The Role Of Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter

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

You 'd never love anyone, ever again. You 'd never dare to.’ Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin The previous quotation can greatly refer to the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. What appealed me immediately when I first started reading the novel was the destiny of a woman in the 17th century, for, more than once have I encountered bad faiths, oppressions, and lost lifes of women within novels. The Virgin Blue, a novel written by Tracy Chevalier, whose theme is also a tragic life of a woman, instantly came into my mind. And it was then when I decided that the issue of women from that period should be discussed.

Warren knows Proctor is not a witch, and also knows that Abby accuses Elizabeth Proctor because of personal vengeance, yet when Proctor tries to urge her to tell the truth she shouts, “I cannot! I cannot!” because she knows she will get in trouble for having previously lied in court (125). Mary Warren was not strong enough to tell the truth. She would rather get Proctor in trouble than have to take responsibility and punishment for her own sinful actions. As a result of her cowardly decision Proctor gets thrown in jail and eventually hangs.

As Quindlen says, “women should not be only permitted, but welcomed into a variety of positions and roles only men occupied.” (72) However, this was not the attitude in Shakespeare’s time. When regarding the treatment of women of her time, it would be impossible to have rivalled men in literary achievements. Virginia Woolf invents the character of Judith Shakespeare to explain because she is a woman, her talent leads to a vastly different end. Judith illustrates the improbability of women 's prosperity in writing literature at the time of

The scarlet letter changed meanings from having a negative connotation to a positive one when it changed how Hester acted, which changed how the people saw Hester and her letter. “It was none the less a fact, however, that, in the eyes of the very men who spoke thus, the scarlet letter had the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom.” (13.35) From being adultery to angel the scarlet letter impacted the lives of those in the Puritan community the novel The Scarlet

Her baby, Pearl, is considered a sin because she was a product of cheating,. The townspeople decided to punish her and force her to wear a scarlet “A” on her breast. They made her wear it in a viewable spot, so when people looked at her, the only thing they noticed was the scarlet letter. They wanted to make people look at Hester and think of her in terms of only her

Hester Prynne 's sin was a violation against that of Puritan laws, she was a public sinner but her sin was widely identified and found offensive by the Puritan community that set rigid and oppressive rules that Hester seamessely violated. The ridicule from the Puritan society towards Hester is illustrated at the beginning of the novel where Hawthorne asserts, “In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere...” (Hawthorne 63). Similarly, Rachel Dolezal although her wrong-doings are recognized amongst a wide range of people, her false identification as a black women has immensely hurt black Americans specifically due to the fact that her actions were in direct effect of black lives and her idea of racial fluidity, which essentially is when one believes they can change their identification of what race they believe they are, deeply insulted black people rather than the contrary (Oluo 2). This all suggests the existing parallel between Hester Prynne and Rachel Dolezal in regards to how their sin infringed a particular group of

Introduction Chick-Lit novels have been criticized for their portrayal of anti-feminism in the recent past. Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones, one of the most popular chick lit nov-els, does not seem to be a perfect example of a feminist novel, she does not even want to be linked to being a feminist. Her close friend Sharon, “Shazzer”, though, is a representation of a feminist. Feminists are often presented as very loud, angry and man-hating women in the media and literature and it will be discussed if and in which way Shazzer’s character fulfills this stereotype of a feminist cliché. First, the terms feminism and post-feminism are going to be defined.

The novel, The scarlet letter by Hawthorne is written during the Romantic era and shows a huge impact of Puritanism in the private lives of the character. Unlike any other novel, readers are not introduced to a rake in his process to win both the damsel and her fortune. The main character figure of the novel is a lady who dared to go against the norms of the society and is being punished for it. However towards the end of the novel she changes the meaning of the letter “A” to respect rather than a stigma. Hester Prynne is the protagonist as she stands against the Puritan laws.

Women’s Oppression in the literary perspective as compared to Corregidora “You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” Women’s oppression began long before there was any form of recognition or attention given to it. Women oppression is defined as “a type of injustice oppression is the inequitable use of authority, law, or physical force to prevent others from being free or equal.” The word oppression is a significant label for what women had to endure ultimately because it is more than accurate which most are not able to accept. The fact that woman are treated with disregard already Black women are treated even worse as does Terhune states, “Too often, the experiences of Black women are homogenized within the race and the

How does Hawthorne use symbolism in The Scarlet Letter? In this essay I will be talking about what kind of symbolism he used in The Scarlet Letter and why he wrote this novel The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorneuses key symbols to represent themes in the book. The most influential symbol was the Scarlet Letter that Hester wears on her chest all the time. Light and darkness play a role in the symbolic nature of the background and scenery.