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The Scarlet Letter: Male Dominance

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“ The majority of us feel that with a male leader, we feel safer. I would not vote for a woman president ever” (NPR). Women have always been viewed as being inferior to men, and this has led to patriarchy; a system of beliefs in which men always hold power. To expose this theme within Puritan society, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. The book starts off with the protagonist, Hester Prynne, being shamed for committing adultery. She is forced to wear the letter “a”, as a symbol of her sin, until the day she dies. As Hester Prynne adapts into her new lifestyle, the reader is shown many examples of male dominance and how she reacts to them. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s challenges and actions expose the injustices faced by …show more content…

Hester Prynne’s decision to decorate and flaunt her scarlet letter was an act of defiance which weakened the hierarchy of power. After Hester Prynne gave birth to Pearl, the whole town knew that she had committed adultery. The governor of Boston and his advisors feared that if they didn't give her a punishment, she would become an example of sin being acceptable. So, they sentenced her to wear a scarlet letter until she died. Every criminal before Hester Prynne always wore a very basic letter, because of the shame they felt. But not Hester Prynne, she refused to be defined by anyone else. Hester Prynne didn’t believe in being controlled by men with power, so she forged her own path. She used her exceptional needle skills to decorate and embroider the letter with as much care as possible. There was only one motive in her mind, “to laugh in the faces of [the] godly magistrates, and make a pride out of what they, worthy gentlemen, meant for a punishment” (Hawthorne 38). Everybody in Boston followed every order issued by the magistrates, because they were considered mighty beings. But Hester Prynnerefused to be oppressed by the patriarchs, she wanted to be in control of her life. By defying the punishment given to her, she disrupts the established hierarchy of power. While everyone believed that the governor held all the power, by defying his order Hester Prynne showcased how all of his power is only illusory. His order should be followed exactly as intended, but when Hester Prynne doesn’t, the townspeople see how the governor can’t do anything to change it. Hester Prynne flaunting her letter leads to a little instability within the hierarchy of power. All of a sudden Hester Prynne is not at the bottom, helpless to do anything, but near the top where she is free to do anything she desires. By defying male authority, she showcases one way to weaken the hierarchy

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In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, adulteress Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A to mark her shame. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains unidentified and is wracked with guilt, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth who seeks revenge. In June 1642, A young woman named Hester Prynne was found guilty of adultery in the Puritan town of Boston. Then a crowd gathered to witness the punishment and now she must wear a scarlet A on her dress as a sign of shame.

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Hester's divine beauty outshines others corrupt beliefs of her. While Hester walks stumbles out the prison doors and onto the dreaded scaffold, Hawthorne describes Hester as "the young woman [who] was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale" (40). Hester Prynne is being publicly shamed for the act of adultery she committed along with the minister who condemns her. She is forced to stand on the scaffold and beat the sorrow of he sins with the scarlet letter "A" on her bosom to represent her shameful acts. This mark of embarrassment serves a purpose to make her appear unrighteous, but the author chooses to focus on her beauty, which outshines this emblem.

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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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In order to escape the frequent ridicule, Hester changed her actions and revealed to the Boston community that she was able to combat the fierce insults and persevere. Hester began her transformation with the initial acceptance and acknowledgement of her sin. She furthered her metamorphosis with the decision to overlook the attitudes and demeanors of those around her and assist all who either lacked necessities or sought ornate embroidery. The alteration from “adulteress” to “able” was not caused incidentally, Hester Prynne changed the meaning with her

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We are introduced to Hester by hearing the description of fervor, “A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods and other bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes” (Hawthorne 45). The idea that a character is introduced with such distinction shows the ostracization the character will deal with. The importance of this quote is not only exhibited by its words but also it’s place in the novel, by being the introduction to Hester and the first words of the novel, immense value and deeper meaning is added than it would have if the quote had been later on. Hester is talked among the townspeople as a “... woman [who] has brought shame upon us all, and [she] ought to die.” This is the pinnacle of shame she experiences and as the novel progressed so did the towns folks’ opinions.

