Gender Roles In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

When they came over to America their wish was to have access to more freedom, especially freedom of religion. However, this was not the case, the end result wasn’t freedom for all Puritans, especially for women. Hawthorne characterizes Hester as someone who chooses to be silent and to effect change by her consistent goodness in the Puritan community instead of through her words. Originally, the scarlet letter was a badge of his dishonor for Hester, but, because she has the bravery to stay in Boston and live with that shame, the tables eventually turn. She breaks her isolation by campaigning with the love she has found in herself, giving back to the people even though they have hurt her. Today we are a country divided with many people using angry words that are supposed to result in peace, but it often ends up in violence; Hester chose silence and charity over argument and anger to persuade others to look at things differently. Currently, women are still victimized and are seen as weaker than men because of stereotypes that arose in these earlier times. However, women in the 21st century are building on the hard work of strong women throughout history and exercising their rights. Recently, there have been many accusations of sexual harassment by men against women in the media. It has taken many years for women to speak out, and still not all are able. We,

Yes, I consider The Scarlet Letter is a work of feminist literature. During the time of Hawthorne, the writings of his opinions for the womens were very forward and powerful. The novel has discovered the typical lessons on the themes of feminist by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. In The Scarlet Letter, the main heroine Haster Prynne and Pearl as her daughter are considered the two main prominent characters. So, the knowledge about them is persuaded the early feminist considering the heroines in the writing of The Scarlet Letter. The narrator has established the work opposing a feminist central character. It describes Haster’s sin and love that has given a view of woman’s unique.

While Puritan women are weak and dependent upon their husbands, Hester Prynne is empowered and self-reliant. A character designed by Hawthorne to show 19th century women that women’s work could be valuable, Hester supports herself and her daughter by needlework. “For, as the novel unfolds, the letter, intended by the Authorities to signify harsh but just condemnation, is made by Hester to signify something entirely different—able, admirable.” (Bell 109) All aspects considered, the ability of Hester, a woman who committed sin and was publicly punished for this crime, to manipulate this punishment into a virtue

Many people believe that feminism is the domination of the of the female gender. However, that is not the case. Merriam Webster dictionary states that feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is equality between the genders. The idea of feminism didn’t start until the 1840’s, so Nathaniel Hawthorne’s intention might not have been to feminize his characters. His beliefs could have came from the society that he lived in. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story is a feminist piece of work that shows Hester Prynne and Pearl as strong characters in a male dominated society with strict beliefs.

Do you believe that women of this present generation have always received the same level of respect as they receive now? Today, women are treated exceptionally well as compared to their counterparts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and treated even better than those in the very early years of America. Women in the past were restricted from freedoms and rights; their individuality was stripped and they were constantly forced to meet the constraining view of a “traditional” America. In contrast, women of modern America are granted a level of recognition and respect unexplored by American women of previous generations.

Gender roles in The Scarlet Letter can be described as both traditional and unconventional depending on which character is being observed. Characters such as Hester Prynne, Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Hester’s daughter Pearl are the main characters that portrayed one or the other. In this book, perhaps one of the more notable differences is that men seem to be portrayed as the weaker of the two sexes, as far as fundamental strength is concerned. It is interesting to consider that comparison when noting that the important men responsible for deciding Hester’s fate are so intent on convincing her to tell them the name of the man who was her “tempter.” At the same time, however, the men seem to be more inclined to be more lenient and somewhat tolerant of Hester and her sin than the women of the colony. The women are supposed to have the upmost ladylike persona, who follows their husbands’ wishes and provides for the family through caring for the children, cooking, and cleaning. These characters chosen almost seem to represent everything opposite, yet everything common in this

Women in Puritan society, as in many other societies throughout time, were repressed. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter it is womanhood, not women themselves, that is being repressed within Puritan society. On the surface, this is because of its traditional religious association with sin. However, Hawthorne depicts femininity and womanhood as having divine power and influence, [as in, they] ? are a God-approved force leading people towards moral good. This is shown through his depiction of women deprived of womanhood as morally corrupt, the way in which Hester’s feminine qualities inspire forgiveness, and in Hester’s belief in the power of a woman to change Puritan society. Hawthorne does this in order to subvert those traditional religious ideas about femininity, instead suggesting that the reason womanhood is repressed lies in the fear the Puritans have of womanly power destroying their patriarchal society.

