Nathaniel Hawthorne: An Early Pro-Feminist

Nathaniel Hawthorne: An Early Pro-Feminist The Puritan society as portrayed in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is based upon the idea of patriarchal views. Men are the heads of society and women are viewed as lower class citizens. Hawthorne’s personal opinions however, do not correlate with the views of the Puritans and he often makes his pro feminist ideas evident to the reader. Specifically, Hawthorne’s use of literary devices throughout his novel emphasizes his own opinions on feminism. In Hawthorne’s use of imagery, motifs, and irony his ideas about women are portrayed strongly to the reader and he gives the reader not only a sense his own opinions towards feminism, but also the opposing views of the Puritan society during the
mid-seventeenth century. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses imagery to describe various characters in a matter that strongly enhances his feminist perspective. Hawthorne’s ideas contradict those of the Puritans as he describes women, in particular, Hester and Pearl, as strong, outspoken characters. He describes Hester, when she is first introduced as “a figure of perfect elegance” and that she is strikingly beautiful (Hawthorne 46). He continues to say that, “never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like” than she had when she was exiting the town prison (46). Hawthorne expresses his opinion on Hester as a character in his description of her. By using such language as “perfect elegance”, Hawthorne makes it clear that he is fond of Hester as a character. In Puritan society, a woman who committed a crime such as Hester’s would be looked upon by all as scum, as lower than human, but Hawthorne says that she never looked better than after her crime had been revealed to the town. His comments such as these tell the reader that Hawthorne is not as supportive of the patriarchal society of the Puritans as one might think. His decision not only to make his protagonist a woman, but to make her amiable and to sympathize with her reiterates his feminist views very strongly. His depiction of Pearl also contributes to his pro feminist views. He first describes Pearl as worthy of being “the plaything of the angels” as she is beautifully elegant and appears as if she is from heaven (Hawthorne 74). Pearl, who often is a symbol of Hester’s ultimate sin, becomes a symbol of beauty and elegance when described by Hawthorne. He often describes Pearl as an “elf-child” as in the title of Chapter eight of his novel (90). In doing so, Hawthorne gives the reader his honest opinion of Pearl. By calling her an “elf-child”, he is not giving a compliment, but rather almost ridiculing her for being not only beautiful, but dangerous as well; elves being the perfect comparison. Pearl is beautiful, but she is also dangerous, as she is the living embodiment of Hester’s sin and she is defiant towards her mother so very often throughout the book. Hawthorne uses this comparison to portray the good and bad in Pearl, as opposed to the townspeople’s view of Pearl as a devil child. The townspeople look down upon Hester’s decisions, as she is a woman and committed a crime against a man, and in that, look down upon Pearl, the proof of her adultery. Hawthorne is ultimately providing more evidence towards his feminist views in his description of Pearl. Hawthorne’s use of the motifs of power and sin convey actively, his opinions towards women. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne continuously portrays his female characters as stronger than men. Patriarchal societies, such as the Puritans of New England, view women as meek, soft-spoken characters, and that they are not fit for power or authority over men. However, Hawthorne strongly confirms his feminist views in his portrayal of the female protagonists in his novel. Hester and Pearl are both described throughout as strong, outspoken, independent women. Ultimately, this quality leads to the townspeople ostracizing them from the community. The motifs of power and sin are related throughout The Scarlet Letter as well. Reverend Dimmesdale, towards the end of the novel, has been driven mad with the guilt of his sin. He is led to torture himself, physically, and the guilt of his sin remaining a secret to the town tortures him mentally. He eventually becomes overridden with guilt to where he seeks only to reveal his sins to the town. He is, in this sense, portrayed as weak in comparison to Hester. She, from the beginning of the novel, is openly ridiculed for her sin. The entire town is aware of what she has committed and she is not spared from their taunting. Even after having been subject to such verbal torture, she stays strong and is almost never consumed by her guilt. Her sin is the same as Dimmesdale’s yet he becomes maimed by the guilt of his secret, while she, on the contrary, stays strong and, ultimately, is portrayed as a powerful woman. The contrast of Hawthorne’s personal opinions to those of the Puritans is clearly represented in such cases. Irony is a critical literary element in the interactions between Dimmesdale and Hester throughout the The Scarlet Letter.
