Women in Society
During the 1800’s, women were typically regarded as an accessory for men. They bore no worthy importance as their stereotypical duties were to assist their husband with housework and to labor a child. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne sets to change the perspectives on women who were treated as insignificant. The novel empowered women in various yet peculiar ways for it revolved around the life of the protagonist, Hester Prynne. Hester is a woman shunned by society due to her sinful rendezvous with a man who was later revealed to be the town’s beloved minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result of the affair, a child named Pearl was conceived. A token of red shaped into the letter “A” became embroidered onto Hester’s chest, …show more content…
This contrast is seen between the two characters who have committed adultery, Hester and Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, a respected reverend, had failed to admit ownership of his sin, gradually reducing his stance as the virtuous minister to a pathetic man desperately pleading that Hester reveal his sin for him instead. Whilst Hester dealt with her retribution with grace and dignity, Dimmesdale clearly struggled to no avail with his guilt. Thus, the contrast created between the two characters exhibits the unwavering strength of female valor, in the face of Dimmesdale's "unmanly" actions. Even more so, Hester's admission of her sin "made her strong[er]"(74) and gained communal respect for her, whilst Dimmesdale was "broken down by long and exquisite suffering"(133), a mere shell of the man he had used to be. The respect that Hester garnered from this highly Puritan and patriarchal society attests to the innate strength of women regardless of preconception of their …show more content…
In a society-centered world, living as self-reliant can be a difficult task to accomplish since society puts immense pressure on its members to conform to its standards. Hester had come to accept the Puritan religion and her punishment for adultery. “Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped” (62). This clearly shows how Hester is unaffected by the ignominy; how she acts as if nothing happened. Hester quickly realized, though, that being self-reliant and giving no regard to ill treatment from society would ultimately pull her through life as a social outcast. While she may have felt agony as if "her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon,"(61) her visage revealed no such thought. Understanding her current situation, Hester displayed dignity and grace that encased a deep trust within herself. Many readers are able to see confidence radiating from Hester through the prominent letter A “on the breast of her gown in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread”(57). The letter is ornately decorative, significantly beyond the colony's laws that call for
During the 1800’s, women were typically regarded as an accessory for men. They bore no worthy importance as their stereotypical duties were to assist their husband with housework and to labor a child. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne sets to change the perspectives on women who were treated as insignificant. The novel empowered women in various yet peculiar ways for it revolved around the life of the protagonist, Hester Prynne. Hester is a woman shunned by society due to her sinful rendezvous with a man who was later revealed to be the town’s beloved minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result of the affair, a child named Pearl was conceived. A token of red shaped into the letter “A” became embroidered onto Hester’s chest, …show more content…
This contrast is seen between the two characters who have committed adultery, Hester and Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, a respected reverend, had failed to admit ownership of his sin, gradually reducing his stance as the virtuous minister to a pathetic man desperately pleading that Hester reveal his sin for him instead. Whilst Hester dealt with her retribution with grace and dignity, Dimmesdale clearly struggled to no avail with his guilt. Thus, the contrast created between the two characters exhibits the unwavering strength of female valor, in the face of Dimmesdale's "unmanly" actions. Even more so, Hester's admission of her sin "made her strong[er]"(74) and gained communal respect for her, whilst Dimmesdale was "broken down by long and exquisite suffering"(133), a mere shell of the man he had used to be. The respect that Hester garnered from this highly Puritan and patriarchal society attests to the innate strength of women regardless of preconception of their …show more content…
In a society-centered world, living as self-reliant can be a difficult task to accomplish since society puts immense pressure on its members to conform to its standards. Hester had come to accept the Puritan religion and her punishment for adultery. “Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped” (62). This clearly shows how Hester is unaffected by the ignominy; how she acts as if nothing happened. Hester quickly realized, though, that being self-reliant and giving no regard to ill treatment from society would ultimately pull her through life as a social outcast. While she may have felt agony as if "her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon,"(61) her visage revealed no such thought. Understanding her current situation, Hester displayed dignity and grace that encased a deep trust within herself. Many readers are able to see confidence radiating from Hester through the prominent letter A “on the breast of her gown in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread”(57). The letter is ornately decorative, significantly beyond the colony's laws that call for