An Analysis of Hester from the Perspective of Feminism

Abstract： The Scarlet Letter is one of the masterpieces of Nathaniel Hawthorne， which is brimming with feminism thoughts， contrary to patriarchy. Hester Prynne， the main female in the novel， never gives up pursuing the true love and the free life. In addition， she think independently and dares to bear responsibility by using her actions. The paper mainly analyzes the character Hester from two aspects， including her independence on material， Hesters rebellions against the patriarchy society to achieve equality.

Key words： feminism； Hester； independence； equality； love

1. Introduction

The Scarlet Letter is one of famous romantic novels in America， the author Hawthorne paid attention to the status of women in specific social conditions， which laid the foundation for the feminist literature theory.

Different from critics and scholars， this paper tends to analyze Hester from the perspective of feminism. Although previous scholars have done similar researches， they fails to analyze Hester deeply and systematically to some degree.

Feminism， by general definition， is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. It is based on social， political and economical equality for women. Throughout the history， women were usually regarded as inferiors， since the feminist movements begin in the 1960s， women began to struggle to gain equality， respect， independence， and the same rights as men.

1. Independence on Material

In that patriarchy society， it was male-centered. Mens rights and status was put in the first place， while women were inferiors. Gradually， this kind of opinions were transformed into traditions. However， feminism think that womens independence should start from their material independence.

Hester was criticized by all the town people including the women and children， but she never turned to Chillingworth and Dimmesdales help. We can know Hester was totally isolated by the society， she didnt have either friends or relatives， but she used her own skills， the needlework， to support her and her daughter Pearl. “She possessed an art that sufficed， even in a land that afforded comparatively little scope for its exercise， to supply food for her thriving infant and herself. It was the art - then as now， almost the only one within a womans grasp-of needlework.” （Hawthorne 86-87）. Finally she successfully made a living by using her own skills.

Independence on material is one of the feminism views. Hester was not that woman who depended on men in that society， she used her hands to make a living. In addition， she helped the poor to sew their clothes for free， it can be seen that she was independent on material and she also realized her self-value.

2.Hesters Rebellions against The Patriarchy Society

The most important one is her fight for Pearls custody. In the patriarchy society， its believed that mothers only right is to give birth to babies while nursing babies is none of their business. On the contrary， feminism thinks women not only give birth to babies， but also they are responsible for bringing them up. Just like Kriestva Julia said： “in the education， mothers enthusiasm thought had been to carry forward. God entrust the little girl to Hester， that is， to entrust the maternal germ and flower to her.”（ Kriestva 245）.

Hester learned to maintain her own rights when the strong authorities regarded Pearl as the daughter of demon， they thought Hester couldnt educate her well. Hester treated Pearl as her most precious treasure， who brought her great happiness， it was impossible for her to let others bring Pearl up. At last， with the help of Dimmesdale， Hester succeeded in becoming the guardian of the daughter.

From the perspective of feminism， mother has the right to struggle for raising her baby， Hester used her actions to make this become a reality， from this we can see her braveness and intelligence.

CONCLUSION

Feminism helps us to better understand the main female in The Scarlet Letter Hester. Feminism thinks women should be independent， and also share the equal status as men， rather than they are inferior to men. Moreover， they have indefeasible rights， and should fight for their freedom， including true love.

Hester tries to pursue the true love and fights against patriarchy society， her own independence by actions， we can see Hester is embodiment of feminism， she is the heroine in the novel of Hawthorne.

WORKS CITED：

[1]Baym， Nina. The Scarlet letter： A Reading. Boston： Twayne Publisher， 1986， xxi.

[2]Hawthorne， Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Beijing： Foreign Languages Press， 2008. Print.

[3]Harris Kenneth. Hypocrisy and Self-deception in Hawthornes Fiction. New York： Chelsea House Publisher， 1985，269.

[4]Kriestva Julia， Tales of Love. New York： Columbia UP， 1987， 245.

[5]曹亞军. “霍桑及其《红字》之一： 批评略史.” 深圳大学学报. 1（1999）：20-23. Print.

[6]刘伯香. “海斯特·白兰的女性主义解读.”扬州教育学院学报.（2003）：21. Print.

作者简介：闫晓芳，1993年9月12日出生， 女，汉族，山西省霍州市人，现就读于西安外国语大学英文学院2016级英语语言文学专业，主要研究方向：美国文学。