Hester Prynne's Role as a Leading Feminist in Early Literature
Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel, The Scarlet Letter, broke many boundaries in literature. Hawthorne's writing style challenged the reader's interpretation and his use of the Puritan society reflected many societal flaws that still exist today. From these aspects of Nathaniel Hawthorne's accredited writing, Hawthorne created the strong protagonist of Hester Prynne. Hester's radical actions through the story proved to cause not only the other characters, but the readers, to question their intuition. Because of his bold themes and writing techniques, Hawthorne was able to mark Hester as one of the first feminists in literature.
The writing style Hawthorne uses in The Scarlet Letter plays a crucial role in the feminist themes represented in the novel. Hawthorne utilizes the use of multiple different voices to both share sympathies and highlight flaws in various perspectives. Hawthorne makes use of the feminine voice, which is characterized by an empathy towards the patriarchal oppression experienced by women as well as a maternal emotion. By combining this feminine voice with a masculine voice, Hawthorne " Includes marginalized perspectives and allows the reader a range of interpretation rather …show more content…
Hawthorne's use of the masculine and feminine voice offered the reader multiple different perspectives and interpretations. Hawthorne further extended this opportunity for different perspectives by using the Puritan setting, which highlighted the flaws of man. Hester Prynne is a very complex protagonist, and her experiences and mindset could easily be used to represent the female voice and its attitude towards the patriarchal oppression. It is for these reasons that Hester is now seen as one of the first feminists in
Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel, The Scarlet Letter, broke many boundaries in literature. Hawthorne's writing style challenged the reader's interpretation and his use of the Puritan society reflected many societal flaws that still exist today. From these aspects of Nathaniel Hawthorne's accredited writing, Hawthorne created the strong protagonist of Hester Prynne. Hester's radical actions through the story proved to cause not only the other characters, but the readers, to question their intuition. Because of his bold themes and writing techniques, Hawthorne was able to mark Hester as one of the first feminists in literature.
The writing style Hawthorne uses in The Scarlet Letter plays a crucial role in the feminist themes represented in the novel. Hawthorne utilizes the use of multiple different voices to both share sympathies and highlight flaws in various perspectives. Hawthorne makes use of the feminine voice, which is characterized by an empathy towards the patriarchal oppression experienced by women as well as a maternal emotion. By combining this feminine voice with a masculine voice, Hawthorne " Includes marginalized perspectives and allows the reader a range of interpretation rather …show more content…
Hawthorne's use of the masculine and feminine voice offered the reader multiple different perspectives and interpretations. Hawthorne further extended this opportunity for different perspectives by using the Puritan setting, which highlighted the flaws of man. Hester Prynne is a very complex protagonist, and her experiences and mindset could easily be used to represent the female voice and its attitude towards the patriarchal oppression. It is for these reasons that Hester is now seen as one of the first feminists in