A Feminist Approach To Hawthorne's Feminist Consciousness In The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered to be one of the most influential American romantic novelists in the 19th century. The publication of his masterpiece The Scarlet letter has taken a great step in the progress of American culture and has won the permanent high reputation for Nathaniel Hawthorne as well. The novel which was set in the seventeenth century under the puritan governance of Boston, has introduced a rather sensitive topic of adultery, and paid high attention to the exposure of adultery and the fierce punishment subsequent to the crime committed by Hester, then further explored the inward world and fate of the female character represented by Hester. With a vessel of emotions poured upon Hester Prynne, Hawthorne lavished a great many descriptions for Hester's resolute and fearless rebel against the social customs and the pursuit of freedom and happiness. What is more, the spirit of Hester's resistance being finely crafted was like the deep springs of life spreading from the beginning to the end of the story, Hester's subjective position has been established. Hawthorne subverted the traditional objective position of woman in the patriarchal society so as to set the subjective status for Hester; meanwhile, with the exploration of text and characterization of Hester, it is safe to conclude that Hawthorne has been a pioneer writer in bearing feminist consciousness which is comparatively rare in other male writers. However, Hawthorne was the product of the patriarchal society, inevitably, he could not get rid of his puritan root, thus his feminist consciousness bore a kind of contradiction. This thesis will use some feminist critical theories to analyze Hawthorne's feminist consciousness in The Scarlet Letter, interpret the root cause of Hawthorne's ambivalent attitude towards women and demonstrate the positive influence of the novel to the society.The thesis is divided into four parts. Chapter One demonstrates how Hawthorne's feminist consciousness is formed. The origin of Hawthorne's feminist consciousness will be known through the analysis of Hawthorne's family, religious and political background. Chapter Two provides the theoretical basis for the study of the feminist consciousness. Chapter Three interprets Hawthorne's feminist consciousness through the protagonist Hester. The detailed analysis of Hester's marginalized status in patriarchal society and the subversion of the binary oppositions is explored so as to know how Hawthorne challenges the gender role stereotypes in patriarchal culture, together with the detailed analysis of Hester's femininity, her pursuit of the freedom, individuality and self-protection, it is apparent to know how Hawthorne melts his feminist consciousness into the portrayal of his heroine. Chapter Four exposes Hawthorne's contradictory feminist consciousness. This chapter goes through the committed crime and the severe punishment exerted on Hester by Hawthorne, and further comes to the conclusion of Hawthorne's compromise and reversion.All in all, this thesis interprets Hester's femininity and Hawthorne's feminist consciousness implied in the novel through the analysis of Hester's tenacious sense of survival and courageous rebel against the Puritan society. Finally, the positive influence of the novel has been unveiled which has foreshadowed the booming development of feminist movement and women's liberation, what is more, the feminist consciousness of Hawthorne has stimulated and accelerated the development of feminist writing.