Feminism in the Scarlet Letter

At first, it may seem that The Scarlet Letter has nothing to do with feminism and the fight for equal rights between males and females. The book was written in 1850 when the society was dominated by men who completely overruled women. No one could even think of such a thing as gender equality. The author shows preconditions of what later will turn into a full-fledged feminist movement. This story is set in a conservative Puritan community of the 1640s. A vivid picture of women’s place in the society, their oppressed sexuality, and the attitude of the church towards women is provided to highlight the desperate position of females at that time.

Hester Prynne is a beautiful, strong, and passionate woman that gets excluded from the community for having a child out of wedlock with the man she loves. Throughout the novel, the readers can see other woman being exploited, silenced, and deprived of any opportunities. The general belief of that time was that women had to be obedient wives, good mothers, and humble Christians. Men would say that “woman derive a pleasure, incomprehensible to the other sex, from the delicate toil of the needle”.

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But Hester is not like other women. Realizing the consequences of her deed (adultery was illegal at that time), she has enough courage to follow her heart. Her husband, whom she never loved, has been missing, Hester doesn’t want to remain a lonely widow for the rest of her days. She falls head over heels in love with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the leader of their community. This affair is soon exposed and condemned by the entire society. It’s not a surprise that Dimmesdale turns out to be a much weaker person than Hester that can’t admit his deeds.

Being subjected to a public scaffold, Hester is punished for her independence, courage, and the dare to follow her desires. For a woman of those times, there was nothing worse than following her sexual impulses or urge inner needs. Hester is the only female character in the novel that stands up for her rights, just not in a modern way. Obliged to wear a red letter “A” on her chest to inform citizens about her adultery, Hester doesn’t consider herself a sinner leading her life with decency and pride. Neither the public humiliation nor the hatred she has to deal with every day make her regret her choice.

Her further life and eagerness to help those in need say more about her personality than the cries of an outraged crowd at the public scaffold. While people believe that the sign on her clothes is a symbol of humiliation or disrespect, Hester wears it with joy. This is a symbol of Hester’s struggle for her own happiness and freedom. With time people forget that the sign on her chest means infidelity. What first comes to their mind are the words “Angel” or “Able” which shows a slow yet confident progress in the societal attitude towards women.


 


 



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