How did Hawthorne Feel About Women?

The Scarlet Letter was written in the 1800’s by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel is about a young wife who becomes pregnant while her husband was away which makes it pretty obvious he wasn’t who impregnated her. Being pregnant by a man other than her husband leads to her being forced to wear a red letter “A” on her chest as a public shaming. The very popular novel is read in many high school and college English classes.

As you can tell by reading The Scarlet Letter, the puritans didn’t see women as we do today. Puritan ministers taught and furthered male supremacy. Using examples as the two parts of the soul, the immortal male part and a mortal female part. “Names of women found in census reports of Massachusetts Bay include Patience, Silence, Fear, Prudence, Comfort, Hopestill, and Be Fruitful. This list reflects Puritan views on women quite clearly.” As stated on ushistory.org. Another example of the sexist Puritan ways is how they “knew” the difference in the sex of the baby a woman is carrying. If it’s a boy, the mother has rosy cheeks but if it’s a girl, the mother would be pale.

Nathaniel Hawthorne didn’t see women the same way that the Puritans did. He was born about one hundred and fifty years after the time he was writing about. In his different stories and romances, women vary from independent to not so independent. “In his short stories and romances, Hawthorne creates a wide range of female characters. Some are strong, independent-minded, and self-confident, like Hester Prynne or Zenobia [The Blithedale Romance]. Others embody the gender expectations for women in Hawthorne’s day, such as Phoebe Pyncheon [The House of Seven Gables].” As stated on hawthorneinsalem.org. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne plays a very strong women going through something that would be scandalous in our times. In her time, being pregnant with a man other than her husband’s baby was punishable by law.

Hawthorne’s view on strong women, such as Hester Prynne is unlike many of his time. Many of his female characters are portrayed as strong and independent. It was rumored that Prynne was loosely based on his wife, Sophia Peabody. Peabody was always supportive of Hawthorne’s work. "Although, during Hawthorne’s time period, men were considered dominant, Hawthorne characterizes women as strong and independent (though sometimes morally repugnant), while many of his male characters are morally weak.” As stated on shmoop.com. In the mid 1800’s, it was odd for a male writer to portray his characters in such ways and I’m sure this was greeted as oddly refreshing and controversial.

How did Hawthorne feel about women? It seems as if he viewed them like men. They can be strong and weak, they have different strengths and weaknesses. Hawthorne respected women which wasn’t normal for his time, but opened doors for story plots with heroines.