Feminist Ideals In Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is a perfect example of how one person in a society can defy the traditional social structure. Throughout the literature, Hawthorne presents numerous examples of feminist ideals through the character of Hester. After analyzing and interpreting the meaning of the novel, Hawthorne specifically targets gender roles in societies by making the protagonist of the story a woman. Hawthorne questions the expectation that men should retain all authority and purpose by creating a character that specifically rejects these traditional norms.
Hawthorne continuously demonstrates feminist ideals by characterizing and portraying Hester to be the character that breaks gender roles in Salem society.
Hawthorne expertly begins the novel
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In the beginning Hester was portrayed to be every mans desire, the perfect woman. However, after her years with the Scarlet Letter she began drifting away from the society's standards of what made her ‘beautiful’ and she became her own personalized version of it. “It might be partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress, and partly to the lack of demostantion in her manners… That her rich and luxuriant hair had either been cut off, or was so completely hidden by a cap, that not a shining lock of it ever once gushed into the sunshine… there seemed to be no longer anything in Hesters face for love to dwell upon ; nothing in Hester's bosom, to make it ever again the pillow of affection.” (Wahl) She completely changed her physical appearance, not because of her humiliation but because of her realization of how societies standards negatively affects women. She no longer wanted to fit the desires of man, she wanted to fit her own desires. Hester's change in appearance was looked at negatively by Salem society because they could never understand it's true underlying meaning; that beauty is a board standard determined by society as a whole instead of individually. “The Scarlet Letter had not done its office.” (Wahl) It was presented to Hester as a cruel punishment for bearing a child outside of her marriage. It was meant to humiliate her in public for the rest of her days. The Scarlet Letter was meant to make its victim an outcast of society and instead it empowered Hester and helped her realize the damaging gender standards in her
The Burning Vs The Scarlet Letter
782 Words | 4 PagesThe Scarlet Letter shows the church unaccepting of Hester and Pearl because of adultery. Finally, in The Scarlet Letter Hester realizes that all of her struggles are finally coming to ease. After the shamming has stopped, Hawthorne says, “Hester strong, calm, steadfast enduring spirit almost sank, at last on beholding this dark and grim countenance of inevitable doom…” (Hawthorne 241). In the end of The Scarlet Letter Hester has moved on along with the townspeople and she is finally being accepted in society.
Scarlet Letter Feminist Quotes
1139 Words | 5 PagesThe book the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a book about Hester Prynne a woman living in the 17th century. Hester commits the sinable act of adultery and is punished being forced to wear the scarlet letter A on her bosom. The symbol punishes her as an adultress and marks her shame, making her an outcast in the male dominated society, as she has gone against the strict restrictions society has imposed. So due to this, in regards to John Updikeś claim about Hester, I agree that she is “a mythic version of every woman’s attempt to integrate her sexuality with societal demands” through wearing the scarlet letter. Although the scarlet letter was meant to be a symbol of punishment, it gave Hester liberation from the social norms.
Strength In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
588 Words | 3 Pages“Never after did it quit her bosom. But, in the lapse of the toilsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester’s life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon in awe, yet with
Examples Of Guilt In The Crucible
1980 Words | 8 PagesYet, despite the heavy burden she has to bear, she acts more civil than most of the characters do in the entirety of “The Scarlet Letter”. Instead of her guilt and shame tearing her down, she chose to rise above it as seen in this quote; “she [Hester] repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will.” (50 Hawthorne) No doubt at this time, Hester’s heart is filled with pain and worry. After all, these were people she has known for some time and perhaps has even befriended.
Hester Prynne: A Role Model That Transcends Time
1415 Words | 6 PagesThe new opinion of the townspeople further proved that Hester was capable of changing from an immoral woman to a respectable and strong female. After her self-inflicted temptation, Hester was able to prove herself to the people around her as well as proving to herself that she was able to change. Society around her now visualized her as a new person who was capable of finding her inner strength, and instead of labeling her as the woman who possessed the Scarlet Letter, she became a woman who was powerful and respectable. By being able to realize how her change affected the folks around her, Hester continued to leap down a positive path of accepting herself and beginning to let go of her rebellious ways, even though this is all she had known in the
Yamin Wang In Scarlet Letter
1142 Words | 5 PagesThe Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was published in 1850. It focuses on the life of the main protagonist, Hester Prynne, living in a Puritan community. Both Yamin Wang and Maria Stromberg offer insight into The Scarlet Letter and analyze multiple aspects of the story.. Both Wang and Stromberg claim that there is an underlying ideology hidden in the texts of the book. Wang approaches the story from a feminist approach and states that Hester represents the feminism in the Puritan community, and she analyzes the Puritan’s outlook on women in their society.
How Hester Prynne Changes In Scarlet Letter
941 Words | 4 PagesWhile her punishment changes her physical appearance, it has a far more profound effect on her character. Hester seems much older and worn down with the scarlet letter on her bosom. To Hester, the scarlet letter is a
Scarlet Letter Patriarchy Quotes
566 Words | 3 PagesIn the Scarlet letter, Hester takes part and rejects the gender roles of her society. This reinforces and undermines patriarchal ideology. For starters, she is seen as a powerful and able woman. " She was self-ordained a Sister of Mercy…Such helpfulness was found in her,—so much power to do, and power to sympathize…so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength."
The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
1039 Words | 5 PagesThe scarlet letter is designed to remind everyone of her wrongdoing, but it eventually begins to lose track of its significance and true meaning. Although Hester carries herself with confidence, the repression of her community harms her elegant disposition as "All the light and graceful foliage of her character had been withered up by this red-hot brand, and had long ago fallen away, leaving a bare and harsh outline…" (Hawthorne 125). Hester loses her once passionate and loving self as shame and guilt consume her thoughts. Hester's vitality vanishes because of the guilt
Gender Stereotypes In The Scarlet Letter
1118 Words | 5 PagesAlthough she is looked down upon by the society in the beginning of the novel, she is transformed into a symbol of strength, something typically reserved for men, towards the end of the novel. “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her,—so much power to do, and power to sympathize,—that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 146). Through her suffering, Hester had become an inspiring symbol of strength for the community.
Hester Prynne's Point Of View In Scarlet Letter
1388 Words | 6 PagesThe Scarlet Letter is about the Puritan society and the outcome of the immoral decisions of the protagonist, Hester Prynne. Nathaniel Hawthorne has an overall unfavorable view against Hester and her choices, so his storyline involves many consequences for her. The author chooses to stand from a Puritan’s point of view in the novel since Puritans are against sinning. Hester Prynne wears the scarlet letter as an accessory as well as an acceptance of her consequence for not sharing any details about her sin. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne is critical of any character committing a sin, so Hester Prynne exemplifies his criticism as she portrays an immoral protagonist.
Essay On Evil In The Scarlet Letter
719 Words | 3 PagesThe townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”
The Role Of Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter
466 Words | 2 PagesHester Prynne is the very embodiment of feminism because of her refusal to adhere to the societal norms, her independence in thought, and how the view of the society around her changes through the novel. One of the main reasons why Hester Prynne is an important and progressive feminist character in The Scarlet Letter is her refusal to follow societal norms or to be put down by her peers. A primary example of her refusal to be put down by her peers is when Hester brandishes her
The Symbolism Of 'A' In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
959 Words | 4 PagesReceiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.
Gothic Elements In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'
1284 Words | 6 PagesIn The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne effectively conforms to the conventions of the gothic genre for the purpose of characterizing the Puritan society as oppressive, portraying the hypocrisy found within the society and highlighting the consequences for not confessing
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