According to the Oxford Dictionary, feminism is, “of, relating to, or advocating the rights and equality of women.” According to our society, feminism is described as a secondhand, self-proclaimed right that a few women believe to be true. And to be honest, are we really given any other definitions or examples to live and lead by? Women are still mercilessly attacked and criticized for what they wear, who they associate with, and most importantly, their sexual behaviors. This being criticism that a female’s male counterpart would not have to face. Hester Prynne, a character in the novel The Scarlet Letter, (1850) written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is seen as a symbol for the pain and suffering many women still have to go through today. Shamed
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This rosebush, growing right next to the prison door, may be seen as nature’s generosity to the damned. Like Hester, this rosebush has been pushed around and beat down until it should not be able to live, but it failed to perish. It failed, for it persevered. The rosebush could either offer a “sweet moral blossom,” (46) or it could serve to aid those entering prison who may never get out. Either way, the rosebush holds a positive connotation, which hopes to help to those who need it most. The rosebush symbolizes Hester, for it is a beautiful thing growing through the ugly cracks of society. Throughout history, roses have often symbolized beauty, promise, hop, and new beginnings. Comparing this symbol to Hester, this rosebush could persist through the concrete, like Hester was able to persist through the shame and sin. The symbol of the rose almost foreshadows what is to come for Hester later in the novel, for it represents the hope and prosperity she will come to face in many years to come. The symbol of the rosebush also shows how you need to break through the cracks, and keep pushing through in order to see the light that the world has to …show more content…
As she stood atop the scaffold in her new home, before her judgmental peers, she began to reminisce on her life before. She remembered her father and mother, who had, “the look of heedful and anxious love,” (54). She remembered her childhood fights, school-days, dramas, and other seemingly insignificant parts of her life growing up. She begins to remember a man, with “scholar-like visage, with eyes dim and bleared by the lamp-light,” (55) who we would come to know as Chillingworth, her husband prior to her
This rosebush, growing right next to the prison door, may be seen as nature’s generosity to the damned. Like Hester, this rosebush has been pushed around and beat down until it should not be able to live, but it failed to perish. It failed, for it persevered. The rosebush could either offer a “sweet moral blossom,” (46) or it could serve to aid those entering prison who may never get out. Either way, the rosebush holds a positive connotation, which hopes to help to those who need it most. The rosebush symbolizes Hester, for it is a beautiful thing growing through the ugly cracks of society. Throughout history, roses have often symbolized beauty, promise, hop, and new beginnings. Comparing this symbol to Hester, this rosebush could persist through the concrete, like Hester was able to persist through the shame and sin. The symbol of the rose almost foreshadows what is to come for Hester later in the novel, for it represents the hope and prosperity she will come to face in many years to come. The symbol of the rosebush also shows how you need to break through the cracks, and keep pushing through in order to see the light that the world has to …show more content…
As she stood atop the scaffold in her new home, before her judgmental peers, she began to reminisce on her life before. She remembered her father and mother, who had, “the look of heedful and anxious love,” (54). She remembered her childhood fights, school-days, dramas, and other seemingly insignificant parts of her life growing up. She begins to remember a man, with “scholar-like visage, with eyes dim and bleared by the lamp-light,” (55) who we would come to know as Chillingworth, her husband prior to her