The Scarlet Letter
Male domination was a perfect description of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, author of The Scarlet Letter, time era. Women were thought of as lesser than men. Women’s purpose was to raise children and give them good morals and values. Women didn’t have jobs or hold political office. Even though women were oppressed in Hawthorne’s time, in an earlier era, the Puritan era, women were even more subdued. They wore the plainest, drabbest clothes and sat meekly at their husbands’ sides. Passion and happiness were considered a sin to the Puritan faith. Hawthorne was a rare man who believed that women should be allowed to rise above this stereotype. He believed that in many ways women were stronger and had greater character than most men. Hester Prynne was the embodiment of Hawthorne’s feminist views and ideals. Women of this time were not thought of as able to overcome hardships and trials because they were considered weak, but Hawthorne showed to the world with The Scarlet Letter what women, in actuality, were like.The embodiment of Hawthorne’s feminist ideals, Hester, was an unusual character for that time period. Women weren’t considered very important. Yet, “so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’ strength
Hawthorne clearly believed that, for hundreds of years, men had underestimated women. The Scarlet Letter was Hawthorne’s testimony about women’s strength. The main character of his novel, Hester, was a woman who managed to overcome something a man could not. Hester was able to be honest and true to herself as well as the world while Dimmesdale, the man, lied to himself and his public. By creating a woman as strong and able as Hester, Hawthorne wrote one of the first pieces of feminist literature. Hester was Hawthorne’s beacon of truth to the women of the world. He showed women how great they could become if they used the inner strength each and every woman possessed. Where was the great, dominant, strong man who was suppose to reign? Dimmesdale began to wither away like a plant deprived of water. “His nerve seemed absolutely destroyed. His moral force was abased into more than childish weakness.” As the guilt of his silence slowly ate away at him, his physical health abandoned him, and he grew weaker with every day that passed. Where was the cowering woman who could do no right? Hester, with the scarlet letter burning openly upon her chest, was able to gain strength and thrive. She performed many good deeds and was even ordained a “Sister of Mercy” by some. Many people refused to interpret the meaning of the scarlet letter as adultery but instead as “Able.” ” was how she was described by many people. This woman, part of the sex considered to be powerless, was held in high esteem by the public. It isn’t a coincidence that Hester was given a task as great as overco
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Approximate Word count = 1087
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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