The Scarlett Letter

Women in “The Scarlet Letter”
The novel, “The Scarlett Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on a series of events that unfold during the life of the protagonist, Hester Prynne. Hawthorne addresses the struggles that women were facing during the 19th century and vocalizes his stands on immoral actions. In general, society has and will always be drenched with malevolence and darkness, but with all this evil comes virtue. In other words, for every Roger Chillingworth, within society, there is be a Hester Prynne to match.
The novel,“ The Scarlet Letter”, empowers women in a various but yet odd ways. Many may believe that the “A” embroidered into her clothing has more of “able “ connotations rather than “adulteress” connation. Hawthorne
naturally conveys that through the characters, and meticulous diction. Furthermore, many readers can see confidence radiating from Hester, “On the breast of her gown in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” ( Hawthorne, 57). Not only does this symbolize pride, but also strength. Hester does not allow the degrading glares or judgmental whisperings to hinder her focus. She remains to keep the identity of the father a secret, and understands that her A is a tangible representation of her life and experiences.
Nevertheless, the letter A is casted as something more than just a public shame but rather something rewarding and worth taking note of.
Hawthorne specifically did not dress the letter A in dull or tattered colors, rather it exuded with rich colors that forced the people to be in awe of its beauty. It was evident that she was not ashamed of her actions and crime when she embroidered the elaborate A herself . Her actions emanate authority and independence, which were qualities society did not accept as a women. Nevertheless, her “unlawful” and “inacceptable” doings exposes Hester to be the women she wants to be, and not what society sets her out to be. Society restricts women of dominance and independence, and instead places importance on inferiority. Women were forced to be these inferior beings that took care of the husband and the kids. Unlike those demeaning views, Hawthorne casts a spotlight to these issues with the aid of Hester and her child, Pearl. Many may see that her mark is a form of humiliation but to Hester it represents her unregretful life and
experiences.
The letter A plays a pivotal role in the lives of many characters throughout the novel .
Hawthorne eloquently integrates life morals and its lesson with the characters, specifically Chillingworth. Chillingworth’s malevolent and selfish intentions towards Dimmesdale proves to be unrewarding at the end when he dies a sad and meaningless death. He manipulates his way into people’s lives by deceiving and covering up his true identity by acting as a doctor. The way he inflicted physical and psychological torture and obsessed over Dimmesdale proved Chillingworth to be nothing but a monster. A monster that indirectly forces Dimmesdale to inflict self harm like whipping. Ultimately, his desire for Dimmesdale to confess to his sins became Chillingworth’s one and only driving force in his life. Chillingworth loses focus of the important things, and leaves the world with nothing but bad memories of him. Hawthorne stress the importance of a vindictive life will ultimately lead to a life of shame and
emptiness.
All in all, the novel, “The Scarlett Letter” proved to be a great book filled with characters that live interesting and dramatic lives. Although there were slow moments due to his old fashioned riding style and dragged out plots, overall the novel was memorable. Hester and her experiences becomes a catalyst for women to be who they want to be, and not what they ought to be. Furthermore, Chillingworth serves to be a reminder to people to live a life of honesty and forgiveness because if not life will be wasted with time that cannot be replaced.