The Scarlet Letter uses perspective effectively to encourage a consideration of hierarchies and power in the puritan society, as well as their patriarchal views. The novel tells of a young woman, Hester Prynne, who is shunned, vilified and outcast by the puritan community after being charged with the sin of adultery. Hester doesn’t show resentment towards the town necessarily, instead we see her rejection of formalised religion and the strict, oppressive puritanic views and values. Hester is in a state of disempowerment for the majority of the text, she is othered and viewed as merely more than that of her gender and her sin by the townspeople. The dominant culture was that of older, authoritative male figures, who led the town unchallenged and in both a patriarchal and oppressive manner.

Hawthorne is trying to advocate about the women in the society though the main protagonist, Hester Prynne and her actions. He is able to utilize the character of Hester to show the contrast of what the society wishes women would be and act like. She endures the shame of public humiliation from the other ‘perfect’ Puritans and is eventually able to put up a shield to protect and save herself from all the negativity; this shield ultimately establishes an improved female image. Hester acquires unruly and bold energy along with a tough mindset, “the tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread (174). Perhaps Hawthorne was trying to get across that

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has a major theme of women in society. This novel was published in 1850, just as the women’s rights movement was beginning in the United States. This was an organization created to fight for basic rights for women, such as voting and. By the use of a female protagonist during this time period, Hawthorne was able to bring more attention to women and how they were treated, specifically in Puritan society.

Did you know that The Scarlet Letter is one of the first to feature a strong female character. The Scarlet Letter is a famous novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. At the end of the novel, Hester plans to run away and find happiness with her beloved but Dimmesdale dies. Why is it that right when Hester wants to get away from her past, her love mate dies? Were they not meant to be together?

The scarlet letter does not just mean “adulterer”, Hester has become more apart of society, and helps out by bringing food to the poor, and taking care of the sick. So the letter is stands more for “able” than for “adulterer”. The letter now is just a reminder of her past and that she has changed since her mistakes. She believes that she really has changed. She has become more speculative about what it means to be a woman in her society. She wants to be a bigger part of the Puritan society, not just second class or in her case third class. One theme that came up was “Within each person is the capacity of both good and evil”, when Chillingworth figured out something about Dimmesdale, his mood changed and even the look on his face changed

Throughout past times, women have been assumed to be inferior to men. They were refused human rights such as education. Some civilizations view women as a surmised evil. Others believe women were to birth, attend worship, and agree with their husband. Nonetheless, the promoting of women’s rights in regards to political, economic, and social tolerance prevailed within society. Such feminists anticipated to fight for their power. One intent for the protest of inequality could have possibly resulted from the strict regulations of society put in place by the government. These regulations had a direct impact on the conformity of women. Women were directed to avoid self-loving reasoning, which led to the questioning of political and societal leaders. “It was an age in which the human intellect had taken a more active and a wider range than for many centuries before” (Hawthorne 154). This quote emphasizes the uprising of change in peoples’ minds regarding abuse towards women. Hester serves as the face of the crowd that thinks freely. She is unsatisfied with the destiny a puritan society has in place for. She demonstrates this by challenging the female role and attempting to reconstruct the patriarchal society she lives in. The other women that live in the town are shocked by Hester’s actions. This shows how they are afraid that if other women start acting out, the society structure

In The Scarlet letter, Hester is first introduced as a woman who committed adultery. Fated to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of her life, she faced public shaming and humiliation each day. Though throughout the entire case, Hester still held her head high and ignored the curses of the New England town. Hester was one of the first Americans to be aware of the hypocritical society. She believed if a person were to do wrong, admitting to it and trying to change is the right thing to do.

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is shamed for her sin of adultery, and she lives alone with her daughter Pearl. This book can be viewed using the feminist theory because within this book it shows how a woman can overcome anything that is in her way. The feminist theory is used in this situation because using this lens it shows how this piece of literature undermines the psychological oppression of women (Tyson). Hester is able to help many of the unfortunate people because she knows how it feels to be looked down upon. She wants to help people because she knows that no one else will care to help those less than themselves. That is why when many people referred to the scarlet letter “they said it meant Able; so strong was