Many writers have contributed to the idea of feminism by promoting heroines that defied the odds of a harsh society. Such a character can be found in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter which reveals the lack of respect that women received when they choose to act according to their desire, against the society. The Scarlet Letter provides an in depth analysis on women’s rights and their value in the society during the late 17th century. While Hawthorne was writing the novel, The Scarlet Letter, a feminism movement began to take root in American history which helped Hawthorne to be aware of the women’s movement for their rights and freedom. Hawthorne’s attitude toward women and being sexist demonstrates the fact that Hawthorne has feelings of aversion toward feminism and thus this identify him as a true feminist. In other words, Hawthorne was trying to illustrate to the reader that during his time how there was an inequality that existed between the sexes and the oppression that was going on between men and women. Hester Prynne can be used as an example of a true feminist, as she makes her own way in a society that has devalued her.
Hester Prynne is a woman whose shameful act is literally seen on her bosom, yet she finds strength from that label. She uses the stigma of the adultery as a way to create a new path in her life, to go to places where other women never venture to and do things that other women do not dare to do. In accordance with this idea, Hawthorne writes, “The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers,—stern and wild ones,—and they had made her strong” (180). This shows that even though Hester had been prosecuted by the to...
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...nd modern feminist.
Hawthorne uses many aspects of Hester Prynne to display her as a feminist character and demonstrate women’s rising for their rights and freedom during that time period. Her actions demonstrate her strength and her value as a person independent of the expectations placed on her as a woman. The actions of society placed this character in a feminist plight, a fact plainly addressed in her thoughts. Hester Prynne, compared to other women during that time period was different because she always fought and stands up for herself and her only daughter. It was her inner strength that helped her to stand out from the crowd and make differences in the society on behalf of women’s struggling for rights. Hester Prynne, from every prospective can be defined as a true feminist because of her own actions and circumstances that led to changes in the society.
...and was outside of the country, everybody hated her. Even though she knows that everybody hates her, Hester never gives up to be forgiven by people. Hester Prynne did many great things for people. She decorated people’s clothes and donated her clothes to the poor. She made money and supported her daughter, Pearl. Hester Prynne could have financial difficulties, but she did everything by herself. Hester Prynne is a very courageous brave woman unlike other women in 1850’s. Because of Hester Prynne’s characteristic, the book became a great feminist novel. Not only Nathaniel Hawthrone did not just make up the story throughout the fiction, but he reflected the real society during his time to a novel which is The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne’s role, a strong brave feminist, in the story is one of the best elements that brought The Scarlet Letter to a great novel.
Although Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is looked down upon by her fellow members of Puritan society for being an adulteress, she eventually gains the freedoms of self-government that many women have today. In Puritan society, women were not treated fairly. The culture believed that women should have a man in their life to make decisions for them, and Hester must make her own decisions, as well as support her daughter, and herself, as a seamstress. She proves herself to be perfectly capable of being independent by being successful in her work, and raising her daughter, Pearl, without a male figure. Hawthorne’s writing also leans more towards a feministic view, giving out the intention
As a woman in a Puritan society, Hester Prynne breaks many of the standards accepted at the time. Throughout The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne shows major character development and proves to be a strong, important character. In the beginning of the story, she is found guilty of adultery and is forced to wear the scarlet letter. She tries to hide it at first, ashamed of her past actions and tired of being reminded of her sins, but eventually learns to embrace it and accept the consequences of her actions. Overall, Hester shows significant development in her character and social status and is greatly influenced by the scarlet letter.
D.H. Lawrence’s paper “On the Scarlet Letter” addresses a range of criticisms and ideas regarding Hester Prynne and has been widely considered in regard to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. He explores different aspects of her sin as well as her nature through this analytical paper. It is in these criticisms that he conveys that Hester Prynne is wrongfully admired by both fellow characters and the reader by using repetition, choppy syntax, and biblical allusions.
In a normal Puritan society, a woman’s most important role was that of being a mother and housewife, and women were always seen as being less than a man. The rights of women during Puritan times were very limited and they had many restrictions on what they could and could not do. For example, they could not vote in the town council, own or buy land, or command any servants that their husband or father owned (study.com). Hawthorne represented this through the societies thoughts about Hester, and through how most other women in the society act. The societies thoughts about Hester show that any women who does not follow the normal way of doing things is to be punished and looked down on, even if their actions are completely relevant and harmless. It also represents how harshly women were judged for simply just being a
At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is virtually banished from the Puritan society because of her crime. She was guilty for adultery with the town’s minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. However, the reader is kept in the dark that Dimmesdale is the child’s father until latter part of the novel. Although Hawthorne’s novel accurately depicts the consequences that Hester and Dimmesdale suffer from their sin, the novel does not accomplish the task of reflecting upon the 17th century Puritan gender roles in Hester and Dimmesdale. For one, the mental and physical states of Hester and Dimmesdale are switched. Hester takes on the more courageous role throughout the novel whereas Dimmesdale takes on the more sensitive role. In addition, Hester is examined in accordance to the gender roles set for today’s American women. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is written in a manner that accurately depicts 17th century Puritan society, but does not accurately show gender roles.
