The Feminist Community In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter

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"Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors" (Cunningham). Throughout The Scarlet Letter, main characters Hester
Prynne and her daughter Pearl must endure the discrimination of the townspeople. The author of this story, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses these protagonists to show strength, intellect, craftmanship, and power that women can withhold during times of hardship. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The
Scarlet Letter is a feminist novel that entails multiple attributes of the feminist community through the characters.
Hawthorne details the strengths of women and their power to endure so much hardship through the female protagonists. The wearer of the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, …show more content…
Her witch-like tendencies avert the townspeople away, causing her to have a separation from them similar to the one Hester had to withstand. Hester maintains sanity and wholesomeness even though her world seemed against her; something different from the mistress’ approach.
Mistress Hibbins, like Hester, also wears stylish attire that visually maintains her in the highest view. Yet, this beautiful physique –of which she holds at the end of the story before meeting
Dimmesdale about his whereabouts in the woods— is unable to cover the unappealing personality she hides underneath. Mistress Hibbins, once gaining enough power over Hester, tries to use it against her in a blackmailing and threatening manner. The level of intellect this witch-tempered character has, causes her discern that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. In exposing Hester for her long-held secret, Mistress Hibbins almost makes Pearl and the whole town aware she knows the identity of her father, telling this vocally filter-less child precious information that she may spill so easily (Hawthorne 199). These acts are similar to modern day
Social Justice Warriors, people who may tend to take the acts like feminism too far, …show more content…
As Hester’s punishment was given to her on the scaffold, the women in the crowd wish for the letter to be branded unto her forehead so she can feel the true shame for this act of sin (Hawthorne 44-45). These women show aggression out of jealousy. They withhold a masculine visage that is hard to appeal someone, yet while they can sympathize for Hester they choose to be filled with wrath and envy— two sins in itself. On the other hand, the young virgins in town who idolize their minister make a shrine for Dimmesdale on their white bosoms (Hawthorne 125). This shows their purity as they tarnish their sinless bosoms for the man with his hand on his heart to cover his sins, without knowing why he does it. The ignorance of these women shows the inability for this town to ask “why,” proving how many of the townspeople are unable to discern that Dimmesdale holds his chest exactly where Hester’s scarlet letter is placed on her own. Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses characters with negative attributes with physically unappealing/devilish features.
Positive and negative attributes are expressed immensely in this novel detailing both sides
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