The Treatment Of Women In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

During the time of the events that the book states that the story is set is the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth to a daughter through an affair and is punished for it. Throughout time people have asked how and why were females were treated different through these last couple of decades, and how Hester Prynee was treated by the people and also how they treated Pearl. The daughter of Hester.

Do you think that women of this current time line have always received the same level of respect as they have been given now a days? Today, women are treated with respect as well as compared to their counterparts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and how they have been treated even better than those in the very early years of America( James , par 3)

Women in the past where not allowed to have freedoms and rights, their personality and their life was stripped and they were always being forced to meet the constraining point of view that the traditional American would see. Women of the new America are granted a level of recognition and a level of respect unexplored by American women from the past generations. Women were judged very unfairly in the past. Throughout American history (Hawthorne , pg 34)

Hawthorne is usually not really straightforward in his way to see Hester as a strong woman worthy of admiration. He always has a way to confuse, in combination with the with the way gender roles are said in The Scarlet Letter, it makes some readers into deciding that Hester is weak and her behavior unacceptable. But in fact, even those actions that might strike us as tricky self-defeating become, from closer reading, evidence of Hester’s strength. “Finally, all other difficulties being obviated, women cannot take advantage of these preliminary reforms, until she herself shall have undergone a still mightier change; in which, perhaps, the ethereal essence, wherein she has her truest life, will be found to have evaporated. A woman never overcomes these problems by exercise of thought. '(Hawthorne , pg 67) This quote describes how women had an extra hard time that men did not have. They had no place in society women also had to deal with the trials that they face at home such as raising kids or washing and making clothes for the whole family. Women have an extra burden while men do not.

During these times it was not easy for almost anyone especially for Hester Prynne, she was seen as a threat to the city people because she broke all the rules. If everyone does whatever they want, then a community would have it very difficult time surviving at any point in time and any place, that book says that was a very special community created for a very special purpose, and therefore the expectations are higher. The intention of the community leaders was to be 'the city on a hill'. The way that the book says that it entire world of how to create a society where the town church and their government are one and the same. They felt that God would reward them for their good doings, but only if everyone in society follows the laws and put them in practice. The leaders felt that safe and had a sense a comfort that would help to ensure their survival and success. Therefore, when anyone behaves in such a way that does not conform to the standard, it could bring lots of danger to the community. One of the rules is that a person cannot sleep with anyone aside their partner because, for them, lustfulness and or non holy. when Hester breaks this rule, she is not only sinning against God and her husband, she is also risking the safety of her community.

The townspeople view Hester Prynee as a hussy and naughty baggage who has brought great shame to the small town. One of the fine wifes in the town claims she heard that “the Reverend Master Dimmesdale. . . takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation. ”( Hawthorne , pg 75) Once we meet Dimmesdale, however, we understand that he very likely would not have made such a comment about Hester. Another woman believes that ''they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead''( Hawthorne , 68) as punishment for her bad doings. Yet another townswoman thinks that Hester ''has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. '' (Hawthorne , pg 45)Hawthorne puts them as a bad, sharsh , and cruel people who are hypocrites by treating Hester Prynne that way with terrible judgment.

Hester goes back to New England, because it is more like real life to her at the place of her own sadness, than in any other place on earth where she could have start a life. Even in the fact that the symbol on her bosom has reformed her into a “passionless woman”, emphasizing her self-denial and maternal qualities, its effect has not been entirely negative. Ever since that time has happened more and more people have given women more rights and more privileges while the decades past. Simple ones can be getting good jobs. Driving in some areas of the world, and the most important out of the one in the American culture is voting. For a while women have not been able to vote due to the fact that they were seen very much less from all the male people. For a while males thought that women were never able to do anything. Just cook food for the hungry soldiers and that hard working males that would be in the sun working. But as time has passed by, people have done the right things in treating people equally. To this day some jobs don't accept a female, but as time passes everyone will be perfectly equal. </p><p>During the time period while the story is happening the United States had a 17th-century law in Massachusetts announced that females would be treated to the same treatment as witches if they brought men into marriage,All of this comes back to the main point of the thesis at the beginning of the essay and says how women were viewed in the society of there era and how women are treated in our century. Women back in the day where seen very little. Hester Prynne was very threaded harshly because She was blamed for abuse because she should be strong enough to leave her abuser, and it was her fault that she didn't. Hester Prynne was blamed for her adultery because the father of the child was protected. That’s Hester Prynne, but she was not the only women during the time. Women had it hard back then but not as hard as Hester Prynne because of her choices. This is accurate because of how Nathaniel Hawthorne put everything into perspective for the reader and how it was lined with the true events even though Hester Prynne and Pearl never exited the basic events still happened. The time has gone by fast since the year that this whole events on Hester Prynne and Pearl and all the other characters. The way people have seen women has been and will always change will time passes by. Females will always be a good impact to the community such as everyone else. Females during these last decades have been great help such as help fight the war making clothes and food during the era of the knights and kings. They have always been replaced with great chivalry. From that time that Hester was alive, it wasn't very long until the people started to respect women and have a good point of view and them and to give them a chance at life.