Feminism and Identity

The Scarlet Letter 

Feminism and Identity

Feminism is defined as the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of equality of both sexes. The Scarlet Letter is an untraditional novel for its time period due to its unconventional themes; one of which touches on feminism. While some quotes of this romantic novel might suggest the newfound feminism in a puritan society, the overall meaning of the novel does not. Hester Prynne might be an early advocate for women’s rights; however, Hawthorne’s romance still clearly undermines the individuality of women and their equality to men due to his fault to equally appreciate all women in the novel, a dramatic ending that misrepresents a strong female lead, and her own daughter who seems to overshine Hester Prynne’s potential of being a feminist. 

In order for this puritan romance to have a feminist inclination it would have to glorify and equalize all women present in the novel, which it does not. The way the novel could represent this would be to give women more important roles in the society, describe them as of equal beauty and give all women intelligence. In contrast to this statement only Hester and Pearl are deemed beautiful by the narrator. According to Hawthorne while all other women besides the two protagonists are described as manly and unstastful in a man’s eyes: “The women, who were nowstanding about the prison door, stood within less than half a century of the period when the man-like Elizabeth had been not altogether suitable representative of the sex. […] The bright morning sun, therefore, shone on broad shoulders and well developed busts, and on round ruddy cheeks … ” (Hawthorne 45). This passage suggests how unrefined and unattractively fat the puritan country women were in comparison to the dark, long haired and thin Hester Prynne. Hester also possesses a very stereotypical women’s job that compromises her power as an advocate for rights; she is in fact a seamstress. Even furthering this imperfect representation of what an ideal feminist should represent, Hester is not very wise and gullible. When she is invited by Mistress Hibbins, a witch, to the forest to sign her name to the Devil, she would not have thought twice unless it were for Pearl. The novel adheres to none of these attributes that would make a strong powerful woman to advocate for feminism.  

The development of the story has a few instances that could suggest to the reader that this is in fact a feminist novel, but the ending unveils this farce. Hester makes this entire novel as an individual keeping her worries to herself as an outcast from society, but as seven years pass she reconnects with Dimmesdale and lets his influence, the one of a man, impact her. In the book she does torture herself and decides to live with her ignominy by staying in the birthplace of her shame: Boston. However she sabotages all the lessons she learns from her shame by urging to be with her lover: “‘Shall we not meet again?’ whispered she, bending her face down close to his. ‘Shall we not spend our immortal life together?’” (Hawthorne 234). While she does not spend the rest of her life with him and ends up working past her sin, there is still a very notable and infuriating moment to this scene: she lets him steal her spotlight. Dimmesdale dramatizes his reveal of the Scarlet Letter so much Hester might as well not be wearing one. The writer of “The Allegory Man Cometh” supports this statement and claims that “… he hijacks the moment and makes it all about him.” (Foster 35)This severely undermines the meaning of individuality and Hester’s identity in the novel which would make her a strong female lead. 

To further impair Hester Prynne’s character, a lot of Pearl’s actions argue that she is a better representation of feminism than Hester. Hester is very preoccupied by the influences of the puritan society. In comparison, Pearl grows up far away from these standards and therefore builds her own identity and her own judgement making her a better advocate. Additionally, Pearl grows up wild representing new beginnings that often characterize Pearl as a symbol of America, but the way she is described could also tie her to a new beginning for women’s rights in a very traditional society. As the author of “The Allegory Man Cometh ” states: “She refuses to assent to being governed from without, insisting on living by her own standards, her own governance.” (Foster 40) This repetition of the word “own” really emphasizes her individuality and identity which Hester lacks at times. An example of this is when Hester lets herself be judged by onlookers of the village and lets kids throw mud at her. In fact, when she is attacked by puritan children, it is Pearl who stands up for her and saves her from the puritan children. 

“After all, the author of this novel is a man. How could he understand the perfect struggles of a woman, especially in a Puritan society? “

After all, the author of this novel is a man. How could he understand the perfect struggles of a woman, especially in a Puritan society?  From being unwise and gullible, stereotyped and only appreciated for her beauty, and having a very sexist job, the narrator wastes this opportunity to make her a strong female lead. The development of the story looks quite favorable for Hester Prynne, however the dramatic ending negatively impacts her representation of an adequate character for women as she chooses love over an identity. Finally, her daughter who is meant to symbolize a new beginning for America might as well symbolize a new movement for feminism as she is the embodiment of individuality and a new identity. Hawthorne emulates Hesters personage as an unsure feminist; at times she represents an advocate for women’s rights but if the book is to be analyzed as a whole, Hester and the entire romance really undermine what it means to be a feminist.