The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1800s, but the book is placed in the Puritan times of the 1600s. Hawthorne is an anti-transcendentalist, which means he thinks society is good and nature is evil and humans are naturally evil. Puritanism is a very strict religion in the 1600s. If you are a Puritan you are against all earthly pleasure and your life is hell on Earth. Hawthorne uses multiple symbols in The Scarlet Letter, symbolism is a literary device that uses symbols to represent ideas.
The Scarlet Letter: Hidden Symbolism "It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow" (Hawthorne 60). The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, although normally perceived as lifeless, is one of the most relevant and timeless novels. According to Lei, in the literary world, it is even largely considered one of the first symbolic novels published in America. The depth of symbolism found throughout the novel is truly astounding. “Throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter, the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a few key symbols to represent major themes in the book” (Erich Musick).
Thus, feminism sought to liberate women from androcentrism, which was prevalent in multiple aspects of life, including religion. Women’s views were not expressed in religion and theology, therefore, feminist theologians attempted to reinterpret religion based on the female experience. Feminist theologies can be divided into three categories, revolutionary, reformist and reconstructionist. The first, revolutionary feminist theology, views the bible and Christianity as patriarchal and antiwoman. Thus, women abandoned Christianity and looked to worshipping ancient female deities.
In the mid-1800’s Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the book The Scarlet Letter. A novel about an early American Puritan village. In the book the main character, Hester Prynne, committed a major sin, adultery. The novel focuses directly around this sin. Through writing The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne revealed his opinions of the nature of sin and the effects sin has on the sinner and those around them.
II. Postfeminism Feminism is “a troublesome term” (Beasley, ix). It is a complex notion which deals with social, political, cultural and individual concerns. Consequently it does not possess a universally agreed, clearly defined ideology. Hollows defines feminism as “a form of politics which aims to intervene in, and transform, the unequal power relations between men and women” (2000, 3).
Written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter quickly emerged as a contemporary and advanced novel of its time. With the numerous modern concepts about various themes, protagonists, and women of the seventeenth century emphasize the popularity of The Scarlet Letter until this day. One of the major intriguing aspects of the novel is Hawthorne’s exemplification of the protagonist, Hester, as a strong female character living with her good and bad decisions. Hawthorne ultimately created and commenced a new wave of feminism with Hester Prynne being one of the first key examples for a feminist in a novel. Feminism has been around since the beginning of time.
Gender, Ethnography, and Feminism The three concepts are related and are closely observed in any given society. When ethnographers set out to study the culture of a society, the focus is only how men and women handle different affairs. Therefore, ethnography covers the gender concept. In cases where the role of women and their position in the socio-cultural and political structure is reviewed, the concept of feminism comes in. Gender, Ethnography, and Feminism in the Ethnography of Arab Women in the Middle East and
Feminism is defined as “a multi-disciplinary approach to sex and gender equality understood through social theories and political activism.” Over time, it has gradually evolved from “… the critical examination of inequality between the sexes to a more nuanced focus on the social and performative constructions of gender and sexuality” ("What Is Feminism?," n.d.). Several approaches
When Francoise d'Eaubonne coined the term "ecological feminisme," she has drawn attention to the relationship between women and nature. Karen Warren in her essay "Feminist Environmental Philosophy" (2015) claims that women-nature connections are "often based in different disciplinary perspectives (such as History, Literary Criticism, Political Science, Sociology, and Theology)." This is important because ecofeminism did not emerge as a distinct philosophical position until the late 1980s and early- to mid 1990s. (Warren 2015: 8) Warren proposes "a general, common-denominator characterization of 'ecofeminist philosophy' … that it: (1) explores the nature of the connections between the unjustified dominations of women and nature; (2) critiques
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel that takes place in a historical setting during the years 1642-1649. The book is about a young woman, Hester Prynne, and her struggles to overcome the humiliation and guilt she feels for committing adultery. Without close analyzation of the book, it may just seem that many parts are insignificant and don’t have any meaning to the plot of the story. With that said, the beginning of the book is very significant and helps foreshadow what happens later on in the book. Given these points, the rose-bush in The Scarlet Letter symbolizes Hester’s passion and family and helps contrast the community with nature.