Feminism In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Feminism and The Scarlet Letter  Feminism has been taking the world by storm. From feminist critiques on video game characters to petitions for more female leads in film, this movement has come a long way. That is why it is so incredible that the character Hester Prynne from the novel The Scarlet Letter appears to be a strong female protagonist, a novel written long before the feminism movement began. Some critics lavish praise on Hawthorne’s depiction of a powerful female character, but others view Hester as simply a representation of what men want in a woman. Although some of Hester’s actions are questionable in terms of feminism, she makes up for it in her battle against the Puritan societal constraints she is bound by.  Throughout

Despite being cast out, Hester quickly gets to work making garments for the townspeople, despite their unsympathetic treatment toward her. She does not depend on a man to be the breadwinner in the family, bringing in a “subsistence of the plainest and most ascetic description, for herself, and a simple abundance for her child,” Thus, the scarlet letter on her chest took on a whole new meaning, as “any people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength” (213). Hester, aside from her child, is basically alone throughout her life, but still manages to draw strength from inside and treat others with kindness and passion, proving her a strong woman.  Hester’s acts of kindness are not the only thing that sets her apart from the rest of the Puritans. She represents going against the status quo as a whole, thinking independently from the church ideology the townspeople follow like