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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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