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McKenzie Frey Senior Capstone November 2013 Feminism and Emasculation in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Introduction: Growing up Nathaniel Hawthornes father died, leaving his mother, Elizabeth Clarke Manning, to provide for and raise her children alone. Hawthorne watched his mothers independence strengthen her while she managed the household, ran a schoolhouse, and kept food on the table. In later years, Hawthornes early perspective of female independence clashes with his frustration towards sentimental novelists who portray female characters as the weaker, inferior sex. Thus, channeling his frustration into his writing, Hawthorne produces his debut novella, The Scarlet Letter. Post-publication, an article titled Book Notices, written by several contemporary critics for the Portland Transcript in March 1850, suggests that Hawthornes novella is a romance of singular merit and originalitya life storyof thewoes of life, in all their stern reality (Idol and Jones 121). Hawthornes genius novella evolves into an analysis of gender in order to critique the sentimental novel and defy stereotypes regarding The Angel in the House theory established by late eighteenth-century novelists. Throughout his novella, Hawthorne presents male characters and female characters as they reverse traditional gender roles and break out of their expected gender spheres. Rather than exploit a male-dominated society, Hawthorne stretches his critique of sentimental virtues by demonstrating an emasculation of male figures and praising masculinized, independent female authority throughout The Scarlet Letter.

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The Sentimental Novel: In order to gain a clearer perspective of Hawthornes frustration and critique toward the sentimental novel throughout The Scarlet Letter, it is appropriate to ensure the audience has a proper understanding of the sentimental conventions. Due to a lack of sexual expression throughout the Antebellum Era from 1820-1875, American readers become drawn to the sentimental novel or seduction plots (Tennenhouse 6). The sentimental novel consists of heroines that become ill or go to prison for falling for seducers within the narrative. Male characters usually present a naturally aggressive, sensual, and Godless role and the heroines fall from virtue often drags her entire family into ruin with her (Romero 20). However, if the woman marries her seducer, she often has a miraculous recovery of health and will bring prosperity to the entire society. Leonard Tennenhouse notes in his critical article, Libertine America, that sentimental novels reveal mere repetition of the same plot and character types, repetitions with only slight but highly detailed and finely calibrated variations (Tennenhouse 6). Comparing the plots, characters, and conclusions of the sentimental novels to his mother and other influential women in his life, Hawthorne despises and repudiates the negative depictions of women as the weaker, vulnerable, and dependent sex. Between 1800 and 1860, America becomes flooded with novels and volumes of poetry written mainly by women and for women (Romero 12). Thus begins Americas transformation from a masculinized to a feminized culture (Tennenhouse 2). William Charvat insists that by 1851 women had become the chief consumers of fiction in America, thus early nineteenthcentury authors begin to argue the necessity for women to exercise a civilizing influence on [their] household members (Romero 13). In her 1831 treatise The Mothers Book, Lydia Maria Child advocates that women should instruct by example, or teach virtuous behavior by exertion

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of their own virtue and behavior (Romero 16). Tennenhouse notes that historian Linda Kerber argues the notion that women of post-Revolutionary America seek Republican Motherhood [in which] the Republican mother guarantee[s] the steady infusion of virtue into the Republic (Tennenhouse 3). In her critical article, A Society Controlled by Women: An Overview, Lora Romero argues that republican motherhood is in some sense the precursor of domesticity, while revolutionaries such as Judith Sargent Murray and Benjamin Rush attempt to [demonstrate] men and women [as] equally (but differently) capable of contributing to the moral well-being of the Republic (Romero 14). Hawthorne uses The Scarlet Letter in order to deconstruct the separate parameters of the male and female stereotypes and praises women for their ability to exert a dominant role within society. According to Romero, late eighteenth-century educators argue that the fate of the Republic relies on mothers throughout the United States who possess the power to impart virtuous values in boys who will grow up to lead the nation (Romero 14). Romero explains that women became secluded to the domestic realm by the aristocratic patriarchal system (Romero 14). Influences of patriarchal authority such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau explain the difference between male and female education as the development of strength versus the development of attractiveness (Romero 12). In his document entitled mile, written in 1762, Rousseau argues that a womans knowledge and powers of reasoning should be developed only enough so as to prevent her from being tedious in conversation with her husband (Romero 13). Hawthorne disagreed with this notion and believed that women had just as much right to display knowledge and exert power of authority as men. The Scarlet Letter embodies notions of attractiveness and strength and it reveals Hawthornes negative perspective towards patriarchal influences and the belief that women are

