Elizabeth Hawthorne's Influence On Hester Prynne

One example of a strong, independent woman in Hawthorne’s life was his mother. She did not necessarily look outside of her home for her independence; hers was a forced independence. Elizabeth Hawthorne’s husband died when young Nathaniel was only four years old. She raised him and his siblings while displaying strength that single mothers are forced to produce on a daily basis. While some scholars say that Elizabeth Hawthorne withdrew from her family and society with the death of her husband, Nina Baym has a different insight into the woman that raised Nathaniel Hawthorne. She states that Hawthorne had a “deep attachment to his mother” (Baym 7). She also goes on to say that there are many discrepancies in how his mother is described. However, she believes with ample evidence that Elizabeth Hawthorne connected with her family and her children on a profound level

Elizabeth Hawthorne had a deep impact on her family’s lives and more specifically on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing. She passed away just months before he wrote The Scarlet Letter, therefore, it is not much of a leap to say that she was on his mind during its creation. These examples of strong, self-reliant women may have been the catalyst that Hawthorne needed to create a heroine like Hester Prynne. A heroine who pushed through adversity and came out with renewed strength, compassion, and identity. Baym writes, “We need hardly look further [than his mother] for sources of the image of a socially stigmatized woman abandoned to bear and rear her child