Antifeminist and Feminism within The Scarlet Letter

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.

Who would have guessed a sense of feminism would be located within a book published in 1850, over 100 years before the feminist movement? Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter gives a glimpse into an adulterous woman’s life in a strict Puritan town located in Boston. Her name is Hester Prynne and her triumphs and tribulations are held within the novel. The reader gains an emotional connection to Hester and wants her to be happy. Support for an independent and shamed woman was controversial but may have helped spark a need for equality within the readers then and even now.

     Hester with society also proves to be a strongly feministic aspect of The Scarlet Letter. Hester, as a female sinner, throughout the book, proves not to be a burden on society. Although she is an outcast, many find it hard to not admire the way she holds herself, especially due to the situation she is in. The admiration grows as the story continues. At first, the main admiration for Hester is her skill with the needle. Many of the townspeople regard Hester’s work as the latest trend. “Her

Her being forced to wear the scarlet letter which led her to becoming a women’s advocate reflects the theme that good things come from bad. There was plenty of negative backlash to Hester's mistake, however she gained the ability to help other women struggling just like her. “They said that it meant Able, so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength” (pg 177, Hawthorne). The sin she committed and the experience gained through the aftermath of that sin, gives her insight on what it's like to be a woman who's being discriminated. Raising her daughter on her own and her saving her from harming herself reflects the theme that everyone makes mistakes. After all Hester is human just like everyone else. It is in our nature to make mistakes or even sin. “It is remarkable, that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most perfect quietude to the external regulations of society” (pg 181, Hawthorne). The actions we take to reverse or to compensate for that sin is what makes us who we are as individuals. Her being alienated from society and developing an independent thinking mindset mirrors the theme that one must acknowledge their mistakes to learn from them. Hester’s society made it abundantly clear that what she did was absolutely heinous and that she needs to repent and beg for forgiveness. The isolation she suffered through helped her become an independent thinker and develop thoughts that we would consider ahead of her time. “The world's law was no law for her mind” (pg 180, Hawthorne). Being excluded socially gave her a chance to dwell in her own thoughts and gather perceptions different from that of other puritans. This decision that Hester makes is very important to the story because it mirrors many of the major themes the author tried getting across to its

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, is a compassionate yet riveting piece of English literature that supports the movement for equality of suppressed women during a most tumultuous time during the 1800’s. Hawthorne’s use of emotional diction and imagery throughout his novel employs a deplorable tone upon the story. It serves as a stark representation of an imaginative yet realistic example of the indifference of men and women during these changing times. Deeply held Puritanical beliefs led countless of people to believe that individuals, especially women, who committed sins of any type would never reach heaven upon their passing. Men, on the other hand, were judged less severely if accused of a crime. Hester Prynne, the

A feminist is defined in the British Dictionary as a person who advocates equal rights for women. However incredulous it may sound, women had to fight for rights for equality in things such as politics, economics, and their personal affairs. If the revolutionary feminist concepts were surfacing in the time of Nathaniel Hawthorne, circa 1850, then how was it that he was inspired to write Hester’s character? However,one consideration may be that it was written unintentionally with a feministic tone. This novel stands for the main ideas that gave feminism its momentum: gender equality and love for oneself as a woman. Hawthorne displays Hester as a free woman in the ending of the book, and also deems her and Dimmesdale as equals by having them receive identical markers on their tombstones. The Scarlet Letter epitomizes the strength of women while also providing as an indicator for early feminism, as it’s profound perceptions were not something yet established in this earlier time period. The Scarlet Letter is indubitably a feminist piece of literature.The three main characters work off of one another; Hester is strong while Dimmesdale is feeble and Chillingworth is corrupt; She effortlessly conquers her sin and continues with her new life, while Dimmesdale cannot admit his sins, and Chillingworth seeks revenge on Dimmesdale.

When Hester is released from prison, she ponders the effect of the scarlet letter and realizes, “she must either sustain and carry it forward by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink beneath it” (Hawthorne 69). In other words, Hester knows that allowing other people to bring her down will lead to self-destruction. Through a great deal of inner strength, Hester decides to stay in her hometown and let “the torture of her daily shame . . . purge her soul and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saintlike, because the result of martyrdom” (Hawthorne 71). Essentially, Hester resolves to learn from her “mistake” and use the situation as a growing opportunity. Decisively, Hester concludes that although she cannot change the past, she can show her strength and resolve by overcoming the shaming that is sure to occur in her town. Hester’s honesty and willingness to accept her punishment enable her to

