An Analysis of Feminism in The Scarlet Letter分析《红字》中(13)

分析《红字》中的女权主义

and devastation. However, it was exactly the time that women started to strive against the patriarchal sovereign, and the fresh era for the independence of woman was initiated at that time. Nathaniel Hawthorne lived in the period when the feminist movement flourished vigorously; he could not help being influenced by the feminist currents. Therefore, his novel embodied a kind of feminist consciousness and expressed his appraisal for the energetic new woman. Through the novel, Hawthorne paid most of his attentions to the portrayal of Hester, who committed adultery and was discarded out of the major society to be on the marginal position. However, in order to challenge the conception of men’s domination in a patriarchal system, he imbedded a kind of rebellious spirit in Hester and established her the subjective position in his ideal world, what is more, he subverted the assumption of patriarchal ideology of binary oppositions, at the same time, formed her to be a resistant against the Puritan society and a feminist precursor to struggle for woman’s equal right and independence. Hawthorne's feminist consciousness can be reflected by Hester's self-protection and self-reliance, which also constitute Hester’s femininity.

Ⅲ Hawthorne’s Feminism Embodied in The Scarlet Letter

A. The Themes of The Scarlet Letter

When Hawthorne makes up the story, he should have something to say. However, as a writer with complicated thoughts even with some contradictory ideas toward the society, culture, human nature, etc, he tries to hide his true intentions with his artistry. From a feminist perspective, The Scarlet Letter is a story of a rebellious woman, Hester Prynne, who creatively interprets a sign of oppression enforced upon her by a patriarchal society. Hawthorne depicts Hester as a feminist precursor who represents some aspects of his definition of women.

From the very beginning, Hawthorne seems to snatch readers' hearts by a series of questions that they are eager to find the answers as quickly as possible. For example, most readers will be attracted by the initial scene of Hester, with her baby in her arms, standing on the scaffold and waiting for trial of the Puritan magistrates. And

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