scarlet letter
Throughout history, society has developed a stereotyped view of women’s roles and place in the community. Even in our modern civilization, society pressures women to live inferior and obedient lives, submissive to the conformations of the lifestyles, which surrounds the women. This submission often leads to the feeling of entrapment and the neglect of one’s beliefs and needs. As a result, women often lose their identities and become lost in the ambivalent obligations between self and society. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the protagonist, Hester Prynne manages to respect her own decisions and independence, despite the society and surroundings that defy them. Hester asserts that the fulfillment in love and life are worth fighting for, regardless the Puritans reactions towards her.
She rebelled against the repressions of woman’s societal conformations, and followed her own will. The sentiment gave the impression to the community that women cannot be self-sufficient, and in order to maintain a high morality and security a man is necessary. Hester defies her marriage and society by consummating a sexual relationship outside her accepted marriage. Though her surroundings mark her as a pariah, Hester still manages to respect her won ideas and decisions, not relying on a man to survive. She remains within the town, reclusively independent, pursuing her personal desire to spend time with Dimmesdale. Her adultery transgressed the societal laws of devotion to husband and God, therefore shunning her from the town and respectability. She defies the Puritan societal rules of marriage, so that she will be able to pursue her individual wants and dreams. Her strength is apparent in the path she chose, standing up for herself and what she believed in. Hester Pryyne respected enough of herself to follow her own inner directions instead of confining herself to the rigid roles defined for her. However strong willed and independent, she cannot escape resisting love, her partner in adultery Dimmesdale. Hester’s also refuses to compromise her personal desires and self-expression in order to fit society’s traditional stereotypes about women. Hester remains strong within the town, unwilling to be driven off by her individuality and personal freedom. Though she was not respected nor admired at first, she was not afraid to define her individuality by challenging the accepted realms. She is unwilling to succumb to society’s opinions about her, and instead strongly yearns to be self-sufficient. She confidently follows her own feelings and emotions, aware of the consequences and numbing herself from the degradation of the Puritan people.
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Acceptance Essays
