the novel’s fundamental themes through their association with distinct locations around the Massachusetts Bay Colony; expression of such themes are most evident in places such as the marketplace, the scaffold, and the forest. The marketplace and the scaffold are similar in that they both often serve as focal points of Puritanical pressures, but the forest provides reprieve from these tensions. The forest symbolizes freedom that is forbidden by society due to the fact that it is described

Hester Prynne’s guilt is thrust upon her by society, and though it momentarily hurts her persona she continues on and radiates unspoken strength. Instant backlash from her people cause Prynne to recoil, but she bounces back with resilience and mocks the shame they throw upon her. After seeing how they scowl and curse her name after a simple mistake, she saw “ that one token of her shame would be poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her towns-people” (Hawthorne 46). By switching over and embracing her tokens, especially as quickly as she does, Prynne’s character and qualities are quickly shown to the reader. It is established that she is no one to ignore and she will not lie on the floor to be walked upon.

In The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a question arises: Is The Scarlet Letter a feminist novel? First, what is feminism? Feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men”. Feminism is really about a woman’s strength since the act of feminism causes a woman to go against traditional views and be ridiculed for that. What does feminism have to do with The Scarlet Letter? Hawthorne denotes true feminism through his main character, Hester Prynne. Hester represents a strong woman who had to deal with life’s trials and tribulations from being publically humiliated for committing adultery, having to raise a child by herself, being forced to take all of the blame in her situation, and even being seen as one who is not worthy as a knowledgeable Puritan woman in Puritan society. Hester represented feminism well before feminism was even culturally relevant. Hester’s remarkable strength is portrayed through direct and indirect characterization, and it is this very strength that makes The Scarlet Letter a feminist novel.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel ‘The Scarlet Letter’, the protagonist Hester Prynne is the main focus of the novel as she is depreciated for committing the act of adultery. The novel conveys the issues of gender roles while Hester is the focus of scorn in the small puritan town of Boston along with clear disdain for her daughter Pearl, the product of her mother’s act of adultery. During the time, Hester is trying to repent for her “sins” by trying to live her life as best as she can to appease the townspeople,but to no avail. Hawthorne uses gender’s to call attention to the way in which society is set up, along with women being the focus of discontent when caught in a wrongdoing while men do not receive the same punishment. Instead, punishment is usually lax for men, proving a great difference between the two genders.

Hawthorne’s work takes America’s Puritan past as its subject, but The Scarlet Letter uses the material to the greatest effect. The Puritans were

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a man who was both plagued and absorbed by the legacy of the Puritans in New England. He was related to John Hathorne, a Puritan judge during the infamous Salem Witch trials of 1692. In The Scarlet Letter, his fictional account of mid-17th century Boston presents an opportunity to examine different themes commonly associated with Puritans. Particularly the nature of sin, personal identity and the repression of natural urges are themes that appear repeatedly through the novel. While his account of this time period may not be completely historically accurate, it is indicative of the persistent thematic influence of Puritan culture on American and New England society.

An example of this notion is shown in Hope Leslie when Governor Winthrop, the landlord, reacts to Hope, the tenant, coming home late and refuses to reveal her reason why: “...Winthrop was not accustomed to have his inquisitorial rights resisted by those in his own household, and he was more struck than pleased by Hope’s moral courage” (184). Evidently, Winthrop’s reaction proves that women with “moral courage” are unladylike because moral courage is a manly trait. On the other hand, Esther Downing, another character in Hope Leslie, embodies the cult of true womanhood. Esther’s mere look at her love interest Everell is described as “a look of...pleased dependence, which is natural... and which men like to inspire, because --perhaps -- it seems to them an instinctive tribute to their natural superiority” (219). So, “Esther’s look … of dependence” confirms that the expectation that all women are supposed to have the same behavior, gestures and personality is meant to not only please men but to also hide their true form. Therefore, the cult of true womanhood presents an internal battle in female writers and Sedgwick presents this womanly struggle through the contrast between Hope and Esther. Society wants women to be quaint housewives but publishing a book defies the cult of true womanhood. Thus, defying the qualities rooted in the cult of true womanhood causes high risk of

One of the lenses that The Scarlet Letter has fallen under throughout the years is feminist literary criticism. The definition of feminism given today states that it is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes, however, this is a broad definition that does not necessarily encompass the feelings of this movement, feelings which can be found in the character of Hester Prynne. Feminist literary criticism is the literary analysis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism, feminist theory, and feminist politics. (Napikoski and Lewis, ThoughtCo.). While basic feminist literary criticism falls under the categories of identifying with female characters and reevaluating literature and the world in which literature is read, it can mean determining a literary work’s influence on feminism or vice versa,

In response to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s creation of the protagonist Hester Prynne, D.H. Lawrence criticizes how he depicts this character. Lawrence’s portrayal of Hester was quite the opposite and he concluded that she should bear no sympathy from the readers. Lawrence’s interpretation of Hester is contemptuous, in that he believes she misrepresented women and disrespects puritan values. D.H. Lawrence provides the best critical analysis due to his use of persuasive repetition to clearly present his claim, powerful allusions to make it easier for the reader to understand, and tone which allows for satirical statements.