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inferior to men. Due to the strict patriarchal authority, men and women separate into two spheres, the public, or masculine sphere, and the private, feminine sphere. The public sphere requires masculine qualities such as emotional reserve, while the private sphere permits sentimental display such as touching, kissing, crying, etc. Domesticity is perceived as something inherently feminine that contaminates the masculine public sphere, hence, women remain secluded to the house and its domestic dutiescooking, cleaning, sewing, caring for the children, etc. (Gould vi). Masculine values include intellectual rigor, genius, and the value of experience, while feminine values include sound judgment, knowledge of how to run a household, and moral tendencies such as piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness or passivity (Gould ii). In his critical essay, Revisiting the Feminization of American Culture, Philip Gould argues that American women serve paradoxically as both the stewards and prisoners of sentimental culture (Gould ii). Hawthorne endorses Goulds argument in that The Scarlet Letter portrays Hester as a literal prisoner and martyr of sentimental culture and virtue. In 1937, novelist and magazine writer Sarah Hale advocates the notion that women were most well-off to remain in their proper sphere for the sake and strength of her moral sentiments (Romero 15). Even Hawthornes wife, Sophia Peabody articulates the belief that home [is] the great arena for women [to] wield a power which no king or conqueror can cope with (Romero 15). However, Romero suggests that Hawthorne, among other nineteenthcentury feminist writers, manifest[s]hostility toward the changes [he] perceive[s] throughout society, due to these and other endorsements of female oppression (Romero 15). Hawthorne criticized the feminine authors of sentimental novels, calling them the Damned Mob of Scribbling Women and Romero emphasizes the reality that classic male writers [base] their hostility [for the sentimental novel] in plots revolving around the flight of male characters into

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the wilderness or out to sea (and thus away from the rule of women) (Romero 13). Hawthorne believes that sentimental novelists wrongfully endorsed the secularization of gender spheres and he intends to use his critique of sentimental society to expose America to the reality that women rightfully belong in both spheres. Reversing Gender Roles: The Prison, the Scaffold, and the Community Beginning his critique on the values of sentimental culture, Hawthorne deconstructs the broader public and private gender spheres by emasculating physical structures of the masculine society. In the opening of Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, he highlights evidence of masculine qualities and juxtaposes them with elements of femininity. For instance, Hawthorne begins by depicting the town prison with masculine details, calling it ugly,beetle-browed and gloomy (Hawthorne 47). The prison is man-made, wooden and weather-stain[ed]an antique with rust on theiron-work (Hawthorne 47). The prison-door appears to hold an equally masculine aura as it is heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes (Hawthorne 47). Further emphasizing the prisons masculinity, Hawthorne draws attention to the foliage surrounding the edifice, which is overgrown with burdock, pigweed, apple-peru, and such unsightly vegetation (Hawthorne 48). The prison itself is referred to as the black flower of civilized society, yet, ironically, flowers represent femininity (Hawthorne 48). Recalling Goulds argument regarding women as prisoners, Hawthorne appears to show the weakness of the prison juxtaposed with the strength of nature as it fights against the masculine structures of human society. The prison becomes emasculated by nature in that the single wild rose-bush rooted almost at the threshold offers fragrance and fragile beauty (Hawthorne 48). The roses are delicate gems and Hawthorne invites his audience to imagine that they symbolize some sweet moral blossom (Hawthorne 48). Though the prison may be harsh and brutal, even doomful,

