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Hester In The Scarlett Letter

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In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester represents a strong female character. The humiliation of forever wearing the embroidered scarlet letter upon her chest resulted in Hester intensifying her strength and resilience. Although Hester was very courageous, this does not make The Scarlet Letter a feminist novel. Feminism is fighting for women to have equal rights and therefore a feminist is someone who is promoting that idea. The novel itself is not advocating equal rights, it does the complete opposite. Hester is prosecuted for committing a crime of adultery while Mr.Dimmesdale is not being punished for committing the same crime. Hester is looked down upon in the community while the townspeople praise Mr.Dimmesdale. The events that took place in the story does not exemplify a feminist novel, but illustrates a strong female character. Hester was constantly persecuted by the women in town, “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die”(Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, 50) harsh words were said behind her back. Children even had the …show more content…

Hester is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter she does not receive the same treatment as Mr.Dimmesdale. Since Dimmesdale is a young and handsome preacher he is not talked badly about after he confessed. Pearl was 7 years old when people started to destigmatize the scarlet letter Hester wore daily on her chest. Hester went through 7 years of tyranny from the town before people when they started to realize she was an outstanding person. Dimmesdale stood aside watching idly by as he saw the torment that was placed upon Hester, He finally took a stand and helped her in his last preach. Dimmesdale only helped her due to the fact he felt guilty she was being tyrannized while people still praised him. He would unlikely do the same to any other

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