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Theme Of Women In The Scarlet Letter

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INTRODUCTION

Throughout human history, women have been judged for not fulfilling the social expectations placed upon them. Then, it makes sense that literature reproduces these aspects as a reflector of humanity. Therefore, we can find a huge variety of texts that deal with everyday situations in which female characters have to overcome adversities based on the lack of freedom and equality imposed by both society and religion. In fact, this is the case of the main character of the romance The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne. In this story, she has to choose between pleasing the members of the Puritan community she lives in or being an independent woman responsible for her own life.

Hence, the aim of this composition is to develop my points of view on the evolution of Hester through the story and my belief that society and religion are, in this instance, her real antagonists. Hence, the body of the essay will be divided into three sections, each of them dealing with a particular topic, being them: women in society, women and religion and Hester’s personal battle.

While framing my essay, Hester’s story and character, reminded me of that of Ana Ozores, from The Regent’s Wife by Leopoldo Alas. In my opinion, and after having compared the two women, I came to the conclusion that they go through similar situations although they face them differently. Because of that, I will provide a further explanation of my perspective when talking about women’s roles in

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