The Role Of Hester Prynne In 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.

In “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the character of Hester symbolizes as an objectification women, victimization of a female, social definition of feminine of sin, and growth into feminine independence.

Hawthorne’s message about obtaining salvation through the means of being open and true to yourself, is shaped by the contrasts of consequences the characters Hester Prynne, who publicly acknowledges her sin, and Arthur Dimmesdale, who hides his sin, face. In Hester’s case, she was publicly shamed for her sin from the beginning and was forced to wear the symbol of her sin, the scarlet letter “A” representing adultery, to isolate her from the rest of society. She had the opportunity to leave the town and begin a new life free from the scarlet letter, but she decides to stay as, if she were to run away or remove the scarlet letter, she would be admitting to the shame of her sins. Her staying, shows she wants to change the scarlet letter to not represent her sin, but her as a character.

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.

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

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne develops the dynamic characterization of Hester Prynne from a beautiful, innocent girl into a somber, hardened women to showcase the evils and hypocrisy of Puritan New England’s culture of shaming. Hawthorne employs rhetorical devices such as metaphor and juxtaposition to further develop the characterization and his critique of Puritan society. When initially describing Hester, Hawthorne emphasizes her incredible beauty, and juxtaposes this with the other ugly, judging Puritan women, adding to the hypocrisy of her being shamed for sinning. Hawthorne emphasizes the verbal assault on Hester by employing metaphor and imagery in its description. After the community shuns and shames Hester for years, Hawthorne uses metaphor again to show how Hester’s body and character changes for the worst, emphasizes the malice and evil of public shame.

Yes, I consider The Scarlet Letter is a work of feminist literature. During the time of Hawthorne, the writings of his opinions for the womens were very forward and powerful. The novel has discovered the typical lessons on the themes of feminist by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. In The Scarlet Letter, the main heroine Haster Prynne and Pearl as her daughter are considered the two main prominent characters. So, the knowledge about them is persuaded the early feminist considering the heroines in the writing of The Scarlet Letter. The narrator has established the work opposing a feminist central character. It describes Haster’s sin and love that has given a view of woman’s unique.

It is a few times were a greatly honored work of literature demonstrates and promotes feminism. It is even greater when two different sides of the spectrum of feminism is highlighted. The novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is one of the first works to present Hester Prynne, a woman capable of raising a child alone, and influences altering discriminatory views against women. One the other side of the spectrum, Nurse Ratched, from One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, shows feminism but to an extreme level, so much so that she emasculates men whom already feel lessened by the societal norms from its time period. Both, Hawthorne and Kesey, use independent female characters to embody feminist ideals, through characterization

Mark Van Doren’s critical piece, “Hester Prynne,” addresses the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne lives a unique life wearing a scarlet letter “A” that first stands for “adulteress” but progressively comes to mean “able.” In his criticism, Van Doren uses a reverent tone, strong diction, and hyperboles to successfully show his admiration for Hawthorne and his creation of Hester Prynne. Mark Van Doren’s admiring tone in his critical piece successfully shows his feelings toward Hester Prynne and The Scarlet Letter by analyzing several portions of the book and shining a positive light on each of them.

D.H. Lawrence provides an effective critical analysis of Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. He criticizes Hawthorne’s portrayal of the story’s protagonist, which negatively affects the way readers view her. Lawrence’s writing targets Prynne as a seductive woman with vile intentions. D.H. Lawrence’s critical analysis is effective because he uses literary devices such as succinct syntax, a sarcastic tone, and biblical allusions in his analysis of Hester Prynne.

Written in 1850, The Scarlet Letter stood as a very progressive book. With new ideas about women, main characters’ stories intertwined, and many different themes, The Scarlet Letter remains today as a extremely popular novel about 17th century Boston, Massachusetts. Not only was the 19th century a time for the abolition of slavery movement but it was also the beginning of the first wave of feminism. Women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott catalyzed the women’s rights movement. These prominent women believed that a woman’s role was no longer in the house and that women should be afforded the same opportunity as men. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s sympathy for women is evident in a feminist reading of his novel

Fulfilling the image of a corrupt and sinful world, society devalues women and demeans their existences, oppressing them into a world of submissiveness and destruction. The patriarchy not only have detrimental effects on women, but the entire world as well. However, women have always exhibit strength and development despite the lack of opportunities, and they reveal the virtuousness of moral character. In the 19th century dark romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals the atrocities of the patriarchy and masculine hegemony in society and thereby perceive women as the current redeemer of humankind’s sin. He, thereby, urges individuals to deter from the idea of women solely carrying the burdens of humankind’s sin and to

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

Hester Prynne, a character within The Scarlet Letter, is a prime example of Hawthorne's common transformation of individuals within his books. These mutations involve the qualities and attributes of her physical appearance, feminine emotions, and reputation among the townspeople. Throughout the novel, the mentioned elements of Hester's character develop and change several times, providing the reader with better understanding of the influence that the scarlet letter and other characters have on her.

“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