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Natures deep heart is able to pity and be kind (Hawthorne 48). Here, Hawthorne conveys the idea that nature, an ancient symbol of femininity, emasculates the man-made edifice of the prison house. Further, the rose-bush has endured many years of the stern old wilderness and has survived long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally over-shadowed it (Hawthorne 48). Compared to the weather-stained prison, the rose-bush is beautiful and thriving. Hawthorne juxtaposes the prison and the rose-bush in order to emphasize the power of the feminine. Rather than add to the darkness of the scene, the rose-bush relieve[s] the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow; this rose-bush symbolizes Hawthornes female characters, particularly Hester by conveying the idea that she is a strong, beautiful survivor of darkness (Hawthorne 48). In addition to emasculating the physical structures of public society, Hawthorne places women beyond the prison of the private sphere and leads them into the public realm of society. Hawthorne describes a throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeplecrowned hats gathered before the prison door. Intermixed among these men are women, some wearing hoods and others bareheaded (Hawthorne 47). Hawthorne stresses the notion that morallythere was a coarser fibre in those wives and maidens of old English birth and breeding, than in their fair descendants and cold was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for from such bystanders at the scaffold (Hawthorne 50). Here, women appear as agents of action rather than mere objects. By venturing beyond the domestic realm, women assert their masculinity and appear to demand a repossession of their role of authority within the public society. Utilizing the judgmental women, Hawthorne emasculates the male figures of society. The old women judge Hester harshly for her crime, calling her naughty baggage and saying

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she should be branded with a hot iron on her forehead (Hawthorne 51). Though Hester is the main focus of the womens conversations, Hawthorne intends to expose a critique of the male figures within this society. For instance, the first woman, a hard-featured dame of fifty, comments that if the hussy [Hester] stood up for judgment before us five[the women that stand together before the scaffold],would she come off with such a sentence as the worshipful magistrates have awarded? Marry, I trow not! (Hawthorne 51). Another woman comments that the magistrates are God-fearing gentlemen, but merciful overmuch (Hawthorne 51). The final woman, also the ugliest as well as the most pitiless, retorts that the magistrates can thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray (Hawthorne 51-52). Instead of perceiving the magistrates as merciful and forgiving, the women see their male leaders as weak and sentimental. Their judgments reveal a reversal of gender roles. The women are eager to make Hester suffer for her infidelity and shame, yet, the magistrates punish Hester lightly by forcing her to stand upon the scaffold for three hours and to wear a scarlet letter A on her breast for the rest of her life. The women at the scaffold do not embrace Hester as their equal. They are dissatisfied regarding Hesters final punishment, and they wish for the magistrates to be more extreme, even if it means Hester will dieshe has shamed the female society. The women at the scaffold enter the city to become more masculine and they imprison Hester within her own sphereshe is neither feminine nor masculine, but something in between. Either way, Hawthorne shows that they will not tolerate her. Hawthorne intends for his feminine characters to break the sentimental stereotype of the Angel in the House. By placing women at the foot of the scaffold, they have broken away from their domestic sphere. Hawthorne allows the women to speak and judge freely within the public sphere; having critiqued the magistrates on their weak form of punishment, the women have

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stepped beyond their submissive characters. The women appear to have overcome their feminine roles and seek to improve public society (the male-dominated sphere), while the men are emasculated amongst society. Revising the Female Prisoner: Hester and Masculinity In order to further defy sentimental virtues as displayed in seduction plots, Hawthorne utilizes Hesters character to revise the female prisoner and expose female masculinity. As Hester steps from the threshold of the prison door into the open air, Hawthorne exposes her ability to exert free will. Hester reveals qualities of strength as she repels the town-beadle by forcing his hand off her shoulder with natural dignity and force of character (Hawthorne 52). When she stands with baby Pearl, fully revealed before the crowd, she unabashedly looks around at her townspeople and neighbors while they gaze at the scarlet letter A on her breast (Hawthorne 53). Hawthorne describes Hester by drawing attention to her tall frame and dark hair. She is beautiful and lady-like, yet Hawthorne emphasizes that those who had before known herhad expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud (Hawthorne 53). However, Hesters beauty shines and makes a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she [is] enveloped (Hawthorne 53). Carefully peeling back the layers of Hawthornes description, it appears evident that he satirizes the sentimental representation of the Angel in the House by alluding to Hesters beauty and juxtaposing it with a halo of misfortune and ignominy. Hester is a fallen angel; a fallen woman. This is significant, because Hawthorne uses this scene to further critique the sentimental novel. Female characters of sentimental literature are pious, pure, domestic, and submissive. Hester has broken all of these virtues. She is impious and impure, bearing an illegitimate child; she is severed from the domestic sphere, sitting in prison; she is free-willed and bold, not submissive.

