Gender Stereotypes In The Scarlet Letter

In committing an act of adultery, Hester Prynne, the primary character in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, finds herself a victim of harsh judgement and ridicule by her Puritan community. She becomes isolated as a result of this scandalous behavior and becomes emotionally involved in a love triangle between her husband and her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, who is the town minister. As a result of her shameful history, the townspeople attempt to destroy and embarrass her by socially neglecting her and labeling her as an outcast and loner. Though the people of the community pursue several attempts to shame her, Hester Prynne's beauty, selflessness, and strength help her overcome this rejection from the townspeople and

Furthermore, The Scarlet Letter and 1984 both show the reader how an individual can use their personal, sometimes unfortunate, situation to their advantage thereby making both novels, that are set in different historical time periods, very similar.

Hester is accused of being unfaithful to her husband, Roger Chillingworth, despite his absence from her life for a long period of time. During one of Roger’s extended absences, Hester conceives a child born out of sin with Arthur Dimmesdale. Arthur Dimmesdale is a local holy man and is never exposed for his sin, while Hester is frequently mistreated, and eternally punished with a scarlet “A” marked on her clothing to represent Adulterer. Hester talks about wearing the “A”, and resents the fact that it may be pointed at as a sign of weakness. Hester says, “giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman's frailty and sinful passion” (91 Hawthorne). Hester dislikes the fact that the “scarlet letter” may be perceived as a sign of weakness, and instead learns to be empowered by the “A”. Ultimately, Hester actively made a positive impact on the community and proceeds to raise pearl, her child, without any assistance from Roger or Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester exemplifies her independence through her ability to maintain financial stability while raising her daughter and working. Hester eventually morphs the public's view of the scarlet letter into something positive. The narrator says, “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 96). In a time when women were severely oppressed Hester manages to the defy the odds and lead a successful and fulfilling life on her

Hester had worn her scarlet letter out for the public to see from the very beginning. She the subject of a lot of the town’s scrutiny. However, after many years of performing good deeds for the community the scarlet letter, and by extension Hester, was met with less hostility. Her influence is so great that many citizens start to believe the scarlet letter “...[now] meant Able…”(Hawthorne

In The Scarlet Letter, when Hester is first brought out on the scaffold to by publically shamed for her ignominy, Arthur Dimmesdale pleads with her to name him as her fellow sinner so that he will not have to reveal himself when he exclaims, "Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.” Hester refuses him and Dimmesdale goes unnamed and unpunished until the very end of the story. While Dimmesdale refuses to accept responsibility for his sin, Hester embraces the shame of the community. It is this difference which causes Dimmesdale enormous amounts of guilt and pain while Hester in able to find peace with herself and with her situation. By confessing her sin, Hester is able to move on and uses her punishment as a means to grow and improve

Hester Prynne changed dramatically throughout the course of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. Initially she was viewed as the antagonist and was a destructive character to those around her. After being confined in her cottage with Pearl, she began to develop a sense of who she needed to become in order to efficiently raise Pearl. Hester’s ability to do what was necessary for her improvement made her into a respectable role model for women to shadow. Hester chose to isolate she and Pearl to create a wave of self-improvement. Because of Hester’s mysterious, seductive, and rebellious actions, she demonstrated the characteristics of a byronic hero.

Out of all the emotions humans experience, guilt is one of the least pleasant. Nearly everyone has experienced it in some way or form. Often times, it is because of minor mistakes like forgetting to take out the trash. Other times it can be more serious such as seriously injuring a friend or family member. Either way, that guilt gnaws at one’s inside, chipping away at their sanity bit by bit. However, even though guilt is painful, it isn’t always a negative thing. On occasion, a guilty heart has motivated one to mend their ways and confess to whatever they have done wrong. The literary works “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller’s“The Crucible” are no different in this matter. Each story shows the different ways that

In history, and present time, many events foreshadow women obtaining more rights and becoming equal with men. Many people think that women have not gained much power, or are losing it. I on the other hand, believe that women’s rights have not died down but progressed over time. In many circumstances, women have proved themselves, and have gained power over time. Sometimes this power was even seen as a problem. Women were given many opportunities in the 1920s and became sensitive to many human and personal issues throughout the 1920s. Women’s rights in the middle ages were very poor and unfair. In the middle ages, women could not vote, own property, and nearly all women were overpowered by men. Any man in the house could tell the women what

In the same way, the characters in The Scarlet Letter determine their fate through their own actions. Similarly to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the theme of doing what one wants versus living up to societal expectations is, shown through the scenes that happen in the town of Boston, and the scenes that happen outside of it. The first instance where this occurs while inside of Boston is when Hester decides to defy her society by having a child with the man she truly loves. Even though the affair was with a man whom Hester loves, since she is already married when she has the affair, she is being publicly questioned, on a scaffold; about the name of the man, she had the affair. While on the scaffold, Hester felt “as if her heart [has] been

Everyone makes mistakes, it is a part of being a human. It can come in different forms, from a quick look at a paper during a test, being tempted to do something, or even saying something with no intention. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the movie, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the main characters attempt to achieve redemption from God after committing adultery and earn the respect of fellow members of their Puritan society while also finding good in themselves. In which, the author ties his message through the main character’s redemption by others, but nothing is more freeing than redemption that is self-realized.

Throughout time, there have always been people who do not seem to fit in the rest of society, and they are treated as outcasts, because of their different characteristics or mindsets. In many cases they are condemned and punished by society for their differences. Hester Prynne from the Scarlet Letter, John Proctor from The Crucible, and Jackie Robinson all were the odd-ones-out in their society. Throughout their lives, John, Hester, and Robinson were separated by great physical and social barriers, which led to great hardships, but through their ordeals they were able to show where their societies went wrong.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines gender roles as, “The role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by prevailing cultural norms.” But what's the problem with that? Singling out one gender to carry responsibilities that the other gender should not. And during the time of poverty, unemployment and hardship known as The Great Depression, is when gender stereotyping established its place as a norm. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s ideas of gender stereotyping from the 30’s compels Scout to feel pressure from her town.

We are all sinners. Although one may try hard not to sin, all humans eventually succumb at some time or another to sin. While people may not able to avoid the fate which awaits them, the power of free will allows people to decide how they will respond to sin. While some may respond with guilt and regret, others may react with a sense of redemption and a renewed sense of responsibility.

Feminism is the philosophy advocating equal political, economic, and social rights for women. The idea of feminism was not at all prevalent during the 1850s when Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter was published. In spite of this, Hawthorne wrote one of the most influential feminist novels of his time: The Scarlet Letter. This novel was hailed as an important feminist novel because of the main character: Hester Prynne. Hester 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.

The 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. Much like Wang believes there is an underlying feminism aspect to the story, Stromberg claims that the story has a hidden, social issue. Similarly, Stromberg also analyzes an