Feminism In The Scarlet Letter Essay

“Feminism is the belief, attitude and action that work toward women’s rights and the equality between men and women” (Feminism and Other Issues”). Women were always thought to be inferior to men. Feminism has been a movement started by women searching for equal rights and opportunities as men. Although feminism can be found in almost any place in the world, feminism in the Puritan faith has absurd punishments. Feminism has been around since the late 1800s; women were tired of unequal rights and being thought of as less. The Scarlet Letter shows how the sin of adultery was handled and how different generations viewed feminism. Feminism can be shown in The Scarlet Letter by its main character Hester Prynne, she represents a woman’s strength, independence and resilience. A Puritan can be described as a member of the English Protestants during the 16th …show more content…
Such helpfulness was found in her, -so much power to do, and power to sympathize, - that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (The Scarlet Letter). Overall, readers can infer that The Scarlet Letter is in fact a feminist novel by how Hawthorne portrays Hester. Puritans followed a very strict religion that followed what they believed in, if they didn’t harsh punishments would be brought to the sinners. The feminist movement was able to kick start equal rights for women, even though it took several years, women were able to have the same rights as men. Feminism can be shown in The Scarlet Letter because it portrays Hester as a strong, independent woman who was able to raise her child on her own. She did not let people know who the baby’s father was; she took the blame for her sin without having to blame anyone but herself. On her own, Hester is able to set an example that people can actually learn from the sins they commit and move on with their