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Hawthorne further reveals the collapse of Hesters fidelity by juxtaposing her character to Divine Maternity. In order to criticize sinless motherhood, Hawthorne conveys the notion that here, there [is] the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life (Hawthorne 56). The scarlet letter has the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself (Hawthorne 54). In Hawthornes perspective, women still survive after breaking sentimental virtues. Therefore, Hawthorne utilizes Hesters character in order to reject the expectations of the sentimental novel and reveal the reality of Hesters consequences. Once Hester is released from the prison, Hawthorne places her in a cottage between the forest and civil society. Here, Hester recreates both the civil and wild natures of society by literally living on the in-between. In order to emphasize Hesters liminal character, he juxtaposes innocent images of Hester beside the reality of her scandal and impurity. She appears as a child of honorable parents and one who had once been innocent (Hawthorne 79). Hawthorne illustrates that Hester with the world before her, can return to her birthplace, or to any other European land to hide herself, but she chooses to stay in New England (Hawthorne 79). Hester retreats to her cottage on the edge of the forest, settled between the wild and the civilized society, where the wildness of her nature might assimilate itself with a people whose customs and life [are] alien from the law that [condemns] her (Hawthorne 79). According to Elizabeth Goodenough in her critical article, Demons of Wickedness, Angels of Delight, Hester retreats to her cottage because it resides somewhere between the real world and fairyland, where the Actual and the Imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other (Goodenough 231). Here, Hawthorne alludes to the idea that Hester belongs neither to

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the domestic sphere, nor the public sphereshe secludes herself to her own separate sphere between societies. In addition to proving Hesters capability to live beyond the social spheres of civil society, Hawthorne reveals her independence and ability to provide for herself. Instead of waiting for Chillingworth or Dimmesdale to support her, Hester works at her needlepoint to complete various sewing tasks for those members throughout the community in order to supply food for her thriving infant and herself (Hawthorne 81). Hester is an independent woman. She does not rely on a man, neither her husband nor her childs father, to provide her with means of survival. Instead, she determines to make and run her own life by utilizing her sewing skills and becoming her own bread-winner. Hester also goes out of her way to sew garments for the poor and care for the sick. Impressively, Hester rises up and exposes herself as an able individual, a worthy mother, and a martyr for the community. Hawthorne blatantly endorses Hesters ability to depend on herself and provide for her child and he intends to disclose Hester as a positive example for female American society. Emasculation: Dimmesdale and the Scaffold In addition to masculinizing Hester, Hawthorne introduces Arthur Dimmesdale and feminizes him. Dimmesdale is a learned scholar of the great English universities and he appears to expose eloquence and religious fervorof high eminence in his profession (Hawthorne 66). Hawthorne describes Dimmesdale with feminine qualities, such as his white, lofty, and impending brow, large, brown, melancholy eyes, and mouthexpressing both nervous sensibility and a vast power of self-restraint (Hawthorne 66). The flowery language of Dimmesdales description emasculates his character and presents readers with a feminine image. Further, Hawthorne mentions that Dimmesdale appears to find himself quite astray and at a loss