In the opening scaffold scene, Dimmesdale says to Hester, “Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy” saying to her that she is lucky that she is an open book to the townspeople (Hawthorne 58). This is in an action to persuade Hester to reveal the father of her child to the townspeople. The irony in this statement, however, is that Dimmesdale is the the father and he himself, is hiding his sin from the town, yet he contradicts his statements as he speaks them, for he is doing the same as she is by hiding the truth from the townspeople. He eventually is consumed with guilt of his sins and strives to confess in any way possible, but his contradictory statements from early chapters remain with the reader throughout the rest of the novel. Chillingworth’s efforts to help Dimmesdale imply irony, in addition to Dimmesdale’s statements. He comes to Dimmesdale, pretending to be a doctor, in an effort to help the Reverend, but actually, his efforts result in making Dimmesdale worse. It is ironic that Chillingworth’s helpful ideas end up making matters worse in the end. Both men in this novel are described as very broken characters. They contradict themselves in their every move, yet they do not notice it. They both are so distressed by the situation they have been put in, that they become weak and unable to properly function. Men in the patriarchy are supposed to be the power source of the town, yet they become a detriment and weaken the readers’ perspective of men in general by their
actions. The women are portrayed by Hawthorne as the powerful group in the town, in contrast to proper patriarchal views. While the men of the town sulk and are driven mad by their guilt and many are quite passive towards Hester’s crime, the women search for more punishment. In the opening scaffold scene, it is the women who scream at the prison doors to have Hester punished more severely. They are indeed, harder on their own gender than the men of the town. One woman in the first scaffold scene has strong opinions on Hester’s crime. Talking about Hester, she says, “This woman has brought shame upon us [women] all, and ought to die,” making her point clear that she would not tolerate such crimes from anyone, especially a woman (Hawthorne 45). Another woman says, “they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead,” saying they should have branded Hester so the whole town would never forget that she was an adulterer, as an A on her clothes could be easily concealed or removed (45). Hawthorne’s irony in these instances come from the fact that the men, who in patriarchal societies, are supposed to be dominant, but are in fact being portrayed as quite submissive to the women of the town. The men seem almost unfazed by Hester’s crime and are not as adamant on punishing her as the women of the town. This is very different from typical Puritan views and is another one of Hawthorne’s ways that he reveals his pro feminist standpoint. In Hawthorne’s use of irony, motifs, and imagery, he strongly conveys his positive opinions towards women, as opposed to the patriarchal views of the Puritan society he writes about. He writes about a woman as the protagonist of his story and he is fond of her, despite her sins. He also introduces another female character that correctly portrays his views on women, as powerful and beautiful, but dangerous at the same time. His motifs of power and sin provide sufficient evidence to support the notion the Hawthorne was an early feminist. In addition, in his use of irony, Hawthorne reveals the flaws of men and the idea that women can be more powerful than men in many instances. Hawthorne justifies his feminist ideas in each of these ways and he leaves the reader with the idea that the women of this novel hold all of the control to themselves. Women, in his opinion, could do the same things as men, and maybe even, do them better. He properly contradicts the ideas of Puritan society with his ideas and it is evident by the end if the novel where he stands on feminism. He supports his female characters, and seems quite fond of them, despite their flaws, and the reader is captured by the way he portrays a sinful character as likable and sympathizes with her throughout the novel. His portrayal of his other female protagonist as beautiful but deadly also reflects his views on women as beautiful, but deadly creatures. Hawthorne ultimately ends on the thought that women may be a powerful force in the future. That they may turn into the men of previous times: controlling, sinful, and hungry for power.