The Feminist Movement In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

The 1800’s is often referred to as the century of revolution. All over the world countless number of rebellions took place in the 100-year spend. Countries like France, America, and China all went through the revolutionary era. In this powerful century, there was another great revolution starting, one that would greatly influence the literary writings of the time, the feminist movement. The moment started in the middle of the 1800’’s, around 1850-1860, and it influence on the author of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, seemly was great. This movement changed the way Hester was depicted in the book, and could even be seen as a step assisting the feminists moment. Hawthorne, just a year before writing the famous novel, experience feminism …show more content…
Women are free thinkers and did not need to constantly shadow men in thought. Hester did not shadow the puritan ideas. She had her own light that cast her ideology that overtook the puritans beliefs. Even she stood face to face with all-powerful Governor Bellingham, and he requested she gave up pearl she shrieked out “God gave her into my keeping, ...I will not give her up!” (TSL 8.24) To stand up to such an influential man painted how truly valiant Hester was. “Hester never battled with the public, but submitted; incompetently … she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her figure in the scarlet letter and passed on.“ (Hawthorne, 2001, p .46) Hester had her own morals which she gauged her life. She did not let other feed off of her; She ignored all of the people who tried attacking her. On the outside the letter shows she is evil, but on the letter merely represents to old puritan ways. Hawthorn references the puritan philosopher Ann Hutchinson when describing the rosebush found in the jail. The two women were both convicted of breaking the old puritan law. Although they both behaved differently than the other prisoners in the cell; they did not regret their crimes. Both Hutchinson and Hester stood their punishment because they did not …show more content…
That is what feminism is truly about. A woman should feel happy. In the 1800’s the happiness of a woman come nearly last on the list of priorities. That is why women had to rebel the way they did. Nathaniel Hawthorne was known for being unsupported of feminism at the time of the publication of this novel. He was not against the cause; he was against the way they fought it. By the standards of today 's world, Hawthorne would be seen as a huge feminist icon, but the times were very different. The main character Hester really did display all of the ideas that feminist supported in the 1800’s.She was independent, strong, loving, and intelligent, and she did it all without the assistance of a man. Even if Hawthorne did not seem himself as a revolutionary feminist author; The rest of the world was impacted in a way he must not have expected. (Wang. pg.