Puritanical Mores in The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a young, female adulterer residing in a 17th century Puritan community faces public shame for her sin by wearing a scarlet letter A on her chest, leading her to support herself and her daughter single handedly, which reflects the inability of the various Catholic followers to escape their social expectations and follow individual will. Pearl, Hester’s daughter, metaphorically represents the purity from the inner corruption of a puritan society. Also, Hester’s strength in her community to raise herself and her daughter reflects the strength of women, disproving the patriarchal Puritan family structure. Natural imagery conveys her self reliance after isolation from the …show more content…
Despite the constant shame and alienation from the rest of the Boston community, she continues to live there. With her care for the poor and the maternity towards the community, Hester gains the respect of the townspeople who shunned her. Her crime also contradicts the Puritan role of a woman to produce and raise children for her husband and take part in a model patriarchal society as she breaks the marriage contract and makes decisions for herself in risk of punishment by male figures in her community. Her choice to stay and raise her daughter single handedly as the sole breadwinner of her family also reveals her strength as a woman to undertake a traditionally male role, disproving association between females and weakness. Her letter changes meaning from ‘adulterer’ that the community’s male authority brand her as to ‘able’, an interpretation gained from her own good deeds for the townspeople and a just judgement of her character. Hester proves herself as more than merely a display of sin and eventually gains the respect of her community with her ability to play the role of her male equal and still labor for the
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a young, female adulterer residing in a 17th century Puritan community faces public shame for her sin by wearing a scarlet letter A on her chest, leading her to support herself and her daughter single handedly, which reflects the inability of the various Catholic followers to escape their social expectations and follow individual will. Pearl, Hester’s daughter, metaphorically represents the purity from the inner corruption of a puritan society. Also, Hester’s strength in her community to raise herself and her daughter reflects the strength of women, disproving the patriarchal Puritan family structure. Natural imagery conveys her self reliance after isolation from the …show more content…
Despite the constant shame and alienation from the rest of the Boston community, she continues to live there. With her care for the poor and the maternity towards the community, Hester gains the respect of the townspeople who shunned her. Her crime also contradicts the Puritan role of a woman to produce and raise children for her husband and take part in a model patriarchal society as she breaks the marriage contract and makes decisions for herself in risk of punishment by male figures in her community. Her choice to stay and raise her daughter single handedly as the sole breadwinner of her family also reveals her strength as a woman to undertake a traditionally male role, disproving association between females and weakness. Her letter changes meaning from ‘adulterer’ that the community’s male authority brand her as to ‘able’, an interpretation gained from her own good deeds for the townspeople and a just judgement of her character. Hester proves herself as more than merely a display of sin and eventually gains the respect of her community with her ability to play the role of her male equal and still labor for the