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in the pathway of human existence; he appears to only be at ease in some seclusion of his own (Hawthorne 66-67). This seclusion alludes to the feminine domestic sphere. To top Hawthornes emasculation of Dimmesdale, the minister is mentioned to trod in the shadowy bypaths[keeping] himself simple and childlike; coming forthwith a freshness, and fragrance, and dewy purity of thought (Hawthorne 67). Everything about Dimmesdale is feminized. He is like an angelpious, submissive, and pure (at least in public perspective) (Hawthorne 67). Therefore, Dimmesdales gender role is revised from the masculine to the feminine. After living with the guilt of his adultery for seven years, Dimmesdale finally encounters the scaffold for his own personal reflection and revelation. In the first scaffold scene, Hester approaches the scaffold during the daylight hours, when all the townspeople are available to witness her shame and acknowledge her sin. Ironically, Dimmesdale approaches the scaffold at night while the town [is] all asleep (Hawthorne 152). Even more intriguing, he [has] been driven hither by the impulse of that Remorse which dogged him everywhere, and whose own sister and closely linked companion was that Cowardice which invariably drew him back (Hawthorne 153). This is significant because Dimmesdales sentimental character exposes his feminine attributes. According to Claudia Johnson in her critical article, Discord in Concord, up until this scaffold scene, Dimmesdale[is] willing to sacrifice the good of [his lover and child] to [his] vocation (Johnson 117). Hawthorne shows that Dimmesdales refusal to publicly acknowledge his association with Hester and Pearl proves his weakness and further feminizes his character. Although Dimmesdale appears to have suffered under Cowardice for the last several years, Remorse finally wears him down and draws him toward public disclosure of his sin with Hester. Interestingly, Hawthorne emphasizes the notion that crime is for the iron-nerved, who

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have their choice either to endure it, or, if it press too hard, to exert their fierce and savage strength for a good purpose, and fling it off at once (Hawthorne 153). Here, Hawthorne refers back to Hester and masculinizes her. She encountered the scaffold and endured humiliation seven years prior to Dimmesdale and, although the entire town witnessed her, she faced the scaffold with fierce strength. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, appears feeble and Hawthorne describes him as the most sensitive of spirits (Hawthorne 153). Hawthorne leads Dimmesdale, weak and broken, to the scaffold, a masculine structure in public society, in order to completely destroy his masculine role. Additionally, Dimmesdale is withoutpower to restrain himself and he shriek[s] aloud upon the scaffold as if all self-control has left himPoor, miserable man! (Hawthorne 153). While standing in vain on the scaffold, Dimmesdale contemplates the reaction the townspeople will have once they discover him half frozen to death, overwhelmed with shame, and standing where Hester Prynne had stood, though many criminals have taken their turn on the scaffold throughout the years (Hawthorne 157). Suddenly, Dimmesdale burst[s] into a great peel of laughter, further signifying his lack of power and self-control. If Dimmesdale were a female character, his lack of self-restraint would be interpreted as a normal characteristic of the feminine. However, failing to exhibit self-restraint within a public setting and finding himself entrapped in his selfish emotions, Dimmesdale further proves his femininity. In addition to losing self-control, Dimmesdale appears to struggle to gain the attention of his fellow subjects while upon the scaffold. For instance, Dimmesdales shriek is successful in disturbing Governor Bellingham and Miss Hibbins, rousing them from bed and drawing them to their windows, but they cannot see him upon the edifice of public shame. Instead, Governor Bellingham and Miss Hibbins quickly return to their beds when having not discovered anything

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abnormal beyond the darkness. When Reverend Mr. Wilson passes Dimmesdale and the scaffold on his way home from praying at Governor Winthrops sick-bed, Dimmesdale is invisible. This appears significant in that Hawthorne attempts to draw reader attention to the taboos regarding the feminine within the masculine public realm in which women were often treated like children, seen and not heard unless spoken to. Dimmesdale is neither seen nor heard by his fellow citizens, which further emasculates his character and causes him to withdraw even deeper into his psychosis. In his critical essay The Womans Own Choice: Sex, Metaphor, and the Puritan Sources of The Scarlet Letter, Michael Colacurcio argues that the casual reader may infer that [Dimmesdales] seven-year regimen of fleshly self-crucifixion is designed to pay back in pain what he once enjoyed of pleasure, but that Dimmesdale is not so much haunted by the specter of remorse for a single sexual deviation as he is consumed by fear that his adultery is really idolatrythat is,he love[s] Hester more than God, preferring the creature to the creator, thus exemplifying his failure to approach the scaffold in previous years (Colacurcio 118-119). However, Dimmesdales character clearly presents a reversal of gender roles. Near the end of Dimmesdales encounter on the scaffold, he recognizes Pearl and Hester as they make their way home in the dark. When he questions where they have been, Hester tells him that she has been watching at a death-bed and is taking measurements home for a robe she intends to sew for Governor Winthrops funeral (Hawthorne 157). Evidently, Hester has played the part of Reverend Dimmesdale in sitting at Governor Winthrops death-bed, while Dimmesdale busied himself on the scaffold, drowning himself in his vanity and selfishness when he should have joined Reverend Mr. Wilson at Governor Winthrops bedside.

