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Scarlet Letter Women In Today's Society

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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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

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In the beginning of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces the main character Hester Prynne, a young, beautiful member of a Puritan society being punished for her sin of love, not lust. The opening chapters introduce the reader to gossips who deem her original punishment, death, too harsh and contrary to Puritan beliefs that unborn babies should be given a chance at life. Instead, Hester and her child are to be alienated and shunned. In addition she is to wear the letter ‘A’ (which stands for ‘adultery’) on her chest which will forever display her as a symbol of shame for her sin. Though a very resilient figure who soon overcomes this pain, Hester’s isolation takes a negative toll on her life.

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Hester’s adulterous affair affected her life and image, it put her in isolation and led to shame and guilt. Although the scarlet letter bears remorse, throughout the novel Hester’s changes from a negative and unholy ego to a positive and favorable ego due to her actions. As Hester Prynne is faced with critisism and judgement, she continues to stay strong which eventually leads to people interpreting her scarlet letter “A” from “adultery” to “Able”. The change in Hester Prynne’s character exhibits that although some people may never stop their pessimistic critisism, we can overcome our sins with a strong relationship with God and a growth mindset, as Hester does. Hester Prynne’s actions demonstrate that sin is natural and should only be judged by

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In committing adultery, Hester caused the community to shun and ridicule her. “So that both men and women, who had been acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time, was that Scarlet Letter… It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and inclosing her by herself” (51). This quote is stating because of the Scarlet A, Hester is alienated from the rest of the community. The Scarlet A separates Hester from everyone else, even her child Pearl.

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman, commits adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale. As a form of punishment, the judge forces Hester to wear a scarlet letter to signify her wrongdoing. The purpose of the scarlet letter is to correct Hester’s conduct. With the symbol of the scarlet letter, Hester’s Puritan community publicly judges and ridicules her. Today, judges sometimes still use public shaming as a form of punishment.

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Although the community originally knew Hester as a disgrace, the town’s opinion of her changed over time as she began to do work for the poor and needy. After this shift in the town’s view of Hester, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet [letter] by its original signification” (111). Instead of Hester’s scarlet letter serving as a reminder of her scandalous sin, her peers “ had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as a token . . . of [Hester’s] many good deeds” (111). She became known for her charity and generosity, which caused the civilians to overlook her sinful behavior.

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The novel “The Scarlet Letter”, written by Natheniel Hawthorne is overflowing with figurative language, symbolism, and many other thematic subjects that have important roles within the story. Hester Prynne is the unfortunate bearer of the scarlet letter which is a symbol of her adulterous ways. Throughout the novel she is condemned yet admired for this small golden laced letter on her chest. This letter might seem insignificant but it turned her life upside down.

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The Scarlet Letter Imagine standing on a lunch table in the center of the cafeteria in which the wrongdoer’s peers throw harsh judgments at their victim, one by one for an hour or more. This is the equivalent to what Hester Prynne endured: a public shaming. Luckily public humiliations are not common in this day and age. The person who was receiving the attention often has the instinct to cower and think lowly of themselves, but that is not how Hester Prynne reacted. The novel in which Hester Prynne is introduced is thought to be worthy of banishment, but plenty of others disagree.

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Initially, Hester’s mask is forcibly removed when she is “disciplined to truth” (156) by the scarlet letter and sentenced to “lay open her heart’s secrets in such broad daylight” (60). Even this imposed candor is short-lived, however, because the people use the scarlet letter to pigeonhole Hester as an adulteress, once more obscuring her identity. A mask is fitted to Hester every time a sermon introduces her as “the subject of discourse” (79), presenting her as a cautionary tale. Within Hester’s reflection in the armor at the governor’s house, the letter’s appearance as “the most prominent feature of her appearance” (97) mirrors the way in which Hester vanishes behind the letter in the eyes’ of the townspeople. Even after their perception of Hester changes, the letter “A” still labels her as an “angel” and an “able” woman (146).

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Hester was initially married to a man whom she never loved and was thought to be dead after being lost at sea for five years. After waiting for the arrival of her husband which never came, Hester had an affair with another man and together they produced a child. When Hester had an affair with a man who was not her husband she had committed an act of adultery and had to be punished in the eyes of God and of her community. It was decided that Hester would have to serve time in jail and

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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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At the beginning of the story, the scarlet “A” is considered as a badge of shame. Hester doesn´t show the scarlet letter as a symbol of shame when she wears it, because she wears a beautiful scarlet “A” embroidered with gold, that she made herself thanks to her ability in making precious needle works. Hester is capable of wearing the scarlet letter in a very determined and secure way. This is why, at the beginning of the story, the townspeople think she is “proud” of her sin. The puritan beliefs say that the scarlet letter should not be pretty, because it is a “punishment” for the sinners to feel ashamed.

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In the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)

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