Scarlet Letter Women In Today's Society

People sin everyday, but some are forced to wear their sin upon their sleeve. When I compare the world we live in today to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, I can conclude that we do, in fact, live in a scarlet letter society; a society that judges and slut shames women for expressing their sexuality. Hester Prynne is a young woman who is required to wear the scarlet letter A on her clothing to symbolize her sin that resulted in a pregnancy. The townspeople mercilessly shame and discriminate against Hester, just like women these days are judged for any inappropriate sexual behavior; especially on social media. The world we live in tries to prevent women from embracing their sexuality, while men are encouraged and praised to do

We live in a scarlet letter society that does not forget or forgive, only judges, causes harm, and oppresses women from revealing their sensuality. A very prominent, resonating effect of The Scarlet Letter is the slut shaming that Hester endured that continues to occur in our modern day society. Women everywhere experience judgement from other men and women for behaving in ways that are deemed as sexually provocative or promiscuous. “The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850, is a story that still resonates with the experiences of many women today. Hester’s scarlet letter is the equivalent of the slut shaming that too many women experience every day.” (A Freedom Letter, para 1). This correlates with Hester’s situation, because she had a private affair with another man. Hester’s actions were between her, Dimmesdale, and God, but the townspeople took it into their own hands to decide on her punishments. Those included locking her up in prison, publicly humiliating her on a scaffold in town, ordering her to embellish all of her clothing with red A’s, and constantly gossiping about her private life. But, the townspeople only punish Hester for having a child out of wedlock, so

People can post private information on social media, but it can never be erased once it is put on the internet. “when female sexuality becomes public, the woman is usually at fault — even if it's without her consent.” (Grate, para 10). This relates to Hester, because her sexuality becomes a public discretion. Back then, sex out of wedlock was illegal, so Hester’s affair becomes the talk of the town. Despite Hester becoming pregnant, she was thought to be a widow and she really did absolutely nothing wrong. The people chastise Hester for her actions and they force her to wear the A, though some of the women of the town believe it is not a good enough punishment. “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. Madam Hester would have winced at that , I warrant me. But she,—the naughty baggage,—little will she care what they put upon the bodice of her gown.” (Hawthorne, 49). The townspeople, especially the women, are very unforgiving, and they try to turn Hester’s life into a living hell. They feel as if the letter isn’t enough of a punishment for Hester to endure, and she should be branded for the sin she committed. In this case, Hester’s scarlet A symbolizes social media, and the permanent marking placed on people that allows others to judge