Feminism in "The Scarlett Letter"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, "The Scarlet Letter", feminism is a major political statement shown through the main character, Hester Prynne, who fights to keep her child made through adultery, and to accept herself and her past.

From the Paper:

"In the chapter, "The Governor's Hall," according to the critic, Elbert, the question of custody of Hester's illegitimate daughter is put to the test. First comes, "the conflict between patriarchal oppression and Hester's type of maternal nurturing to a climax" (183). Dimmesdale, the real father of Hester's child Pearl and Chillingsworth, Hester's real husband, are at the governor's hall also to help with the decision of who Pearl should be raised by, the decision to "deprive her of her child" (Hawthorne 91). At the hall are men, not one woman in sight, who are to make this decision. But how is it that these men can make a decision that they could never understand because they cannot give birth to a child like Hester to Pearl? They physically cannot understand the bond a mother has to her daughter and the maternal instinct to protect her. "

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