Is the Scarlet Letter a Proto Feminist Novel - 1510 Words

Jennifer Drawdy Mrs.Marcano American Literature 3rd period February 21, 2012 Is The Scarlet Letter a Proto Feminist Novel? â€Å"Is The Scarlet Letter a Proto Feminist Novel?† The Scarlet Letter is a very well-known novel, between the scandals and lies. It starts off with a woman named Hester Prynne. Hester decides to leave her husband behind to migrate to Boston. A couple years later, Hester gives birth to a baby girl named Pearl in prison. Hester refused to reveal the father of Pearl. The town then forces Hester to wear a scarlet letter A upon her dress. This stands for adultery. When the town briefly allows Hester out of prison, they force her to stand on a scaffold to show her sin. While this is all going on, Hester’s husband†¦show more content†¦Across the country, some social conservatives are fighting for what they view as a critical article of faith: criminal adultery laws. In the U.S., in the year 2010, people can still be prosecuted for breaching their marital vows. The laws are some of the last remnants of our Puritanical past, where infidelity was treated as not only a marital but also as a criminal matter.(Turley 1-4) About two dozen states still have criminal adultery provisions. While prosecutions remain rare, they do occur. And beyond the criminal realm, these provisions can be cited in divorce proceedings, custody disputes, and employment cases and even to bar people from serving on juries. Though someone such as Tiger Woods might not be prosecuted, these laws could be cited in any divorce proceedings to show not just infidelity but also possible criminality in his lifestyle.(Turley 1-2) When the Puritans came to this land, they left a country where the English treated adultery as largely a civil and personal matter. The Puritans wanted to create a society where moral dictates were enforced by harsh corporal punishments. Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter accurately portrayed colonial America under such criminal laws enforcing religious values. There was extensive entanglement between church and state, with adulterers punished for their immorality. In 1644, Mary Latham and James Britton w ere hanged for their adultery in Massachusetts. (Turley 1-3) TheShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1641 Words   |  7 PagesThe Scarlet Letter is a story about a woman, Hester Prynne, who painfully lived her life in shame because of the adultery she committed in a1840s American colony. The way she and the other characters conducted themselves after the reveal of Hester’s baby all show a deeper meaning into what kind of person each character was, which can be interpreted in many ways. The story was written by a man named Nathaniel Hawthorne, only about a decade after his story took place, which meant that society in hisRead MoreSimilarities and Differences Between Anne Hutchinson and Hester Prynne1607 Words   |  7 PagesSimilarities and Differences between Anne Hutchinson and Hester Prynne While many people may feel that Anne Hutchinson has nothing in common with Hester Pyrnne they actually more alike than most people would think. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of â€Å"The Scarlet Letter,† used many references to Anne Hutchinson in his book. During his life, he wrote a sketch of Hutchinson thus portraying his interest towards her and the characteristics of her life. It could be accurate to say that Anne Hutchinson was used as