The Scarlet Letter as a Feminist Novel - Essay Example

“The Scarlet Letter” as a Feminist Novel The Scarlet Letter is a 1850 novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that tells an exciting story of a woman who dares to break the social rules and gives a birth to a child outside the marriage. The work illustrates brightly and vividly the positon of women in the American society during the 19th century. That was the time that allowed little freedom and opportunities for a woman to be independent, happy, and successful. However, the protagonist of a novel Hester Prynne dares to break social rules and follow the path she chooses herself, which is the ground to concider The Scarlet Letter a feminist novel. To begin with, it is essential to make an insight into what is commonly understood under the notion of feminism. Feminism movement started its expansion at the late 19th century and continued through the 20th with women demanding more legal rights in terms of property and suffrage and later, the main focus was made on women’s roles in a society. Today, everyone knows and understands the word “feminism”, however, it is difficult to find a single all-embracing definition of the term as it unites too many ideas and concepts. Wrong beliefs are also common with some thinking that it stands for anti-male movement and other believing that feminism is for making women dominant in a society. According to Offen (p 123), feminism can be defined as a “movement concerned with advancing position of women through achievement of legal, political, and economic rights equal to those granted to men.” On this basis I suggest to consider a “feminist” a person who by thought and action proclaims the right of women to lead an independent life free from bias and supports the overall gender equality in all its manifestations. The mentioned above definitions of feminism and a feminist provides a ground for arguing that The Scarlet Letter is a feminist novel since its protagonist Hester Prynne diverges from the Puritan’s norms of life and ideas concerning the place of a woman in a society and rejects the rules set for women. According to the puritan norms and rules of appropriate behavior, Hester was supposed to wait for her husband and maintain chastity whatever long he could be away. In contrast, the woman is admitted to have adultery. Hester dared to follow her love and passion and started relationships with a man, although she was already married. Therefore, from the puritan point of view, she is sinful and deserves to be punished, but through the lens of feminism – Hester decided not to be under the men’s control and under social oppression. In contrast, she chooses to decide herself how to live and what to feel. “The tendency of her fate had been to set her free.” (Hawthorne, p 114) It follows that through adultery she rebelled against social norms and got freedom from them. Moreover, Hester can also be considered a feminist due to her attitude towards the punishment and the inner strengths with which she accepts it. Apart from rebelling against the social norms through adultery, the behavior of Hester after the truth is revealed can also be called feminist. To start with, she refuses to improve her current position and name the father of her daughter. “Never”, “I will not speak!” – obviously, she is full of determination not to comply with the demands of a society, but to stand up for her personal interests and individual rights. (Hawthorne, p 17) She is ready to stand alone and isolated, but she has an inner power to cope with the situation. An important factor that helped Hester to put up with the problem and continue living a life, which she herself chose, is her ability to rely on self. In a patriarchal society, a role of a woman is to be protected and lead by a man. She is not supposed to take decisions, to provide for her living, be independent economically or morally. In contrast, Hester is capable of taking care of herself and Pearl by working a lot and successfully. For instance, it is stated that “she had ready and fairly equited employment for as many hours as she saw fit to occupy with her needle”. (Hawthorne , p 27) As a result, her needle-work was seen everywhere: “on the ruff of the Governor;” scarfs of military men; “baby’s little cap;” and “coffins of the dead” (Hawthorne, p 27) Therefore, Hester managed to gain economic independence as she is not resorting for help to neither her husband nor Pearl’s father. Instead, she relies upon herself, personal capacities and powers. The following is, without a doubt, a feminist position. As a whole, the novel can be regarded feminist as far as it touches upon the issue of self-identification through the divergence from social norms. The Scarlet Letter reveals the theme of becoming free through recognizing and reestablishing personal identity. This can be viewed as feminist taking that the protagonist is a woman in a puritan society which would not allow self-expression and rising above the social norms. Hester is imposed to wear a sign of her sin and she accepts it as trying to hide it could mean that she denies her actions or wants to hide her sin. In contrast, Hester wears the letter as she accepts herself and is ready to declare her rights to live as she wants to. The moment when she finds happiness she restores her identity and removes the scarlet letter. The scene is very symbolic as it stands for the total removal of the puritan order and that prevented the protagonist from becoming who she in fact is. Subsequently, “with a sudden smile of heaven” Hester took off the cap and showed her natural beauty becoming who she truly is without any obstructions of society. (Hawthorne, p 116) To sum up, The Scarlet Letter is, without a doubt, a feminist novel as it pictures a woman who is full of inner strengths and determination to rebel against the norms of puritan world that strictly defined the limits of female freedom. Hester fits into the definition of a feminist as her actions were turned at finding her own path in life that goes beyond what was permissible. She manages to cope with negative attitude of people and find an occupation that is both successful and economically beneficial. Ultimately, Hester reestablishes her identity and finds happiness, regardless of all obstacles from aside. Works cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Print. Offen, Karen. "Definig Feminism: A Comparative Historical Approach." Chicago Journals. 14.1 19-157. Print. . Read More