Scarlet Letter Shield

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.

Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the ideology of Puritan society in the novel the Scarlet Letter; however reader also get to witness his characters being an illustration of hypocrisy and victims to their own guilt. In the Scarlet Letter, as in many of Hawthorne’s shorter works, he makes profuse use of the Puritan past: its odd exclusionary belief, its harsh code of ruling, its concern with sex and witchcraft. The Scarlet Letter is a story that is embellished but yet simple. Many readers may view this novel as a soap opera due to the way Hawthorne conveys this Puritan society’s sense of strictness and inability to express true emotion along with the secrecy and how deceiving the characters are being. As the story unfolds the main character Hester Prynne is bounded in marriage at an early age. She engages in an adulterous affair with an unknown member of their small village. Hester soon becomes pregnant and with her husband’s absence the chances of this child belonging to her husband are slim. The towns’ people know that she has committed a sin and imprisons her for her crime.

Hawthorne's Hester Prynne is the underdog protagonist that the reader cannot help but want to succeed. She is flawed but her flaws are outshone by her good heart and spirit. This shamed and humiliated woman is the one the reader, with the help of Hawthorne’s descriptions, wants to support. This sinful woman, with a child from wedlock, a diabolical “husband”, and a secretive lover is the motivating force that drives the reader to continue on with The Scarlet Letter. The language, descriptions, and plot of The Scarlet Letter show that Hawthorne believes the reader should look past gender stereotypes because not everything is what is

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.

Throughout, “The Scarlet Letter,” Hawthorne is able to enhance the plot by intricately incorporating symbols which represent a deeper meaning. One of which, is the infamous, and ambiguous, scarlet letter that lays upon the bosom of Hester Prynne. In the beginning of the book, the audience is immediately introduced to the scarlet letter as a symbol of shame and adultery. The narrator describes the Puritan society as very judgemental and harsh. Comments like, “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die,” creates this negative and unwelcoming atmosphere which surrounds Hester for a majority of the book. From then on, the Puritans constantly refer to the

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

In the novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the character Hester Prynne, as a representation of feminist views and perspectives. The Puritan society views Hester as a sinner and unable to receive forgiveness or grace; however, she overcomes her adversities and finds joy within her being. In general, critics agree that The Scarlet Letter exemplifies the definition of female empowerment. For example, critic Wang writes: “Although shamed and alienated from the rest of the community, Hester does not fall but becomes a miniature of a resistant ‘Feminist Angel’, a strong woman looking forward to the equality between men and women” (Wang ). Wang demonstrates how Hester approaches unfair circumstances with maturity and diligence. Furthermore, critic John Updike states: “Hester Prynne can be seen as Hawthorne's literary contemplation of what happens when women break cultural bounds and gain personal power” (Updike ). The novel defines the position of a feminist

In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne narrates the story of Hester Prynne, an adulteress living in Boston during the seventeenth century. His purpose in this passage is to detail the change that overcame Hester after she had been subjected to her punishment of constant ignominy. Hawthorne adopts a sympathetic tone towards Hester, revealing that he believes women need to be delicate and tender in order to retain their feminine appeal.

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

Evelyn De Arcos Mr. Webb Period AM 10/24/14 Feminist Adultery has always been around. This act is very personal, and the involvement of other people is not necessary, but during the Puritan times, adultery was the worse sin one could ever commit. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the protagonist, Hester Prynne commits infideltity with a minister. After giving birth to Pearl, the town judges her for her sin. To punish her for this act, Hester must wear a scarlet letter "A" on her bosom so that the town can look down on her shameful action and recognize her as a woman who committed adultery.

Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter in 1850, and it’s considered his most influential work. The gothic romance explores the themes of sin, Puritan legalism, and guilt, and incorporates a heavy use of symbolism. One of the most important symbols in the book, along with Pearl and the Black Man, is the scarlet letter donned by the story’s protagonist, Hester Prynne. In the very beginning of the book, the scarlet letter means that she is “Animal”, an inhuman creature to marvel at and ridicule as it stands upon the scaffold. In the early stages of the plot, the scarlet letter meant simply “Adulteress”, a cold reminder of her sin. As the story progresses, the letter she wears upon her bosom develops a second meaning equally central to Hester’s pain and development: “Alone.” Hester works diligently over the course of years to repent for her sin and improve her reputation, and her hard work and improved reputation gain her the title of “Able”, even though she’s still considered an impure sinner. At the end of the book, when Hester returns to Boston and becomes a trusted advisor and helper to the women of the

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

What composes a woman? An even deeper question being what composes womanhood? As a matter of fact, being a woman is more than just the anatomy. Womanhood is a tricky concept. Women are portrayed as delicate beings, but are held to extremely high standards by society.

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

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