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Essay On Women In The Scarlet Letter

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In ‘The Scarlet letter’, Hawthorne expresses women in this story to be worthless and be only taught to take care of children, their husbands, and do church work. During this time, women were not able to get a higher education than men, own property, or vote. Women were the man’s property once they got married and they needed to fulfill the man’s needs.
Hester had a child with Dimmesdale and not her husband, which was beyond not allowed, so the townspeople made her wear the scarlet letter “A” on her breast so everyone who encounters her knows that she committed adultery. “So that both men and women, who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time, -was that Scarlet letter, so …show more content…

For example, when Hester comes clean about the identity of Dimmesdale’s enemy, Dimmesdale blames her for everything. Hester then demands that Dimmesdale forgives her, she did not ask, she demanded which has the reader believe how strong she has become throughout the novel, as a woman. Even though Hester is believed to be stronger than she is weak, Hawthorne portrays Hester in a negative way too. Hester’s weakness is a man, she states that she could not bare to see Dimmesdale sad and embarrassed in front of the whole town. The community frowned upon her. “…for seven long years had it frowned upon this lonely woman, - and still she bore it all, nor ever once turned away her firm, sad eyes” (Hawthorne 113). Hester is now seen as weak and showed that Dimmesdale carries all the power and controls her emotionally.
In the beginning of ‘The Scarlet letter’ Hester was looked at as a victim of the scarlet “A” than a heroine to the community. But towards the end of the novel the audience notices how much bravery Hester has gained which made her take off the scarlet letter, towards the end of the novel. Hester grew to be a mirror revealing the readers feelings about woman in society, back then. Hester finally took off her scarlet letter and plunged it to the ground, for the first time ever, she was taking charge and not letting people control her mentally or physically

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She continues to hold onto her regrets; however, her personality flourishes. Hawthorne portrays Hester as a strong individual, who even alters the stigma surrounding her. The women of the town eventually see her positive attitude, and they begin to interpret the scarlet letter differently: “Such helpfulness was found in her, - so much power to do, and power to sympathize, - that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (151). Their interpretation of the letter shifts, and although Hester becomes an outcast of the community, she embraces her sin and learns to live with it.

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While her punishment changes her physical appearance, it has a far more profound effect on her character. Hester seems much older and worn down with the scarlet letter on her bosom. To Hester, the scarlet letter is a

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Everyone in the community saw Hester at her weakest point, therefore her character and abilities could only grow from there. The power of the Scarlet Letter has provided Hester with a new found freedom for

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She is brave and does not deny that she sinned. She realizes that she needs to let go of the misery that the scarlet letter has brought upon her. Rather than letting it define her, Hester uses the letter. She helps out in the community. It does not define who she is.

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She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no wrong. Not only Hester, but also the physical scarlet letter, a sign of shame, is shown as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece which

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The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other woman dared not tread. Shame, despair, solitude! Those have been her teachers, - stern and wild ones, - and they had made her stronger but taught her much amiss” (157). Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter to illuminate on Hester’s strength and ability. By presenting Hester in this manner Hawthorne reveals her strength and ability in the beginning of the book so Hester could stand up and be honest and courageous, which enabled her to be able to stand up to the ridicule and

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Hester subverts the power structure which condemns her both by her decorative presentation of the scarlet letter and the conversion of the scornful badge into a badge of capability. Through her good works, Hester achieves the conversion of society’s scorn into something more acceptable: “They said that [the scarlet letter] meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 106). As Hester proves herself as a capable and virtuous woman, the townspeople start to regard the A less as a badge of shame and more as a badge of capability, thereby reducing the Puritan intent of punishment. In the process of subversion, Hester also carves a role for herself in the community as a caretaker for the sick and the poor. She involves herself in the community without sacrificing the traits which society condemns; she still refuses to apologize for her sin.

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At the end of the book soon before her death, Hester reflects on her life, and realizes that “in the lapse of the toilsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester’s life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too” (243). The letter was meant to be a defining symbol of Hester and her sin, but instead it was a symbol of help and hope. The purpose was to attract the “world’s scorn”, but instead she was praised for her persistence and grace. Hester’s powerful personality and strength allowed her to change the opinions of the general public and give her a chance to rebrand herself. There was no longer any regret attached to the letter, and without regret, it is clear that Hester does not wish that she had done anything differently to avoid becoming an adulteress.

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Hester is viewed by the community as inferior because of her scarlet letter A which she must wear as a constant reminder of her horrid deed. The letter A which she wears stands for her sin of adultery and the color scarlet stands for the sexiness and evil which the sin is. Hawthorne narrates, “On the breast of her gown in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” (Hawthorne 59). This quote is used in the story to show that the letter is meant to stand out and be a reminder of this terrible sin. As the story continues, the views on Hester by the Puritan society change drastically.

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Logan Whitehead Period 2 Smith 31 August 2015 Reading Journal for The Scarlet Letter Chapter 2 and 3: When we first see Hester in The Scarlet Letter she is surrounded by town folk as she is leaving the jail within the town. Hester Prynne is a very strong women that seems to make the best out of the worst things. This is shown when Hester takes the letter that is forced upon her and makes it into a beautiful embroidered design. This came across to the town folk that she was mocking them as the letter was meant to be a punishment, but as she and her “babe” took the pillar in front of them she realized that the letter will always label her as an outcast.

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Although she is looked down upon by the society in the beginning of the novel, she is transformed into a symbol of strength, something typically reserved for men, towards the end of the novel. “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her,—so much power to do, and power to sympathize,—that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 146). Through her suffering, Hester had become an inspiring symbol of strength for the community.

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The townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”

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The change in meaning of the Scarlet Letter contributes to the themes of honesty and forgiveness Hester is on the scaffold in front of everyone while the narrator describes her appearance. Specifically noting that the scarlet letter is removing her from “ordinary relations with humanity” (Hawthorne 81). This is the initial drive for Hester to stay honest to herself. This

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When Hester and Pearl went to the Governor's Hall, “Hester looked by way of humouring the child; and she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it” (103). Hawthorne explains that after committing the crime, Hester’s life was hidden by the scarlet letter. She was no longer seen as Hester Prynne, but as the scarlet woman; she was viewed differently by society and

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Receiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.

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