being laughed at and judged, she knew that she had to be strong for herself and for her valuable little Pearl.
being laughed at and judged, she knew that she had to be strong for herself and for her valuable little Pearl.
Symbolism was a literary movement during the nineteenth century that influenced many poets. Symbolism is anything that stands for or represents something else. "The Scarlet Letter", by Nathaniel Hawthorne is filled with symbolism which he uses to unify the novel and add a deeper level of meaning to the story. In the novel, the three most important symbolisms were the forest, the scaffold, and the scarlet letter "A" on Hester's bosom. But the symbolism of the scarlet letter "A" outweighs every other symbolism.…
Feminism is the support for equal rights for both men and women, in the areas that include but are not limited to politics, economics, and social norms. In a more general sense, a feminist seeks a justified, balanced amount of opportunity for both sexes. The topic of feminism has been prevalent in more recent years, but not a few centuries ago. The romance novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, highlights a female protagonist named Hester Prynne who lived in the 17th century. She is portrayed as a strong feminist character throughout the novel by showing resilience, despite the lack of social equality during the Puritan times the novel takes place in. This novel displays acts of feminism as Hester Prynne lives her life with the stigma of adultery with the scarlet letter.…
(An analysis of the letter ‘a’ and all the symbolisms behind it from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.)…
Feminist believe that women in society are oppressed and exploited by men, they are not seen as equal purely based on their gender. Women are therefore are expected to be subordinate to men resulting in women being disadvantaged in life.…
Feminism is the philosophy advocating equal political, economic, and social rights for women. The idea of feminism was not at all prevalent during the 1850s when Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter was published. In spite of this, Hawthorne wrote one of the most influential feminist novels of his time: The Scarlet Letter. This novel was hailed as an important feminist novel because of the main character: Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne is the very embodiment of feminism because of her refusal to adhere to the societal norms, her independence socially and in thought, and how the view of what the society thinks of her changes through the novel.…
Feminism is the theory of how men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. In the past, men and women haven’t had the same rights, especially in the eighteen forties. The Puritan society thought Hester’s sin was a disgrace and shunned her for it. The Scarlet Letter shows feminism from a different perspective such as Hester stepping completely out of Puritan beliefs becoming an outcast, wearing her punishment proud, and being a single mother and loving it.…
A feminist can be defined as any person who supports the rights of women or empowers women through speech, actions, or ideas. This idea of empowerment means that a woman has the ability and strength to manage her life on her own, and does not require assistance from other people. The Scarlet Letter is in part a feminist novel in that it illustrates the strength that Hester Prynne holds to survive on her own throughout her ignominy. Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays Hester as a rather strong woman who can still raise her daughter and continue on with her life despite constant mockery and humiliation. Given that female empowerment was unusual during this period of history, Hester’s character became a significant symbol of the strength within women…
Isolation, pride and guilt are all themes Heathrow used in The Scarlet Letter. Hester and Dimmesdale are good examples of the theme of isolation. In the previous chapter, we see them leaving their home to have a better future together as a family. In this chapter, they were getting a boat ride to leave the area to start a new life as a family. This resulted in them still being quite isolated from the “real world”. You can also see the theme of pride in this chapter through Dimsdale. Dimsdale is going back to some of the memorable moments, both good and bad, before the scarlet letter issue and reflects. “..and [the girl was] won by the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale's own sermon” is a good quote to show his pride. In context, this quote seems like…
During the late 16th century, the Puritans migrated to the New World to purge themselves of crime and sin. They condemned those who did not adhere to their strict beliefs, acting with hostility towards the forbidden acts of drunkenness, blasphemy, and adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the church enacts harsh sentences of incarceration and public shaming in order to discipline the presumed sinners. Even though these punishments seek to inflict harm and cause suffering to their victims, Hawthorne uses their cruelty to elicit the truth.…
Men and women in America can be treated as equals and are able to get equal opportunities. Actions are being taken by women who see themselves as feminists. A feminist is a person who supports social, political, legal and economic rights for women equal to those of men.…
In modern times, there is a natural instinct to fabricate a lie to get out of even the most clement of punishments. For some people, it is just in their nature to tell tales shamelessly. However, there is so much stress that comes from keeping up with all the lies that there is a certain weight lifted when there is no need to anymore. It is freeing to no longer be a slave to falsities and to accept past mistakes. Even taking it a step further and atoning for them is better than living with the falsehood. There was a time in America where it was a holy duty to self-reproach for such acts. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale all commit sins against their Puritanical society’s…
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthrone, symbolism plays an important role. The symbols are apparent throughout the novel and reoccur in different places. The Scarlet Letter contains symbols including: the letter “A”, Pearl, and the scaffold.…
The Scarlet Letter is a very well-known novel, between the scandals and lies. It starts off with a woman named Hester Prynne. Hester decides to leave her husband behind to migrate to Boston. A couple years later, Hester gives birth to a baby girl named Pearl in prison. Hester refused to reveal the father of Pearl. The town then forces Hester to wear a scarlet letter "A" upon her dress. This stands for adultery. When the town briefly allows Hester out of prison, they force her to stand on a scaffold to show her sin. While this is all going on, Hester’s' husband shows up in the crowd and asks why Hester was on the scaffold. The person then replies she committed adultery.…
A popular phrase in the sport’s industry is “The best offense is a good defense.” This could also be applied to the Hawthorne’s intent in writing the novel though. A good tactic for one to get people to like what he/she says and to make them become a fan is to defend yourself and take the side of an issue of that group. Hawthorne making a woman protagonist in his book perfectly lines up with the woman’s rights movements of the time. Women’s rights began developing in the 19th century. Women’s suffrage leaders trying to organize this initially had a large array of goals, but they then started to focus solely on women’s franchise. They disagreed on the tactics of how they would implement said women’s franchise, but this ultimately provided political…
The scarlet “A” represents adultery. It was an unforgivable sin for the Puritan community, because it’s considers as breaking God’s Law. But she did not give up her life. Instead, she thought wearing the “A” the rest of her life will always remind her what she did, and it will help her to cleanse her soul from her sin. For example, “-- was that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom.” (Hawthorne 46) She made the letter very visible and fancy, she accepted her punishment. However, she will have to deal with her inner struggles, because her sin will never acceptable in the Puritan community. Therefore, she was seen as a fallen woman. She will have less opportunity to talk with other people.…