Whenever I think of the strength of women, my first thought is Rosie the Riveter. (Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/We_Can_Do_It!.jpg)
I know what some folks are thinking just from the title, but truly, doesn't it make sense that Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter was made for the feminists of the day who had wanted equal rights for men? Just ponder about that for a moment, didn't Hawthorne show several events and characters that show that women can be strong and independent and men can be blinded by their own interests or would want to cling to their blanket? Hawthorne had definitely written a novel similar to my idea in the previous question. One may inquire on Hawthorne's gender, but we don't know too much about HaWTHORNE. hE MAY HAVE SUPPORTED WOMEN'S RIGHTS FOR ALL WE KNOW AND MADE A NOVEL ON THE STRENGTH OF A WOMAN JUST TO CONFIRM. fIRST OFF IN WHY i FIND THIS NOVEL TO BE ONE FOR FEMINISTS ARE THE MALES IN THE STORY. rEVEREND dIMMESDALE IS AN UTTER COWARD IN ALMOST THE ENTIRETY OF THE NOVEL. hAWTHORNE HAD PROBABLY MADE HIM SO THAT IT SHOWS THAT MEN MIGHT HAVE TO DEPEND ON OTHERS AT SOME POINT, ESPECIALLY A WOMAN. tHE ONLY PERSON THAT GAVE dIMMESDALE A REASON TO LIVE WAS hESTER pRYNNE HERSELF. oNE MAY SAY THAT pEARL ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO dIMMESDALE'S DEPENDENCE, BUT IT DOES NOT MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. dIMMESDALE IS STILL DEPENDING ON SOMEONE IN THE OPPOSITE GENDER. nEXT IS THE ANTAGONIST HIMSELF, rOGER cHILLINGWORTH. hIS FLAW IS THAT HE IS TOO ANGERED, WORKS USING HIS EMOTIONS, AND IS BLINDED BY HIS OWN AMBITION to take vengeance on Hester's lover. His flaw is worse than Dimmesdale, and shows that men can be dangerously aggressive, and that they sometimes act on their emotions and act recklessly. Some may say that Chillingworth's vengeance and anger was justified, but couldn't he at least thought rationally about it? He was the one in fault in the first place. sECONDLY, WHY i BELIEVE THIS NOVEL IS FOR FEMINISTS IS THE FACT THAT hESTER IS THE STRONGEST CHARACTER IN THE NOVEL. i KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING, AND IT'S THAT "tHERE ARE A LOT OF FEMALE PROTAGONISTS TOO THAT ARE STRONG." aLL OF YOU ARE CORRECT, BUT hESTER IS PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY STRONG CHARACTER THERE. cHILLINGWORTH IS JUST AGGRESSIVE, dIMMESDALE IS A COWARD, AND THE pURITAN DEUTERAGONISTS don't really have a background. Hester is just overall strong, since she is neither craven nor wroth. Hester has the protagonist strength, the one that helps people and shows selflessness. Hester being the only strong character shows that Hawthorne made this novel to view women as strong and not as dolls that will do anything for their husbands. All in all, Hawthorne, in my honest opinion, made this story for women and feminists. I did honestly enjoy reading the book, but only starting from before the climax. I do not mind if Hawthorne created that novel with that idea in mind, and as a matter of fact, I believe shaping a story to show the strength of a woman during that time is an exceptionally good idea. -Jacob Enriquez