Marxist literary criticism is a literary criticism that is based on the socialist theories of the German philosopher, Karl Marx. This criticism involves social class, the struggle between social classes, governments use of religion, and economic relations as a whole. According to Terry Eagleton, however, "Marxist literary criticism is not merely a sociology of literature, concerned with how novels get published and whether they mention the working class. Its aim is to explain the literary work more fully." The Scarlet Letter is a novel about a woman, Hester Prynne, who lives in Puritan Boston during the seventeenth century. Hester is living in America, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, is still in England. During her husband's absence, Hester commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester's crime is revealed, and she is punished by the Puritan leaders by being forced to wear a scarlet letter "A", standing for adultery, on her chest. Marxism is very apparent throughout The Scarlet Letter, and can be identified through the stratification of classes and the presentation of religion. One key …show more content…
He didn't want to lose his social ranking or be ostracized by his community. Dimmesdale also shows the power that the higher class holds over the lower class as he prevents Hester from revealing the secret of who Pearl's father really was. Throughout the novel, there are many quotes that indicate the struggle between social classes. This is showen when Hawthorne says "Even had there been a disposition to turn the matter into ridicule, it must have been repressed and overpowered by the solemn presence of men no less dignified than the Governor, and several of his counsellors, a judge, a general, and the ministers of the town, all of whom sat or stood in a balcony of the meeting house, looking down upon the
The Scarlet Letter is set in modern day Boston, during the 1630s. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, is in a lot of trouble for committing adultery. She is put on the scaffold in front of the whole town and was publically humiliated. Not only was she publically humiliated, but she has to wear a letter A on her chest for the rest of her life. Many thought this punishment was not enough, for example they wanted her to be killed for this sin. The reason for Hester committing adultery is because her husband has been missing for two years. And she has lost her ‘love’ for Chillingworth, Hester’s husband. Pearl, Hester’s daughter, is the symbol of Hester’s sin in the
In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is more than a literary figure in a classic novel, she is known by some people to be one of the earliest American Hero’s. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester commits adultery and has a child that she must care for all alone. She is forced to wear a powerful, attention grabbing “Scarlet A” on her chest while she must try to make a living to support her and her child, Pearl. Even though she must face all the harsh judgment and stares she does not allow her sin to stop her from living a successful life. She looks past the Letter as a symbol of sin and turns it into a sign of approval. Hester
The Scarlet Letter is a novel about a woman named Hester Prynne that had an affair with a minister named Arthur Dimmesdale and had a baby, which caused Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, which was gone at the time on business, to get revenge on both Hester and Dimmesdale. Chillingworth makes their lives miserable and soon, Hester
The working definition of Marxism is a theory that analyzes the relationships of classes and the social conflicts that are within the classes. Marxism claims that this conflict is between the rich and the poor. This theory entails thoughts of socioeconomic differences and focuses the systematic view of the economy. The theory of Marxism is very prevalent in the novel, “The Other Wes Moore.” “The Other Wes Moore”, and a short story titled, “The Lottery” are great example of the differences within social classes.
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us," stated Oliver Wendell Holmes. This eventually proves to be especially true for Hester Prynne, the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne, a fair young maiden whose husband had disappeared two years prior to the opening of the novel, has an affair with the pastor of her Puritan church, resulting in the birth of her child Pearl. Because of this act of adultery, Hester Prynne is branded by the scarlet letter "A," which she is forced to forever wear upon her attire. The plot thickens as Hester's former husband returns to New England and becomes
The Scarlet Letter is a novel that took place in the 17th century, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The heartbreaking story of the main character, Hester Prynne dispersed the reader's’ thoughts. Hester Prynne suffered from adultery, where she had a child without father’s presence and support. Hester also suffered from bullying, where she was conjectured by superior people in the Puritan Legacy. The Scarlet Letter illustrated many bullying examples throughout certain chapters of the book.
Hester Prynne is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She was a beautiful woman who, because of her adultery, experienced persecution and was ostracized by everyone in her town. Her shame and guilt gave her an understanding of sin and redemption. She serves as an example of someone who is rejected by society and, because of it, grows in both strength and wisdom. Hester’s sin overshadowed her beauty and talent, but her humble and generous deeds gained her respect over many years.
