Scarlet Letter Gender Roles Essay

In The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne used and changed traditional gender roles in his characters to support their personalities accordingly. Traditional gender roles typically include men being alpha; having personality traits such as dominance, strength, power, wealth and just being emotionless individuals. Women, however, are traditionally perceived as innocent, nurturing, dependent, weak, and dramatic individuals. In the Scarlet letter Hester starts out as a pregnant woman who is not following the correct traditional roles; She is shown ignominy from the entire group of townspeople and looked at as a sinner who is not welcome in their town. She was imprisoned over the fact that upon arrival to the town, she was pregnant. After having the baby, she was at first still portrayed as a woman of uncommon values. Holding Pearl in front of the town “Ah, but,” interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, “let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.” Hawthorn (Chapter 2 page 2). She held Pearl closely, however it was not to protect the child, but to hide her scarlet letter. When Pearl, her baby, was around for a while she became more motherly and loving towards her child. She began caring for Pearl, and taking responsibility of her; The damsel began to prove her common traditional characteristics through her nurturing ways of Pearl. The woman wanted approval so she had a plan. "Hester, at this time, to seek an interview with a personage of so much power and activity in the affairs of the settlement."(Hawthorne
She is a well balanced medium of both male and female aspects and I suppose that she would continue to provide for herself and Pearl as long as she needed to. She is first perceived as week and sinful; However, by the end of chapter 18 you see how independent Hester is. It's amazing how little help she had through her