Within the narrative The Scarlet Letter, written by Hawthorne, there are indications of feminist factors throughout history. Although the tone of the book goes against the perception of Hester as a pioneering feminist, that is, factors such as the time or period in which the narrative is developed, and simultaneously the Puritan society that is at its best, the narrator is constantly on the side of Hester. Throughout the novel there are several events where Hester’s actions express feminist indications, even against the anti-feminist tone of the time, and therefore, of Puritan society.
To start, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a feminist forerunner who exposed his sympathy for women in The Scarlet Letter through the protagonist, Hester Prynne. He presents a masterpiece about a woman breaking with all the stereotypes of the time, thus becoming an implicit symbol of premature feminism. When Hawthorne writing The Scarlet Letter in the late 1800s, the feminist movement was beginning to gather momentum in the United States; this factor helped him open his horizons to the feminist ideas of the time.
Although The Scarlet Letter takes place during the pinnacle of Puritan society and women are generally portrayed as manly and ominous, the author is able to bring out Hester’s sensuality. He portrays her as the only rose in society and shows her as a determined, strong-willed woman. Hester’s feminism is reflected throughout the story by both her actions and the voice of the narrator.
Much of the content in the novel is based on the anti-feminist vision of society and the times, but Hester still acts as an advocate for women with her strength and attitude. She is alone without a man, but she is very nice alone. In addition, she refused to reveal the name of the baby’s father in order to challenge her community; yet she does not suffer because of it- even going so far as to challenge her community and stick to her beliefs in the face of adversity. The authorities can punish her, but they cannot force her to disclose secrets. Hester claims that she has the only form of power available—the power to keep secrets—and shows feminism in her own life. She proves that she can be an independent mother, and she makes her own decisions without consulting a man; she can experience empowerment on her own without the help of a partner.
Hester is an incredibly devoted mother to her little Pearl; she is her great treasure and therefore her greatest reward. Although her skillful sewing work aligns with a common female occupation of the time, regarded as proper and respectable work, Hester differs from other Puritan women in the fact that she earns her own living. This automatically breaks stereotypes of that time; in Puritan society, where the rules had to be followed to the letter, women were housewives and dedicated to the home, children and the welfare of their husbands. Not only is Hester devoted solely to her daughter, but she also earns her own living without anyone’s help. Her status as a single and working mother makes her fully responsible for the welfare of her daughter, but also free to raise Pearl as she wants, with the ideals that she prefers. Both points make Hester a model of female self-reliance. Similarly, her isolation from Puritan society allows her to question ideas that society took for granted. What differentiates Hester from the others are her actions, yes, but those were all thanks to the punishment imposed by the scarlet letter. As cited in the examples above, thanks to that independence – freedom – that has been granted to Hester Prynne, she has had opportunities unlike any other Puritan woman: ” The scarlet letter was her passport to regions other women dared not tread. “(Hawthorne 135). The author uses a personification of the scarlet letter and uses it as an instance that has allowed Hester Prynne to have more opportunities unlike other women of the time. Moreover, although the scarlet letter has given her more freedom, it has also brought her suffering. Hester’s success as an individual, though, is shown in the fact that she did not give up and negative factors that the scarlet letter brought to her. In the end, those same elements brought her lessons and therefore total success: “Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, —stern and wild ones, —and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss. ” (Hawthorne 135). The author personifies Shame, Despair, Solitude, as the teachers that Hester had who gave her great doctrines in order to become a stronger woman which disobeys the ideals of puritan society and it is herself who takes the initiative of her own decisions.
Hester comes to see that the governing ideas of how people should behave actually have no other purpose than to create a kind of social control and stereotypes within society. Specifically, Hester realizes that women are treated unfairly compared to men and often lead unhappy lives as a result: “The very nature of the opposite sex … must be essentially altered, before the woman can be allowed to assume it. That seems like a fair and appropriate position. “(Hawthorne 111). Unfortunately at that time women had no presence or participation in society – repressed by machismo – their only role was to stay at home, raise children and satisfy their husbands. Hester breaks with all these stereotypes and shows that the one who governs – the owner – of her life is herself and not someone else.