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Dimmesdale fails to administer his clerical duties and he rejects his paternal responsibilities, but Hester, a womana motheris present to do a mans worka woman who has grown in strength and moral stature while her mate has deteriorated (Johnson 118). Dimmesdale does not acknowledge his flaws nor listen to Hester, but rather continues to dwell in his vanity and demands that Hester and Pearl stand with him on the scaffold, saying, Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you (Hawthorne 158). Nevertheless, Hester, who displays her humility and wears the scarlet letter daily, has not fallen prey to self-loathing and misery but makes it her duty to care for the sick and poor, unlike the unstable Dimmesdale. Flowers without Virtue: Pearl versus Hester Thus far, Hawthorne has utilized The Scarlet Letter in order to critique virtues of the sentimental novel in relation to public and private gender spheres. Deconstructing the barriers between the two spherical societies, women have appeared to dominate both masculine and feminine roles and realms, especially regarding the prison and the scaffold. Hester has been removed from civil society to a sphere of her own on the edge of the forest in which she is neither classified as feminine nor masculine, but something in between; and Dimmesdale has been emasculated to a moral and emotional weakling. Hawthorne focuses on Pearls differences in comparison to Hester in order to convey the promise or threat of Hesters masculine influence. Unlike Hester, Hawthorne refers to Pearl as a lovely and immortal flower (Hawthorne 89). This is significant, because Pearl is the first image Hawthorne offers of an immortal flowershe is not like Hester or the women at the scaffold. The immortality of Pearl as a flower suggests that she is different compared to other women within the novel, who appear to wither and die in their flowery feminine qualities. Pearl, young as she is, does not appear tainted like civil society appears to be. Pearl is beautiful and

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intelligent, and Hester names her in reference to being of great pricepurchased with all [Hester] had,her mothers only treasure (Hawthorne 89). Lois Cuddy suggests that Pearl is never seen without Hester in [The Scarlet Letter] because it is not her function to stand alonePearl is everything that Hester would deny about herself (Kilcup 240). Thus, Pearl appears as a foil to Hester by being the opposite of everything Hester characterizes; Pearl is perfect with natural dexterity, worthy to [be] brought forth in Eden; worthy to [be] left there, to be the plaything of the angels (Hawthorne 90). However, the childs existence breaks a great law and her character is wild, desperate, defiant and she possesses the flight[iest] oftemper (Hawthorne 91). Hawthorne suggests that Pearls character is similar to her mothers in that she rides the line of the in-between (neither masculine nor feminine), but different in that she is not invaluable enough to be categorized in the same sphere as Hester. Pearl is pure, where her mother is not, and she is categorized in a sphere of her own, because she has not learned the virtues of sentimentality. By drawing attention to the rigid discipline of the early family, Hawthorne further critiques the notion exemplified by Childs The Mothers Book (1831) which stresses that behavior matters far less than the motives that impel it (such as motherly influence) (Romero 14). Hawthorne suggests that in those days, [discipline was]a far more rigid kind than now for the effect of promoting positive virtues in children (Hawthorne 91). Though Hester attempts to control her daughter, Pearl develops a more powerful domination over her mother rather than submit to Hester, Pearl is swayed by her own impulses; Hester cannot insist, persuade, nor plead with Pearl to behave under strict control (Hawthorne 92). The child is naturally wild, but with much mystery about her, which Hawthorne suggests is a consequence to her being the product of her mothers sin. Hence, Pearl is often referred to as an airy sprite, an

