Essay On Feminism In The Scarlet Letter

835 Words4 Pages
The book was written during the time when feminist rights and values were not established and considered in the society. Hawthorne’s story about a feminine representing feminism culture and importance in the society attempts to highlight the equality and justice that much exist in a societyUnlike those Puritan women in the community, Hester follows what she wishes even against the strict Puritan beliefs and norms. Therefore, the novel is considered as feminist because it brings the ideas about gender equality and love for oneself as a woman. Hawthorne depicts an exclusive view of women, love, sins and how Hester punishment turns into power. We get to see how bravely Hester takes her decisions.Though Hester is married to Chilingworth who was…show more content…
However, Hester had a completely different view, for her it was her true love for her lover. Hester’s nature makes her go against what is said and written by the society then. Hester continues to loveDimmesdale and wishes to live in the next generation. (Arsdale, Rodriguez, 2011). In the forest when Hester accepts who she is and decides to remove her scarlet letter and cap, she feels happy and wears a smile which comes from a true heart of womanhood. It shows the true spirit of feminism and how nature has accepted her as a true woman. Moreover, Hawthorne paints Hester as a free woman and also makes her and Dimmesdale equal by sharing one tombstone with letter A. Basically, Hawthorne has given us the example of gender equality and brings the idea that once you spread happiness and love for yourself, then you may be equal. (Arsdale, Rodriguez, 2011). Pearl in the novel symbolizes sin and shame for rest of the people and the society; however, she becomes a source of inspiration for Hester to move on with her life. Pearl can be regarded as the perfect example of a female’s capacity and ability to rear a child and nourish to become a free human (Hawthorne, 1850). The novel shows how different can a human become when grown up away from the harsh human society like the
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