Likewise, Hester expresses feminist tendencies when talking to Dimmesdale in the woods. She tears off the scarlet letter and loosens her hair, showing that she is a symbol of beauty and sensuality. Rejection of the attempts of the puritanical society to control it, even in this case where it has been forced to wear the letter as its clothing and to cover its beauty; so Hester is rejecting all the ways in which women are subject to patriarchal control, as in the case of clothing: “Her sex, her youth and all the richness of her beauty returned”(Hawthorne 137); She showed herself as she pleased by breaking the dress code that was given to her by the Puritans; she showed her unconditional beauty through this rebellious behavior. Since she is a determined woman, nothing about her prevents her from taking her own path; such is the case with her return to New England.
The novel ends when Hester voluntarily returns to New England and continues to wear the scarlet letter. Here we might think that she is contradicting the whole message, since this hardly seems an act of feminist rebellion. However, by wearing the scarlet letter by choice, not obligation as she had to do for seven long years under Puritan rule: “She had returned, therefore, and resumed – of her own free will… resumed. She had returned, therefore, and resumed – of her own free will… resumed the symbol” (Hawthorne 174). Hester actually continues her feminist self-determination and decides to put her scarlet letter back on her own taste and desire, not by constriction of patriarchy. As she is the one who chooses to live the life that she did, Hester embodies powerful ideas about female agency and gender equality, thus breaking all kinds of stereotypes of women in the 18th century, becoming a pioneer feminist.
Something that should be noted is that what had been a masterpiece by the renowned author Hawthorne, the end of the narrative somewhat contradicts the entire feminist message that the author was working hard for hundreds of pages; at the end in the last paragraphs of the narrative it is revealed that Pearl, the little girl who had always broken any type of stereotype, raised by an independent mother and with feminist traits, ends up marrying a man with a lot of money. This completely corrupts the magnificent message that one does not need to have a partner to love you so you can be happy; this great misconception had been broken by the denouement that Hester has at the end of the story. She ends up being independent, without a partner, finding love in herself and in her beloved daughter Pearl; She did not have the need to have a partner by her side to be able to get ahead, she alone as a woman had the strength and guts to be successful in life. All this is painted by the author in such an incredible way, and yet in the last paragraphs of the narrative we see that Pearl ends up being a stereotype of the time; she marries an aristocrat so that she can be happy and subsist. At this point honestly the novel’s main message is corrupted. Although it does have to be taken into account that to have been a 19th century writing, the author’s avant-garde ideas regarding indications of feminism about women are of a high level, so ultimately his masterpiece was a great revolutionary narrative. Still taking into account all the elements in which Hester broke the stereotypes of women in the Puritan Society, – being able to support her daughter and earn her own money; to be able to make her own decisions without the intervention of a male figure; being able to find happiness without the need to have a partner – and for the simple fact that the scarlet letter, her own sin, has brought her the benefit of being a more independent woman, with different ideals and isolated from the Puritan society of that then, it makes the author reflect clearly indications of feminist thought very avant-garde for the time. In addition, the narrative is entitled The Scarlet Letter, evidently being the most important symbol during the story; The Scarlet Letter was what brought Hester all that freedom to be herself, break the stereotypes of the time, and be able to pioneer early feminism.
“The scarlet letter was her passport to regions other women dared not tread.”
This particular essay was one of the ones I most enjoyed writing since I was able to connect a novel of the 17th century with a contemporary topic; it allowed me to connect different passages of the novel The Scarlet Letter with Feminism. At first it was difficult for me to organize ALL my ideas, but since I’ve been using Ms.Waterman’s outline worksheet as a reference to perform my own outlines, I have been able to separate each main idea with its respective statement, example (quote or line), and explanation.