In 'The Crucible: Decoding Puritan Myths About Sex'

Decoding Puritan Myths About Sex: A More Balanced View When prompted with the word “Puritan”, one conjures up images of The Crucible, of sexual repression, and of a strict theocratic society. Puritans have been stereotyped as a group of religious extremist who deemed all forms of sexual gratification as sinful. Nowadays, the word Puritan is used as a disparaging insult, applied to those who are too righteous towards sexuality. In actuality, Puritans attitudes concerning sexuality were more broad-minded than this. Indeed, they advocated for sex in the marital bed as long as it did not interfere with religion, and were strongly intolerant of fornication, and adultery. As depicted in The Crucible when John Proctor is partly condemned for committing adultery, and as illustrated in the political cartoon entitled “She was naughty, darling” by Alain where a woman is being penalized for adultery

Hester Prynne, who has an affair with her local pastor and subsequently gives birth to their child, Pearl, is clearly emulated in the cartoon. As mentioned before, Hester is imprisoned for the crime of adultery, and is sentenced to wear an extrusive scarlet letter 'A ' for the rest of her life. Metaphorically, the cartoon is expressing that if one has a baby out of wedlock, cheats on her husband, or desires to raise a child out of wedlock, they will be branded a emblematic “A” self-righteously by society. The cartoonist is aiming the cartoon at a hostile, and prudish audience who pride themselves on their Victorian morality. Ergo, if a woman did have a bastard, or sexual relations with a man before marriage, they were seen as “ruined” or “disgraced”, and to have fallen short of moral expectations. Adultery was still considered a crime, and its consequences still remained relevant during this