The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The middle third of the set aside is concerned with the burden of guilt and where it should reside, and the final third deals with Dimmesdale's climb (97-98).

The fact that Hester stands as the key figure in this hold in does not merely indicate that because of this she is being held forth as the cerebrationl woman, and for that matter present-day considerations of Hester as a feminist should not take the analogy too far. For one thing, she is clearly set in the mold of the wife in indian lodge during her era, in spite of the fact that her rights as a homo being, a gay being deserted by her husband, atomic number 18 also being examined. Her character is designed by Hawthorne to testify what he would see as the eternal philosophy of adult female: "consistent with her maternal instincts, a woman's destiny is linked unwaveringly with her desire to attain happiness for herself, her children, and her mate" (Stein 121).

Hawthorne says that Hester contrasts with the image of the comprehend Maternity, which is the sacred image of sinless motherhood. In her case, there was the smear of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life. She makes a sort of penance by refusing the beautiful things of the humanity to make coarse garments for the poor. She also loses her faith in some(prenominal) good in humanity, and this is considered to be one of the saddest results of sin (Elder 125).

The Puritans of this report are part of a society which was wracked with tensions as it form itself between permanence and flux. These Pur

Lundblad, Jane. Nathaniel Hawthorne and the usance of Gothic Romance. Cambridge: Harvard U P, 1946.

Gerber, John C.

"Form and Content in The Scarlet Letter." sensitive England Quarterly (March 1944): 25-55.

Consider now the idea that Hester could be a feminist heroine in this work. This holds true thematically, for she does spiel the hypocrisy of an out-moded community value system. It is tempting to see her as an unwed mother defying the community by keeping her child, and in a sense this is true. However, Hester is never really defiant. She is contrite from the first. It is simply that her attitude about "flaunting" her punishment seems defiant. It is also that her position offers her great insight into the sins of others and more compassion and sympathetic behavior than the conservative women of the community can manage. Hester does not openly oppose the mandate for women, but she lives a life that belies it (Gale 240).

Cowley, Malcolm. "One Hundred long time Ago: Hawthorne Set a Great New Pattern." New York Tribune Books (August 6, 1950), 1, 13.

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