Who Is Nathaniel Hawthorne's Argument In The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne implicitly presents the statement that when women displayed strength in their character they were opposing Puritan beliefs. Through closer examination, Hawthorne’s claim is validated as Hester defies the religious views of the Puritans, and begins to develop feminist qualities. In order to further establish his claim, Hawthorne uses his characters and incorporates biblical allusions in his text. Hawthorne commences to prove his claim by arguing how Puritans believed that your focus should be placed on God and the church, and not yourselves. In The Scarlet Letter, during that time period, the Puritans believed in a strict governance of religion in their society. Hester was scrutinized for her actions as, “the heads of the church and state stand together on the balcony, watching Hester on the scaffold” (53). Because of the relationship the government and the church had with one another, the church’s views influenced what was considered a crime and what punishments should be administered. Hester disregards their notions because by committing adultery, Hester is focusing on herself and not placing an emphasis on the church. Hester is

To effectively prove his claim about women having a strong character and breaking Puritan laws, Hawthorne makes the characters that Hester interacts with predominantly male. He states, “Thus it was with the men of rank, on whom their eminent position imposed the guardianship of the public morals” (225). Men in the novel influenced the government, and therefore the church. Because of this, the men in the novel held an excessive amount of power; even though they held power Hester did not concede. Hawthorne allows male characters in his novel, so the focus of the novel can be placed on the only female, Hester, and to show how even with all the testosterone, Hester is able to remain