The Themes Of Feminism In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

In the nineteenth century novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes different origins of allusions and archetypes to emphasize how individuals in order to encourage individuals to forgive sins and work towards redemption.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a brilliant writer of the 19th century. Hawthorne created a novel that reflected the time period of the Puritans in New England. The Scarlet Letter contains a representation of the people during that time period but can also be related to the reader’s time period. Originally, God created the world with complete perfection until man fell, and sin entered the world. In the eyes of God, a sin is a sin. There is no worse sin that one can commit. Man is the one that decided that one sin could be more harshly judged than another. Hawthorne uses the theme of sin to show the importance of one’s faith and conviction and how those principles relate to fallen sinners.

Even the women that are viewed as strong they can still easily fall victim to dependence on men because society depicts men as superior in intellect, skill, and value, therefore causing women rely on them to succeed in life. In the novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American novelist in the 1800’s, The Scarlet Letter, he discusses the idea that women must rely on men in order to be successful, a belief that still exists today. In the novel, Hawthorne uses the two main characters, Hester and Pearl, as examples of this vulnerability displayed by women. Hawthorne manages to develop strong, independent female characters, but near the close of the novel makes them surprisingly drop down to the demeaning standards of society. When characterizing

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

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 the novel The Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of the women; specifically Hester, shows that he is indeed a feminist author. He made Hester the opposite of what women back during the Puritan times were. He made her as a strong, determined, and independent women who did not need a man in charge of her life during a time where women were treated as non-equals to men. Specifically Nathaniel Hawthorne made Hester as a strong independent women who had survived without a man taking care of her, embraced the Scarlet Letter that was meant to shame her, and even guiding and leading Dimmesdale when back then it should have been him guiding and leading her.

“Child, what art thou?” (88). So verbalizes Hester Prynne, the main character of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, to her daughter Pearl, one of the most intricate characters of the novel. Pearl is arduous to decipher because Hawthorne has engendered an ebony and white world where only Puritan truth subsists. There is only right or erroneous; Hester’s sin is considered to be immoral, so she should repent. Arthur Dimmesdale’s preaching is considered to be moral, so he should be revered. It is right to reverence Puritan elders, but it is erroneous to revolt against the Puritan values. It seems as if the Puritan worldview governs the laws of the world that Hawthorne has engendered. In this world of pellucidly defined antitheses, Pearl stands out as

In "The Scarlet Letter", Nathaniel Hawthorn gives Hester Prynne many different gender roles to accept and reject. Even though Hester follows some female stereotypes she follows more masculine roles than you think. She gives off a different setting in her time since stereotypes of genders were more serious than they are now. In Hester's times, females were not able to do hard outside labor or be guards. Women were suppose to be more of a housekeeper and be able to nurture children while men were suppose to be big and hardworking so that they can provide for the family.

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 17th century Puritan society represented in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, the Scarlet Letter, is one in which the confession of sins is encouraged, yet those who share their mistakes are forever isolated and condemned by both town authorities and common neighbors. After a secret affair with the esteemed Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne is pregnant and quickly becomes victim to Boston’s strict ways of humiliation, including being labeled with a scarlet letter and thrown in prison. However, throughout the story, Hawthorne pushes the idea that the Puritans’ notions of judgement and condemnation are wrong and ineffective on the soul. This idea is most clearly expressed through three symbols: Pearl, the child Hester and Dimmesdale conceive

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 (1804-1864) is one of the great American short story writers and novelists of the 19th century. He has utilized many themes in his writings, one example of his themes is the portrait of female and this is considered as revolutionary for his era. Patricia says Hawthorne has created a wide range of female characters such as strong, independent-minded, self-confident and others types are docile, fragile, and submissive. In addition, Charles Swann posited that some characteristics of Hawthorne’s women are “strong and weak, charming and rueful, vivid and quiet” (2), but there is one thing that unities them all – they throw a calling to the society around them…and they are shown as rebels with

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

When many people begin to think about feminism, the first thing that comes to mind is group of anti-male women, who believe that they should be the dominant gender, but this is not the case. In this novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne uses these feminist views to help her overcome her humility and rise back up in society against the already determined views of the Puritans. She truly was the perfect example of a feminist women.. The Scarlet Letter was accidentally made into a feminist novel because of how Hester stood up again Puritan belief, and also because the thought of women empowerment was way ahead of his time.