The Scarlet Letter and Aunt Jennifer's Tigers

The Scarlet Letter and Aunt Jennifer's Tigers

In the course of our life we need to make many decisions. The way

we live our life is a decision each person makes for him/herself. Usually,

one choice is better than the other, yet society doesn't always support the

better one. The poem, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" and The Scarlet Letter

present two ways in which women can react to a society dominated by men and

how their lives are shaped by their different decisions. A woman can just

ignore the restraints put on her and suffer, or she can challenge men's

authority and enjoy her life.

In a society where men choose the standards, Hester follows her own

set of rules. She is independent, unrestrained and makes her own decisions.

The reader's first view of Hester's uniqueness in The Scarlet Letter, is

the scarlet letter. Hester has transformed the society's sign of guilt

into her own work of art by decoration the "A" with elegant stitching and

golden thread. Her interpretation of the punishment clashes with that of

her neighbors, and she is not reluctant to stress their contrast of

opinions. She does not fear men, as most women did in her time. It was

mandatory in her society that women respected their husbands, and did what

the men ordered. Hester fears neither the leaders of the community nor her

husband. She demonstrates her confidence by standing up to a group of the

most respected men in town, when she hears they might take her daughter,

Pearl, away from her. She even has the courage to demand the minister for

his help. "I will not give her up!" She firmly states. "Speak thou for me...

Thou knowest what is in my heart, and what are a mother's rights...Look thou

to it! I will not lose the child! Look to it!" (Ch.8). She refuses to

let the power of the men intimidate her, and gets what she wants. While

most women of Hester's time did whatever their husband ordered them to do,

Hester refused to keep a secret that Chillingworth asked her to. She

wanted to disclose the evil that her husband was placing upon Dimmesdale.

"I must reveal the secret, he must discern thee in thy true character.