Women In The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Women
“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength” - G.D. Anderson
Today, some branches of feminism have developed beyond their roots into what some people consider a type of female supremacy. They did not always act in this way. Feminism is truly centered around the idea of total equality between both women and men. Nathaniel Hawthorne can be considered a first-wave feminist, or a someone who believes in the true philosophy of feminism. His critical view of the puritan’s treatment of women and his creation of strong female characters revealed that Hawthorne did include feminist values in his writing. The Scarlet Letter acted as a prelude …show more content…
Nathaniel Hawthorne created a highly negative view towards Puritanism throughout the progression of The Scarlet Letter. As Schwartz put it “Hawthorne always felt that the religious system of Puritanism was cold, hard, and confined.” In the first page, he told the reader that the center of the Puritan way of life is the prison “the black flower of civilized society” which is covered in plethora of nasty and invasive weeds such as “burdock, pig-weed, apple-pern, and such unsightly vegetation”(Hawthorne 29). Hawthorne described the Puritan women as lame, dull, and characterless, covered in “a coarser fibre” and like “the man-like Elizabeth” (Hawthorne 30). Puritan society believed that this is the ideal image of a woman. Women in the society are stripped of what makes people unique and replaced that uniqueness with a harsh, orthodox version of a woman. In contrast to the negative theme, the red rose-bush represented a whole new side of the society that is focused on freedom. As John Stubbs detailed it, “The image of the rosebush is associated with nature as opposed to civilized society, feelings of the heart as opposed to reasoned laws of the intellect, and freedom and joy as opposed to the punishment and severity” (Stubbs 1446). This concept of dark versus light can be associated with several other parallels, such as Chillingworth and Hester, or even man and …show more content…
Hawthorne dictated that if a woman let her heart overcome her mind, then the necessary change can not occur. Thus Hester’s emotions become a weakness for her, but there are other women who show signs of change for the better. In the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne depicts the Puritan women as rough and characterless. The reader also views a new generation of women of “a more delicate and briefer beauty, and a slighter physical frame” (Hawthorne 30). The tone of the younger maiden is more gentle and soft than that of the older women, and the maiden shows a unique sympathy for Hester that the other women fail to display. The character descriptions Hawthorne wrote for these opposing Puritan women revealed that the new generation of women were not only being changed themselves, but also trying to change the society around
“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength” - G.D. Anderson
Today, some branches of feminism have developed beyond their roots into what some people consider a type of female supremacy. They did not always act in this way. Feminism is truly centered around the idea of total equality between both women and men. Nathaniel Hawthorne can be considered a first-wave feminist, or a someone who believes in the true philosophy of feminism. His critical view of the puritan’s treatment of women and his creation of strong female characters revealed that Hawthorne did include feminist values in his writing. The Scarlet Letter acted as a prelude …show more content…
Nathaniel Hawthorne created a highly negative view towards Puritanism throughout the progression of The Scarlet Letter. As Schwartz put it “Hawthorne always felt that the religious system of Puritanism was cold, hard, and confined.” In the first page, he told the reader that the center of the Puritan way of life is the prison “the black flower of civilized society” which is covered in plethora of nasty and invasive weeds such as “burdock, pig-weed, apple-pern, and such unsightly vegetation”(Hawthorne 29). Hawthorne described the Puritan women as lame, dull, and characterless, covered in “a coarser fibre” and like “the man-like Elizabeth” (Hawthorne 30). Puritan society believed that this is the ideal image of a woman. Women in the society are stripped of what makes people unique and replaced that uniqueness with a harsh, orthodox version of a woman. In contrast to the negative theme, the red rose-bush represented a whole new side of the society that is focused on freedom. As John Stubbs detailed it, “The image of the rosebush is associated with nature as opposed to civilized society, feelings of the heart as opposed to reasoned laws of the intellect, and freedom and joy as opposed to the punishment and severity” (Stubbs 1446). This concept of dark versus light can be associated with several other parallels, such as Chillingworth and Hester, or even man and …show more content…
Hawthorne dictated that if a woman let her heart overcome her mind, then the necessary change can not occur. Thus Hester’s emotions become a weakness for her, but there are other women who show signs of change for the better. In the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne depicts the Puritan women as rough and characterless. The reader also views a new generation of women of “a more delicate and briefer beauty, and a slighter physical frame” (Hawthorne 30). The tone of the younger maiden is more gentle and soft than that of the older women, and the maiden shows a unique sympathy for Hester that the other women fail to display. The character descriptions Hawthorne wrote for these opposing Puritan women revealed that the new generation of women were not only being changed themselves, but also trying to change the society around