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imp, and a little elf (Hawthorne 92). Hester is a fallen woman of virtue, though she may be a more masculine character, Pearl cannot be ruled. Due to Pearls refusal to be structured, Hester is incapable of exhibiting her masculine role. Although Hester and Pearl appear as foil characters, Hawthorne is careful to emphasize that both mother and daughter [stand] together in the same circle of seclusion from human society (Hawthorne 95). As Hester is exiled, Pearl is likewise forced into a world of loneliness. She is an outcast of the infantile world and she does not grow up as most children within a domestic sphere who understand the regulations regarding piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness (Hawthorne 94). Instead, Hester allows Pearl to rein freely and at her own will, playing outdoors, usually in the garden, with sticks, rags and flowers, almost as if conjuring witchcraft. Pearl overcomes her loneliness by creating imaginary friends and pretending garden weeds are Puritan children to smite down and uproot (Hawthorne 95). Hester attempts to teach Pearl that she has been created by the Heavenly Father, but Pearl denies this claim and rebukes her mother, saying, I have no Heavenly Father! (Hawthorne 99). When subjected to Reverend Wilsons question as to who made her, the three-year old Pearl responds that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison-door (Hawthorne 114). It is significant that Hawthorne allows Pearl to compare herself to a rose, because, like her mother, she represents both the wild, natural world within the forest and the civil society of the town. More significantly, Pearls explanation to Reverend Wilson further exemplifies Hesters lack of motherly influence to impel a virtuous nature in the young child. Hawthornes allusion to Hesters failure as a model of sentimental virtue even goes so far as to invoke the magistrates concern and consideration for removing Pearl from her mother.

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Perceiving that the child lacks piety, the reverend fears that Hesters influence is detrimental to Pearls moral development. However, Dimmesdale defends Hester and Pearl when the magistrates suggest taking Pearl away, and Pearl exposes a moment of compassion for Dimmesdale by taking his hand in the grasp of both her own and laying her cheek on it (Hawthorne 118). The juxtaposition of the wild characteristics of the child and the moment of softness towards Dimmesdale during this scene proves the notion that Hawthorne aims to revealchildren are capable of learning compassion without the constrictive regulations of sentimental virtues. Hawthorne is ambiguous in regards to his emphasis on the two women in this section; however, it appears that Pearl is a living echo of Hester. When Hester reaches out to Dimmesdale for support, Pearl returns the gesture by revealing her compassion towards him. Likewise, it is important to note that Pearl exposes her femininity and innocence during this scene, further proving that her emotional morale has not been tainted by her mothers masculine influence. According to Kilcup, Pearl speaks for Hester: she is free to express the emotions for both her mother and herself and she can sense her mothers turmoil and becomes [Hesters] voice (Kilcup 240). For instance, in the second scene upon the scaffold and in the scene amongst the forest, Pearl rebukes Dimmesdale for his refusal to publicly acknowledge Hester and herself. Hawthorne exemplifies this notion in the forest when Hester casts off her scarlet letter, lets down her hair, and determines to escape with Dimmesdale to England. Pearls refusal to cross the brook and accept her mother without the scarlet letter emphasizes Pearls dependence on her mothers self-defined and independentidentity (Kilcup 240). To Pearl, Hesters abandonment of the scarlet letter symbolizes weakness, an embrace of a dependent lifestyle, and a loss of purpose for her own presence in the world. Thus, Pearl refuses to

