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Feminism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

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Feminism in The Scarlet Letter

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me…You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you” (BrainyQuote). The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was published in 1850, it focuses on the character Hester Prynne and her life after she commits adultery.
The Scarlet Letter is a feminist novel because through Hester’s tribulations she becomes an independent and empowered female who doesn’t need anyone to take care of her and who helps her community. In the novel, Hester continually breaks the cultural norm for women. Typical “characteristics attributed to the female [are] vulnerability [and] dependency” …show more content…
The scarlet letter A on her chest is supposed to be “a mark of shame upon her bosom” but “the letter had not done its office” and instead has turned her into a symbol for good (Hawthorne 43 and 114). Hester uses her isolation to channel her talent with needlework and to make clothing for the poor. She “bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on wretches…who not unfrequently insulted the hand that fed them” and there were “none as ready as [Hester] to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty” (Hawthorne 57 and 110). After being witness to all the good that Hester does for the poor, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet letter A by its original signification. They said it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 111). The scarlet letter, a symbol of Hester’s sin also “gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts” and therefore allows her to help others (Hawthorne 59). “People brought all their sorrows and perplexities and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble. Women more especially[came]” (Hawthorne 180). Hester deals with the ignominy and sorrow brought on by her sin for a large portion of her life which gives her the ability to help people with their own

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