The Scarlet Letter- Hansen

Nathaniel Hawthorne gave a much needed light to women’s rights in the Scarlet Letter, with Hester Prynne's story of one woman’s struggle to find her place, in a time when gender controlled the perceived ability of a woman.  It was unheard of for a woman to speak her mind in the slightest. Hester challenged this way of thinking and way of life within the story, making a vast impression on society. Women were to spend their days taking care of the home and family. To serve as simply an accessory to a man, without much value alone. Times have definitely changed since then, however The Scarlet Letter still has a large relation to the modern day feminist movement. At the beginning of the book, Hester goes along with what everyone tells her what to do. She embroidered a shame filled scarlet “A” onto her clothing, to be reminded of her sinful measures. Then, stood in front of the whole town to be recognized by all as an adulterer and publicly shamed. Women were taught to hide their personalities and to abide by what men taught them. Yet Hester still managed to make a lasting influence.

"Women derive pleasure, incomprehensible to the other sex, from the delicate toil of the needle" (Hawthorne, 76). Hawthorne implies that women cannot let their personal wants show. Because women are to fill their time with housekeeping and embroidery. Ultimately, leading to the idea that women are seen as delicate on the outside, but on the inside have a strong voice that they are struggling to release. “Some attribute had departed from her, the permanence of which had been essential to keep her a woman. Such is frequently the fate, and such the stern development, of the feminine character and person, when the woman has encountered, and lived through, an experience of peculiar severity. If she be all tenderness, she will die. If she survive, the tenderness will either be crushed out of her, or—and the outward semblance is the same—crushed so deeply into her heart that it can never show itself more. The latter is perhaps the truest theory. She who has once been woman, and ceased to be so, might at any moment become a woman again, if there were only the magic touch to effect the transformation.” (Hawthorne, 158). This is a prime example of the stereotypical view of a woman during this time period. A woman will either be too soft to go through something difficult or will lose all tenderness and therefore become less of a woman. As if being tender is the defining feature of a woman and without it you have nothing, because strong women do not exist. Men and women cannot be equal in comparison. As a result, women must have a lesser tenderness, in order to create a more powerful man.

There are clear gender roles throughout the novel. But as it progresses, we see even more evidence of feminist themes. Hester proves that she will not let what society has made her out to be, be who she actually is. The “A” was used originally to label her as an adulterer, however Hester, being the self empowered person she is, would not allow anything to define her, she redefined the letter as a symbol of a strong woman. That is solely what the modern feminist movement is about, becoming distinguished for your own accomplishments instead of what people expect from you based on your gender.

People tend to look up to others that have a stronger will to fight for something they believe in than themselves. Which is why Hester Prynne served as a feminist icon, before it was a movement. Although many women did not act on their beliefs, to please society, it would not be unlikely that Hester was not the only one that felt she was worth more than how everyone treated her. Her and women like her shaped what is widely known today as the fight for gender equality. Through all of her obstacles, Hester served as an early figure of the feminist movement due, to her ability to break her culture's ideal model of a woman and reveal the true capabilities of a woman.