This quote from the top of page fifty two surrounds the most controversial event in the book from when Hester was publicly shamed and humiliated because of her crime of adultery. In concurrence with this event, Hawthorne embodies the three most prevalent anti-feministic ideas from the book: objectification, ostracization, and targeting of women in 17th century Puritan society. Even though the shaming of Hester had just begun and the trial had just been concluded, the town was already beginning to push her away and view her not as Hester Prynne, but as the “A” for adultery. When I read this, I began to feel astonished at the fact that people would begin to judge her so quickly while having such little knowledge of the event for which Hester was in trouble. Not only was Hester ostracized for a crime that we now know as a relatively conventional event, to make matters worse, everyone in the crowd scapegoated solely her which was uncanny to me since with the crime of adultery, there must be another person involved, specifically a man. This made me think about why nobody had done anything to

Most people identify Feminism as an anti-male movement hell-bent on making women the dominant gender, but this is not the case. In this novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne executes these ideas by overcoming her public humiliation and rising up against the predetermined ideas that her Puritan town holds for her. She is a perfect example of what a feminist should be, which is a real treat considering the time period and the fact that Nathaniel Hawthorne really had no inspiration for his radical ideas. The Scarlet Letter is “accidentally” a feminist novel because of the way Hester stands up against the Puritans’ harsh criticism, and because of the

"Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for woman everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie" (Steinem). This quote was best for the topic because writing on how the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to secretly tell us how feminism works. The quote breaks down on how feminists want people to view women and to ensure that everyone gets treated the same no matter the gender. People think that Gloria Steinem wanted God to tell people to become leaders instead of followers, like she wanted people to step up. She says it's about creating something new and if people instead of "trying" to help they create it. Feminism was never about making women superior to men but to have equal rights as men. The Scarlet Letter is a book written by a male but critics say it's a work of feminism. People say it's a work of feminism because of many aspects such as Hester's strong character, she raises her daughter without a father, and doesn't let the townspeople bring her down.

The Puritanical society is still known today for it’s strict religious views and gender roles. They had traditional conservative beliefs, their goal being to break away from the corrupt Anglican church and “purify” theirs to be “as a City upon a Hill”, a model for other communities (Winthrop 1). Their gender roles were as conservative as their beliefs, men being superior over women. Women had specific jobs and roles within the community, such as housework, parenting, and things of a similar nature. If one failed to fall within these standards and beliefs, they were considered an outcast. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is outcast for committing adultery. However, she uses her punishment to her advantage, and completely

While Puritan women are weak and dependent upon their husbands, Hester Prynne is empowered and self-reliant. A character designed by Hawthorne to show 19th century women that women’s work could be valuable, Hester supports herself and her daughter by needlework. “For, as the novel unfolds, the letter, intended by the Authorities to signify harsh but just condemnation, is made by Hester to signify something entirely different—able, admirable.” (Bell 109) All aspects considered, the ability of Hester, a woman who committed sin and was publicly punished for this crime, to manipulate this punishment into a virtue

Critics generally agree Hawthorne uses the effects of the scarlet letter to reveal the atrocities of the patriarchy and masculine hegemony. The patriarchal forces women to carry the burden of an action despite the entity of the original sinners. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne takes the responsibilities and consequences of adultery, even though Dimmesdale should have equal, if not more, punishment. When Hester stands in front of a jury and endures the tremendous hatred from the individuals within the audience who believe Hester “has brought shame” to society, she declares,“Ye cannot take it off, and would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!” (Hawthorne 39, 49). Hawthorne reveals how society isolates and condemns women for the actions and results of men. If the women do not hold the accountability of all sin, they experience ignominy from society; if they do hold accountability of all sin, they still experience ignominy. The patriarchy enforces the idea that women should hold all responsibilities for all of men’s actions. Advancing Hawthorne's argument, critic Jane Swisshelm reveals the treatment of women as they endure ignominy: “[Hester] was the moral leper whom none might dare to touch - the blazing emblem of the virtuous indignation of an entire community” (Swisshelm 273). So long women exist, the consequences of the world’s

Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights the habitual societal conflict of surfacing gender equality ideology throughout The Scarlet Letter. The typical female role in society during the mid-seventeenth century was to be a caretaker. Hester Prynne’s sentence for breaking this stereotype through adultery is to wear a large, red letter A on her chest. Hawthorne uses Hester’s character to add characteristics of early feminism. For example, Hester not only takes on the so called male and female role put in place by society at some point throughout the story, but she also challenges societal views of women. To fully understand the situation women were going through, you must be familiar with the historical context. The story takes place in a Puritan

“Women belong in the kitchen.” “All women should be barefoot and pregnant.” “Women are strictly homemakers.” These are a few of the commonly used phrases regarding the female role in society that date back to the mid-seventeenth century. However, ardent supporters of gender equality have surfaced in almost every culture where this ideology is practiced. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this inveterate societal conflict through his story The Scarlet Letter. The main character, Hester Prynne, is punished for committing adultery by being forced to wear a scarlet letter upon her bosom; Hawthorne created a story sympathetic to the female cause and demonstrated, through Hester, qualities of early feminism that later establish themselves during his