Spheres in Scarlet Letter Essay - 1627 Words

It was once said that â€Å"the only living societies are those which are animated by inequality and injustice.† A man named Paul Claudel wrote this in his work, Conversations dans le Loir-et-Cher, and he criticizes the ability to have a functional society. Societies are meant to organize the values of people into a system with uniform laws and expectations; however, societies can never fully achieve this. Claudel only sees societies with dysfunctional characteristics like inequality and injustice. There are always exceptions to the social order because all people are individuals with different life experiences that help define who they are. Nathaniel Hawthorne also criticizes the Utopian ideals that societies often hold in his novel, The†¦show more content†¦This furthers the idea that Hester is completely ostracized from society because even those that are naà ¯ve of the letter’s meaning will not accept her. Hawthorne illustrates the isolation Hester experie nces, as a result of wearing the scarlet letter, with the symbol of the sphere. Along with the negative aspects of isolation, Hester realizes that being in her own sphere takes away many societal pressures to conform to a set of beliefs. When Hester starts to come back in contact with society, she still feels as if she does not belong. Hester feels that all contact she has with others demonstrates that she is â€Å"as much alone as if she inhabit[s] another sphere† (74). Even though she is physically in contact with others, Hester is still alone. She no longer has to conform to the beliefs of her Puritan town because she â€Å"communicate[s] with the common nature† in different ways than â€Å"the rest of human kind† (74). Because she is isolated, Hester â€Å"[stands] apart from [society’s] moral interests, yet close beside them,† meaning she can take a step back to look at the views of the majority, but she has the option to make her own choices (74). Even though she feels separated from society, Hester can still feel the influence of its beliefs. This idea is also illustrated with the location of Hester’sShow MoreRelatedThe Gender Of The Scarlet Letter888 Words   |  4 PagesGender Spheres in Puritan Society and Their Importance in the Scarlet Letter Throughout the history of the last few centuries, an ongoing conflict in society has been the roles of the public and private spheres. The first of these has been mainly represented by men, taking on the positions of power and dominance, working outside of the home. The latter however was primarily controlled by their female counterparts; their positions as wives and mothers being all that mattered. In the private sphere childrenRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1510 Words   |  7 PagesAlthough Hawthorne goes back two hundred years to create a romantic setting for his famous novel The Scarlet Letter, he also envisions a hopeful future for women in which â€Å"sacred love should make [them] happy† (166). However, our present setting tells us a different story. We are presented with the problem of â€Å"slut shaming†: a subtle, yet deadly transfiguration of a woman’s passion and â€Å"sacred love† into moral frailty and opprobrium. As a m ale, I do not have the same authority to speak on this topicRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1153 Words   |  5 Pages i. 1. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a romantic novel that takes place in sixteenth century Boston, Massachusetts. 2. 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She is punished for committing her sin by have the letter â€Å"A† in scarlet sewn onto her bosom, The â€Å"A† standing for adultery and is scarlet, representing sex, sin and, evil. Hesters husband has mysteriously never arrived to the colony, assumed to be at the bottom of the seaRead More The Lasting Effect of Sin and Guilt on Hester and Dimmesdale1451 Words   |  6 PagesWithout an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputa tion. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main charactersRead MoreWhat Is The Theme Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne980 Words   |  4 PagesThe Scarlet Letter Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is about a Puritan woman named Hester Prynne. She lives in a 17th   century colonial Puritan town and is forced to wear a scarlet letter â€Å"A† on her dress for the rest of her life due to her sin of adultery. She gives birth to a little girl who she names Pearl in prison. Hester is known as the adulterer because her husband has not been seen with her because he went to learn medicine from the Indians. Hester becoming pregnant whichRead MoreImperfection In The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1199 Words   |  5 Pages Imperfection in Scarlet We set our scene in a Puritan town in 1600s New England. Nathaniel Hawthorne weaves a tale of imperfection, guilt, and secret sin. In the strict town, resident Hester Prynne stands upon a scaffold with a baby and a Scarlet Letter upon her bosom, both tokens of her sin. The intricate letter â€Å"A† stands for her very sin of adultery which lead to the birth of the child in her arms. The townspeople cannot help but stare at symbol of imperfection, but they cannot stare at whatRead MoreSymbolism in The Scarlet Letter Essay1252 Words   |  6 Pagesimage, the reader can visualize the concept more concretely. The old expression, â€Å"a picture is worth a thousand words,† applies to symbolism as the author creates a visual representation of ideas. The use of symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter helps to illuminate the overall meaning of the work. At the beginning of the book, the reader is introduced to a dark and gloomy town that had first built a prison and a cemetery. Amidst the depressing landscape, is a beautiful rosebush. â€Å"But