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The letter gave Hester a new power to sympathize with and be charitable to others. Townspeople even began to interpret the letter very differently from its original meaning. They began to believe that the symbol no longer meant adultery, however, its new significance was to mean “Able” (111). Her selfless acts of kindness attracted the attention of the community as she did needlework for the poor in her spare time. The community did not know the true reason of why Hester did this, but the act caused her true character and natural instinct to be generous to be reflected.

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Hester Prynne had done plenty of deeds in the past, but the deed that continued to follow and haunt her, was the time she committed adultery. Adultery was what the scarlet letter A had stood for, marking her as an adulterer, and was sewn into her

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In the beginning the scarlet letter represented adultery and shame, but then the A represented “able.” Hester Prynne showed people that greatness can come out of huge mistake. One bad chapter does not mean your story is over. Willingly, Hester wanted to pick herself up again and move on with her life and eventually people noticed that. They began to respect her and think of her as strong and commendable

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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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Despite its demeaning purpose, the scarlet letter ultimately had a positive impact on Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s timeless classic The Scarlet Letter. Although the scarlet letter was meant to mark Hester for her sinful acts and announce them to the world, she never lets herself be defined by the letter on her dress. She even utilizes her needle skills to decorate the A, which is “surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread” (50). Even though Hester has been made to wear the scarlet letter, she makes the best of it and turns it into something beautiful, showcasing her artistic talent.

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There will be consequences for the people who do not. Hester Prynne is an example for everyone in the town. The townspeople expect her to follow all the beliefs even though she is thrown out of the community. Hester endures many punishments for different things, but along the way she learns to become strong and learns to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her chest with

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Even though the Puritans may have designated the letter as a representation of sin, Hester’s renewed sense of pride does not want society to define the A for her. Rather Hester wants to define it herself and by doing so she develops responsibility and power over her own actions. Because Hester has the power to change who she is, she also has the power to change what the Scarlet Letter represents. By letting the letter be “embroidered with gold thread” readers are able to see how for Hester sin is not something to be fearful of; furthermore, it allows one to see how Hester has developed into an independent individual who accepts who she is and the situation she is presented with. Hester’s lover unfortunately

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Hester Prynne develops her strong character greatly throughout the book from the first formal introduction to the very end of her life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Right from the second chapter when we in the beginning are Introduced to Hester Prynne, we are convinced of her strong inner character from the first time we meet her during the hardship of her public humiliation. Without giving the reader much knowledge of her background, Hawthorne creates her as this young beauty, with tall, elegant figure and dark hair who also shows great irony and contempt, which we get the idea of when she stands on the scaffold and is described as to be showing a “haughty smile”, and we see it in the subtle clue to how she carries her elaborate scarlet letter (50). Another clear example of Hester 's steadfastness is in her determination of being alone through her humiliation and judgement, even with the many grim opinions the villagers in the crowd

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Throughout the novel, Hester is fraught by the Puritan society and her suffering is an effect of how evil society is. Hester continues to believe that the crime she committed was not wrong and she should not be punished for it. Her desire to protect and love Dimmesdale, turn her into a stronger person and become a heroine in the book. Although society still views her as a “naughty baggage” (Hawthorne 73) and is punished for her wrongdoing, Hester never thought to take revenge on them, yet she gives everything she has to the unfortunate and leaves herself with very little. She continues to stay positive no matter what society has for her.

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Because of her crime against the Puritan society, Hester bears a scarlet “A” upon her bosom to eternally mark her with shame and agony. Hawthorne utilizes the scarlet letter as a sign of shame by stating, “In all the seven bygone years, Hester Prynne had never before been false to the symbol on her bosom. It may be that it was the talisman of a stern and severe, but yet a guardian spirit...” (149). The letter “A” is a sign of shame and allows all to identify as a evildoer; additionally, it identifies her acts of adultery and labels her as an outcast, burdening her conscience with loneliness and misery.

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