Regina Barreca's The Scarlet Letter

Everyone knows the stereotypical romance novel, consisting of a damsel in distress and a heroic male lead, who beats the odds and ‘saves’ the damsel. These characters place the female in hopeless tragedy and paint the male as the epitome of bravery and courage. However, many readers do not take the time to imagine a novel with the reversed roles, a male becoming the damsel in distress and a female becoming the hero. This is what Regina Barreca’s criticism of The Scarlet Letter discusses. After taking the time to question the hatred held by readers towards Roger Chillingworth, she goes on to elaborate on the complex traits and actions committed by Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne throughout the novel. She claims that Dimmesdale was feminine to his very core, possessing a timid demeanor and having no will to make the

She also claims that Hester Prynne was more of a masculine character, having to take care of and reassure her cowardly lover. Therefore, Barreca’s criticism regarding gender roles is correct as it accurately describes how Nathaniel Hawthorne’s characters take on characteristics commonly assigned to the opposite sex. To start, Barreca’s claim that Arthur Dimmesdale represents the tragic heroine is correct as his actions mirror those of typical female characters. For instance, Barreca notes within her criticism of the novel, The Scarlet Letter, that Dimmesdale is eager to “relinquish the responsibility for his own choices” and place it upon the “overladen shoulders of his beloved” (268). Thus, Dimmesdale is clearly seen to display a stereotypical sign of a female heroine character. It is a quintessential situation within sentimental novels to have the female protagonist, in distress and