Are We More Moral Now Than 400 Years Ago?

This is an interesting question to answer. Books like, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller give readers a detailed and honest look into what life was like in Puritan America. The Scarlet Letter touches on early feminism and what it was like to be a woman that did not conform to the harsh Puritan law of religion. As it was first published in 1850, it is a very early look at feminism and gender inequality. The Crucible is the story of the Salem Witch trials in the 1690’s. Mostly women were tried for witchcraft not men, and the first women that were assumed witches were poor uneducated women who had no means to protect themselves. This is not only sexism, but also accusing based on these women’s social and financial statuses. These books are easy to read with the mindset that it is all history and we don’t live in these brutal times. However, are these assumptions really true? Our society looks very different today than 400 years ago, however gender equality is still a huge problem in the United States and all over the world. The level of morality in society has not changed since the 1600’s, although our society has evolved significantly, the way women are still treated in this country and the obvious roots of Puritan ideals show that morality has not improved.
In The Scarlet Letter and in Puritan societies there is an expectation of women to be and act a certain way, if they do not comply, they are severely punished and exiled from society (Bremer, 2005). Hester is treated exactly that harshly after she commits adultery and births an illegitimate child. In the novel Hester becomes rigid and worn down from the everlasting punishment of her sin. The narrator says, “Some attribute had departed from her, the permanence of which had been essential to keep her a woman. Such is frequently the fate, and such the stern development, of the feminine character and person, when the woman has encountered, and lived through, an experience of peculiar severity. If she be all tenderness, she will die. If she survive, the tenderness will either be crushed out of her, or—and the outward semblance is the same—crushed so deeply into her heart that it can never show itself more.” (Hawthorne, 148) The narrator is saying that to stay a woman Hester must stay tender. However, “if she be all tenderness, she will die.” She must not be too strong, while being strong enough to make it through. In this time, women were not supposed to show power or strength, only delicateness. In Hester’s case she can not afford to be a ‘true woman’ and to be delicate and tender. Because of this, she is ignored and looked down upon by everyone in the town. Hester was exiled from her life because she made a mistake and did not conform to the expectation of a woman at that time.
The Lesser Sex is an article written by Rose Delaney in August 2016. It explores the gender inequality in Bangladesh, and how women are still treated there. Although the government has gone to great lengths to try and eliminate horrible treatment of women, it seems it not completely worked. She writes about a woman who was severely punished, by being hit with a cane 101 times because of alleged adultery. However, this ‘adultery’ was a man who broke into her house and she was trying to defend herself. She now carries the label of adultress for a man’s poor and reckless judgement (Delaney, 2016). This woman was labeled for something she did not even do and then was treated differently because of it. Although this was not in the United States it shows that in societies today gender equality is as, if not more, severe than in Puritan America.
In The Crucible the court first condemns poor or mentally unstable women before rich or ‘good Christian’ women. Not only is this not moral on the fact that social status has influence into whether these women will be condemned, but it also shows that only women were thought to be witches first. Elizabeth and John Proctor are have high social statuses, as they are well-off farmers and have a family. Elizabeth is speaking to John, claiming that Abigail is trying to take him from her. She says, “It is her dearest hope, John, I know it. There be a thousand names; why does she call mine? There be a certain danger in calling such a name– I am no Goody Good, that sleeps in ditches, nor Osbourn, drunk and half-witted. She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place John.” (Miller, 58) This quote shows how much more serious it is to accuse a ‘farmer’s wife’ than a woman who is ‘drunk and half-witted’. Elizabeth’s life is more valuable than Goody Good or Goody Osbourn because she is respected and she is a proper acting women. This is a completely immoral statement because it directly opposes the idea that all life is equal.
Still Puritan After All These Years is an article written by Matthew Hutson. It discusses surveys and tests that root America’s values to Puritanism and how they still affect American people’s views compared to other countries. In one experiment they surveyed Asian-American people on their support for a school rule that bans revealing clothing. When they were asked in terms of thinking of their American heritage, they were more likely to support the rule, then if they were asked to keep their Asian heritage in mind. They were also more likely to support the rule because it involves prudishness in the workplace, and how that has been associated with professionalism in our country going back to Puritan times. Other studies showed that American people were more quick to judge promiscuous women than British people were. These test results suggest that Puritan thought still remains when it comes to gender, work, and sex and how they work together. Americans morals are still deeply rooted in Puritan thoughts and ideals. Women are still held to a standard in schools and workplaces that suggests they must ‘cover up’ to not distract men. This is an example of a severely immoral and unjust thought that has shaped the structure of our society and has come from this Puritan way of thinking.
Our society has not become more moral now than in the 1600’s because a lot of Americans have thoughts of society that are still deeply rooted in Puritan ideals. Throughout history the people of the United States have fought to have equality amongst us. The Women’s Rights and Civil Rights Movements are examples of this country’s fight against the traditional Puritan thoughts and values. However, everyday minorities in this country face inequality. It might not seem as rash or harsh, but we do not have complete equality in our country. There are still people in our society today that base their morals off of Puritan thoughts, and this is where the hateful and injustice acts of misogyny, racism and discrimination in our country evolve from.