Feonist And Feminism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

For decades, women were viewed as the inferior sex. Women were not allowed to vote, own land, run businesses, etc., as their main priority was to be an excellent housewife. Fortunately, that concept has been replaced with the idea of feminism. Feminism, the political, social, and economic equality of men and women, is a major key concept in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne, the main female character of The Scarlet Letter, is an epitome of a strong feminist who was able to overcome a Puritan society’s judgement and discrimination.

What is the correct meaning of the powerful word “feminist?” Today, feminism is referred to as a woman who supports her rights. Hawthorne represents feminism through his character Hester, in “The Scarlet Letter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although people view women as weak, Hester was a very strong and bold female character that stood up for herself by raising her daughter alone, protecting her secret lover, and even experiencing the pain of wearing the shameful letter “A.” Usually, men view women as weak by saying that they are not able to do certain things that men can, which is irrelevant. Hester raised her daughter Pearl all on her own without any help. even though raising a child on your own is very challenging at times. While constantly

Written in 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter stood as a very progressive book. With new ideas about women, main characters’ stories intertwined, and a multitude of themes, The Scarlet Letter remains today as an 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, the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Many may believe that because of this introduction to feminism, the novel directly pertains to the ideology of it. Hester Prynne, protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, shows similar qualities of a feminist, such as strength and independence. Although these traits are similar to that of feminist, Hester encompasses a strict form of maternal instinct, which distinguishes her drive for action from the feminist movement entirely.

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

The term “feminist” refers to a woman who always stays strong no matter what situation she is in. Women during the time period of The Scarlet Letter were considered frail and less important than men were. This novel would absolutely be a feminist novel because of its views and beliefs of the role of women in society. Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the definition of feminism in the novel through the character of Hester Prynne, who is the embodiment of the word “feminist.” Although she may have been shown to be weak and vulnerable in the beginning of the novel, Hester displays strong characteristics as she carried the scarlet letter, helped out the poor people of her community, took care of her daughter Pearl on her own, and protected

The scarlet letter does not just mean “adulterer”, Hester has become more apart of society, and helps out by bringing food to the poor, and taking care of the sick. So the letter is stands more for “able” than for “adulterer”. The letter now is just a reminder of her past and that she has changed since her mistakes. She believes that she really has changed. She has become more speculative about what it means to be a woman in her society. She wants to be a bigger part of the Puritan society, not just second class or in her case third class. One theme that came up was “Within each person is the capacity of both good and evil”, when Chillingworth figured out something about Dimmesdale, his mood changed and even the look on his face changed

Feminists are independent individuals that stand against the given norms of society. Throughout history, there are many examples of these strong individuals that help innovate society forward. Because Puritan society greatly suppressed many women, feminism is quite impossible at that time. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne explores the life of Hester Prynne, a young puritan woman involved in an affair. Throughout the book, Hester Prynne expresses her potential to become an early feminist and at times is, however her love for Arthur Dimmesdale holds her back from attaining her full feminist potential.

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

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, feminism is prominent and it’s main character, Hester Prynne can most definitely be called one of the first strong leading female roles in American literature. As an ideology that supports equal political, economic, and social rights for women, feminism was certainly not in existence in the setting of Hawthorne's narrative, and neither was it supported in 1850 when The Scarlet Letter was published. Even though, Hawthorne's interpretation of progression for women's place in society is certainly evident in the thinking of his main character, Hester Prynne, who demonstrates cultural feminism, which attempts to gain more respect for what is traditionally considered women's work while focusing

In The Scarlet letter, Hester is first introduced as a woman who committed adultery. Fated to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of her life, she faced public shaming and humiliation each day. Though throughout the entire case, Hester still held her head high and ignored the curses of the New England town. Hester was one of the first Americans to be aware of the hypocritical society. She believed if a person were to do wrong, admitting to it and trying to change is the right thing to do.

A Prominent theme in "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorn’s is feminism. This Trait is shown through the main character Hester Prynne. Living in the Puritan community, Hester is seen as an adulteress and a weak woman by the puritan community. This is because she has consciously gone against the church values that promote purity and devotion to God by breaking a commandment and refusing to say who the father is. In this book, Hester portrays several ideas of feminism by overcoming public humiliation and going against the lifestyle that the Puritans thought was right for her. She is the perfect example of a feminist because of the many acts she did to show she's much more than a weak woman.

American author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, felt guilty about the intolerance of his Puritan ancestors, one of whom judged at the Salem witch trials. He utilized his passionate sentiments regarding Puritanism as an inspiration for his iconic literary work, The Scarlet Letter; in which he does not embrace but rather critiques Puritan ideology. Because Hawthorne has fathomed the Puritan community, he favors to provide a more in depth understanding of their customs. Though born into this extremist civilization, Hawthorne conveys the idea that Puritans are highly unjust and unaware of the damage they inflict on others. Puritanistic customs, such as social regulation and overwhelming judgement, are such traditions that would further justify Hawthorne’s reasons for ridiculing his prior community, as well as religious discrimination and hypocrisy. Hardly ever does Hawthorne befuddle the reader by taking these beliefs into account and he depicts Puritans as a people with irrational standards originally intended for religious and societal reform. Ironically, the morality of the strict community transcends due to the scarlet letter; however, this fictitious take on the transformation of the Puritans differentiates with reality. While Hawthorne seems to occasionally uphold the society throughout the novel, he continues to criticize the Puritan community for its severe hypocrisy, lack of privacy, and religious

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has a major theme of women in society. This novel was published in 1850, just as the women’s rights movement was beginning in the United States. This was an organization created to fight for basic rights for women, such as voting and. By the use of a female protagonist during this time period, Hawthorne was able to bring more attention to women and how they were treated, specifically in Puritan society.

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is shamed for her sin of adultery, and she lives alone with her daughter Pearl. This book can be viewed using the feminist theory because within this book it shows how a woman can overcome anything that is in her way. The feminist theory is used in this situation because using this lens it shows how this piece of literature undermines the psychological oppression of women (Tyson). Hester is able to help many of the unfortunate people because she knows how it feels to be looked down upon. She wants to help people because she knows that no one else will care to help those less than themselves. That is why when many people referred to the scarlet letter “they said it meant Able; so strong was

Hawthorne associates Hester with the feminist attitudes of his own time. Hawthorne portrays Hester as a sympathetic rebel whose passions and actions lead to unpleasant consequences for herself, her daughter Pearl, as well as Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. She leaves Boston after Dimmesdale's death, but returns later, puts on the scarlet letter again, and teaches younger women to be more patient and conservative than she was in her