In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is portrayed as an adulterous woman, having a child out of wedlock. She is forced to display her terrible sin publicly by wearing a letter A the color of scarlet. Though she is seen by the Puritans as sinful, she displays many of the virtues stated in Proverbs 31. Hester Prynne shows moral excellence as well as righteousness and goodness despite being wrought with sin.
Mr. Dimmesdale commits a sin but does not confess for fear of humiliation and hatred. By not confessing, he pays the price physically and emotionally. By physically hurting himself, he presumes it replaces the conflict of not exposing his true self to the community. He is held accountable for his actions at a personal degree of suffering. On the other hand, the community and townspeople are accountable for a high degree of the reverend’s actions. On the scaffold the night Mr. Dimmesdale stood with Pearl and Hester, he rejected holding his daughter’s hand in public because “...all the dread of public exposure that had so long been the anguish of his life had returned upon him; and he was already trembling at the conjunction...” (Hawthorne 149). He feels like he has to conform to society to be accepted, and it results in the failure of taking Pearl’s hand in public and divulging the truth. The townsfolk are more responsible for Dimmesdale’s actions because they create a life where wrongdoing is the ultimate sin, and forgiveness is omitted.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is about a young woman named Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery and gave birth to a daughter named Pearl. As a punishment, Hester has to wear a cloth with a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest that stands for ‘Adulteress’ for all her lifetime. Meanwhile, Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, who has been missing for two years come back and knows about his wife cheating on him. He tells Hester to keep his true identity as a secret and decides to take a revenge on Hester’s lover. Throughout the novel, both Chillingworth and Dimmesdale does not reveals themselves who they are and people does not know about it except Hester. As the time pass, Chillingworth has
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is set in the early days of Puritan America. Hester Prynne, a seamstress, comes to the New World before her husband in order to prepare a place for them. During his absence, she develops a relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale, a rising minister in the newly founded Puritan community. Hester becomes pregnant. The novel is widely viewed to be a story about her trials and tribulations; however, critic Randall Steward argues that, " Hester is not the protagonist, the chief actor, and the tragedy of the novel is not her tragedy but Arthur's. He is the persecuted one, the tempted one. He it was whom the sorrows of death encompassed His public confession is one of
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel about guilt and innocence in Boston, Massachusetts during the 1640s. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the novel, is a beautiful married woman who has committed adultery and had a child while her husband was lost at sea. She is now forced to bear the scarlet letter on her chest to let the public know what sin she has committed. Roger Chillingworth is Hesters lost husband who has returned back from seas to learn that his wife has been unfaithful to him. He has devoted himself to finding who Hesters lover is and seek revenge on him, even if it wreaks him. Arthur Dimmesdale is the town’s reverend and Hesters secret lover. He is in continuous conflict against himself since he is supposed to be
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a Romantic novel about two adulterers, Hester and Dimmesdale, who are forced to live with the repercussions of their sin. Hester Prynne is punished by wearing a scarlet ‘A’ which ostracizes her from Puritan Boston, leading to several years of solitude. During this time, Roger Chillingworth, her vengeful husband, preys on Dimmesdale, whose only source of repent is in his hypocritical preachings. When Dimmesdale finally speaks to Hester again, they plan to escape their wrongdoings by fleeing back to England, where they can live together as a loving family with their daughter Pearl. Although some may argue that Hester and Dimmesdale are in love, a closer examination of the novel shows that they are
The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel that takes place in the town of Boston, Massachusetts in 1642. Hester Prynne, the main character of the story, commits the sin of adultery. Because of this sin, she is "blessed" with a child named Pearl. Her punishment is to wear a scarlet letter “A" on her chest for the rest of her life, which affects the way the townspeople look and act around her. Also, she must stand on the scaffold in the town for three hours for the whole town to recognize her grave sins. The man who should be standing upon the scaffold along with her and Pearl is the town minister, Dimmesdale. He is presented as a weak character because of his fear of losing his beloved reputation as such a holy
Marxism is a set of theories, or a system of thought and analysis, developed by Karl Marx in the nineteenth century in response to the Western industrial revolution and the rise of industrial capitalism as the predominant