Summary Of Women In Their Eyes Were Watching God 'And The Scarlet Letter'

In history, women have been at the mercy of corrupt and oppressive societal forces. In Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, this is truly evident. Both Hurston and Hawthorne focus of the oppression of women in society, also with the central theme of female repression presented in both plots. As works of literature, the two novels convey these concepts in symbolism. Throughout Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, both authors engage the use of symbols to represent oppression that the female characters faced.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the image of the mule is presented repeatedly in different contexts throughout the novel. The mule, although represented in many

The Puritans mean for the scarlet letter to be a symbol of Hester's shame, but the narrator describes the letter as a "mystic symbol" which makes it more than just a mark of humiliation. The letter thoroughly represents Hester's adultery, but as she grows and changes in the novel, the letter's symbolism evolves as well. For example, it comes to mean "able" when she becomes a successful seamstress, and Dimmesdale refers to Hester twice as "angel," giving the letter yet another meaning. The letter begins to represent a type of holiness. It has "the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom. It imparted to the wearer a kind of sacredness, which enabled her to walk securely amid all peril. Had she fallen among thieves, it would have kept her safe" (Hawthorne 142). Hester herself dictates the meaning of the “A”. By embroidering it so beautifully, she is essentially taking control of her own punishment, and takes ownership of it. The letter showcases her talent and artistry, skills that allow her to make a living as a single parent in a Puritan community. Further, many years later, when Hester returns and voluntarily takes up the scarlet letter again, it has become, for her and others, a symbol of grace: "a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked up with awe, yet with reverence too" (Hawthorne 232). In the end, the letter comes to symbolize

Janie’s hair is a symbol of her power and identity, and it represents her strength and individuality. Primarily, it represents her independence and defiance of petty community standards, such as when she decides to wear her hair down despite community critique. Further, it also serves as a threat to Jody, which blurs the gender lines. Because Janie’s hair is straight, it functions as a symbol of whiteness and defines her caucasian characteristics. Hey hair yields white power, which disrupts the traditional relationship roles. Similarly, Hester’s hair is also an emblem of her femininity. In fact, the narrator states her most imposing feature is her "dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam"(Hawthorne 44). Like Janie, Hester is forced to hide her beauty under her cap, buried with the burden of the scarlet letter. When she removes the cap, she recaptures the radiant beauty of seven years earlier. Symbolically, when Hester takes off the cap, she is removing the harsh Puritan social and moral structure. But as Hester puts the cap back on, "her beauty, the warmth and richness of her womanhood, departed, like fading sunshine; and a gray shadow seemed to fall across her"(Hawthorne 280). Hester and Janie alike are forced to wear caps to hide their hair which ultimately represents their female