Nathaniel Hawthorne paints Hester Prynne as a person, a person that made mistakes, but who worked tirelessly to atone for them. Hawthorne’s use of of positive diction and profound imagery also set Hester’s tone as a woman scorned, but
Hester was judged by the whole community because of her actions and her scarlet letter “A”. It confirmed to everyone that she was an adulteress. A group of women said, “It would be greatly for the public behoof, if we women, being of mature age and church-members in good repute, should have the handling of such malefactresses as this Hester Prynne” (Hawthorne 59). They clearly gossip about Hester and demean her based on her immoral actions. Hester is criticized by her poor choice and is discriminated by the extremely moral townspeople.
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts a patriarchal, Puritan society that oppresses Hester Prynne by signifying her as a sinner, adulterer, and an outcast of society, but Hester Prynne represents herself as a silent rebel through her feminist consciousness. Even though Hester Prynne exemplifies herself as a rebellious spirit, others may have a different perspective of her as just a shameful, disrespectful woman in her Puritan community. The society understands her as a dishonorable woman, since she defied her Puritan rules by being an adulterer. To represent one as a silent rebel, one has to portray themselves as selfless, independent, and defying, like Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne shows herself in The Scarlet Letter as a female who struggled with male dominance in her society, but she overcomes the powerful, Puritan males by defying them with her own perspectives.
Hester Prynne, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, the Scarlet Letter, faces a crucible. She commits adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale and becomes pregnant with a daughter, Pearl. She is isolated from the community and the general public except for when she must stand upon the scaffold for three hours as part of her punishment for her sin. She must also wear a scarlet letter “A” for adultery on her breast. The town looks at her differently because of her sin but Hester stays true to her personality. Hester fairs her life by honoring her punishment and her mistakes, as well as taking care of Pearl and teaching her to be kind.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is a classical American literature novel. It is a story that takes place in the puritan town of Boston, Massachusetts during the seventeenth century. The novel tells the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who commits a crime and is severely punished by the Puritan community which she lives in. The crime is so atrocious and condemned by the Puritans that they sentence her to a life of isolation. The story follows her decisions and warring struggles of her everyday life and that of those she loves. Hester must decide between carrying the burden and punishment of the crime she committed or lightening her sentence by sharing the guilt and blame with the one she loves. Hester Pryne’s crime was adultery and out of her misdemeanor a child was born. Hester seen as committing a sinful act and her daughter as a product of that sin are forever tainted and viewed as corrupt and immoral. At the same time, the love that God has created for two people will prove stronger than the community can manipulate “The novel is structured like a symphony, with each character given his or her own movement. The cold, Puritan community is symbolized by the ever-present scaffold in the marketplace where Hester and her shame are first put on public display. The only escape for Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale is the dark forest. Here God's love and the world of nature offer them a temporary sanctuary from the unforgiving world of men” (Otfinoski). The novel reveals the secrets of several characters, which are brought to light by the scandalous act of Hester Prynne, and expose the sinful acts of many.
Hester Prynne committed a crime so severe that it changed her life into coils of torment and defeat. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is publicly recognized as an adulteress and expelled from society. Alongside the theme of isolation, the scarlet letter, or symbol of sin, is meant to shame Hester but instead transforms her from a woman of ordinary living into a stronger person.
The character Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one who is criticized by literary critic D.H. Lawrence. He underscores her flaws and sinful nature, denouncing Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester as a heroine. In his essay, “On The Scarlet Letter,” Lawrence critiques the way Hester Prynne is depicted through terse syntax, biblical allusions, and a satirical tone.
Throughout all the sinful things Hester Prynne has done, she still managed to obtain good qualities. Hester was an adulterer from the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester was looked down upon by the citizens of Boston because of the sin she and another person committed, but no one knew who her partner in crime was because she refused to release his name. Towards the very end of the story Hester’s accomplice confessed and left Hester and Pearl feeling joyous, because now they didn’t have to keep in a secret. Hester is a trustworthy, helpful, and brave woman throughout The Scarlet Letter.