Gender Roles In The Scarlet Letter

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Pages: 8
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Mrs. Fellinger
Introduction
Feminism exists not solely for women, but for all to recognize regardless of gender identity. For example, in modern times just as in the past, society scorns girls who do not shy away from their sexuality. Society sees girls’ sexuality as taboo and young ladies are not socially permitted to live a sexually active life or flaunt their promiscuity. A young girl becomes pregnant while she still attends high school. Not only does society judge the girl for being sexually active, it judges only her, not the father of the child. This case happens all to often, where society punishes girls for thier seuxality, but praises young men for thiers. The gender roles which society implements only serve to strengthen the inequality …show more content…
Using a feminist lens, Nathaniel Hawthorne in the Scarlet Letter reveals how gender roles serve to put women in lesser positions than men, in turn creating a misogynist and unfair society, in which society does not treat women with the respect and …show more content…
The Puritan community of Boston completely outcasts Hester and she feels as though she has nowhere to turn. The dismissal of Hester from society shows the discrimination women who do not abide by social norms face. If a woman challenges gender roles and dismisses the misogyny in a her community, that community shuns her and treats her as a warning to other women to keep them in a submissive, obedient role. Hawthorne wants the readers to continuously challenge gender roles, whether or not their communities accept them. Hawthorne also shows that even though society shuns people, they cannot allow that to stop them from their lives: “He shows how although she is outcast by the town, she takes her public humiliation by the reins and takes control of her passion” (Ohman, n.pag.). Ohman suggests that Hawthorne creates Hester to show people that society’s opinion of one’s actions should not affect his or her life. In the case of Hester Prynne, she accepts her fate and makes her A beautiful and flaunts it in order to criticize her society. She does not distance herself from the community, even though she does not feel as though she belongs. She still injects
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