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acknowledge Hester until the scarlet letter, with its scarlet misery, is returned to her mothers bosom, glittering on the old spot (Hawthorne 222). However, when Hester implores Pearl to ask for Dimmesdales blessing, Pearl is again reluctant to show her favor towards him, questioning, Doth he love us? and Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town? (Hawthorne 223). For Pearl, Dimmesdales public acknowledgement reveals his true association with her and Hester, however, due to Dimmesdales negligence and lack of morale, Pearl does not value Dimmesdales inability to accept his paternal responsibility. To further exemplify the notion that Pearl claims her identity apart from masculine economy, it is significant to analyze the scene when Pearl washes Dimmesdales kiss from her forehead. First, Hawthorne emphasizes Dimmesdales embarrassment for having to kiss Pearl in order to prove a talisman to admit him into the childs kindlier regards (Hawthorne 224). According to Goodenough, Dimmesdales inability to speak to Pearl as a child and his lack of understanding toward her passion in the forest causes Pearl to become a hostile, mothers child (Goodenough 232). Pearls frantic washing of the unwelcome kiss from her forehead, exemplifies her opposition to Dimmesdales inability to accept paternal responsibility for her and Hester. Hawthorne utilizes Pearl in this section to voice concerns Hester may possess, but does not speak aloud. Instead, by washing away Dimmesdales well-intentioned kiss and questioning his integrity, Pearl shows that Hesters masculine influence has caused her to reject a passive, submissive role toward patriarchal society. Emasculation: Chillingworth and the Scaffold Distinguishing the differences and similarities between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, Hawthorne depicts a civil rivalry between the two male characters. Unlike Dimmesdale, emasculated as an angelic figure, Hawthorne presents Chillingworth as a masculine, civilized

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savage. Chillingworth is small in stature, with a furrowed visage and he expresses remarkable intelligence in his features (Hawthorne 60). Chillingworths physical features appear to represent masculine qualities, yet they expose a hint of mystery and suspicion about his character. Hawthorne reveals that Chillingworth is a hybrid character, one who presents masculine qualities but is emasculated by emotions. Chillingworth, Hesters wedded husband, has been careless and negligent toward his young wife for nearly two years. Having left Hester to fend for herself while he gallivanted with Indians to learn their medicinal herbs and roots that grew in the forest, Chillingworth denies his paternal duties as a husband (Hawthorne 70). When he perceives Hester in the market-place during the first scaffold scene, a writhing horror twist[s] itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them (Hawthorne 61). Chillingworth enters the novel with dark, powerful emotion, yet, when he encounters little Pearl for the first time in the prison cell, he invokes a paternal demeanor (Hawthorne 61). Although Chillingworth wants to face Hester first, he focuses his attention on the baby by immediately examining the infant and producing a medicinal remedy for her (Hawthorne 63). Though Chillingworth is not completely emasculated, he is emotionally weak, thus, he cannot help but sympathize with the sick child. Hawthorne further reveals Chillingworths emasculation by exposing the old mans previous dismissal of his role within the public sphere and exposing the doctors sentimental attributes. Hawthorne further emphasizes Chillingworth femininity when he admits his faults to Hester, saying, We have wronged each othermine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into a false and unnatural relation with my decay (Hawthorne 74-75). Compassion and understanding expose Chillingworths feminine qualities. First he abandons his masculine role in society, then he carefully tends to a child that is not biologically his own,

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exerting a maternal presence and showing Hester remorse for his wrongdoings. Chillingworths compassion arouses other emotions that later become eminent with his character such as jealousy and vengeance. As in the first and second scaffold scenes, Hawthorne exposes feminine qualities amongst male characters during the final scaffold scene. Here, men appear to expose compassion for and a desire to help other men. For instance, as Dimmesdale totters toward the scaffold with such a deathlike hue, John Wilson offers his fellow clergyman physical support. Dimmesdale rejects the reverends assistance, but Hawthorne depicts Dimmesdale resemble[ing] the wavering effort of an infant with its mothers arms in view, outstretched to tempt him forward (Hawthorne 263). Not only has Hawthorne emasculated Dimmesdale, he goes further to infantilize him. When Bellingham advances to offer Dimmesdale assistance in case Dimmesdale falls, something in the latters expression warns the magistrate back (Hawthorne 264). Even Roger Chillingworth, after spending nearly the entire novel poisoning Dimmesdale, rushes forward to catch him by the arm and encourage, All shall be well! Do not blacken your fame, and perish in dishonor! (Hawthorne 265). Here, Hawthorne allows Chillingworth an opportunity to partake in a public display of affection toward the patient he has been slowly poisoning throughout the novella. Chillingworth previously rejected his public responsibility by leaving Hester to depend on herself in the early chapters of The Scarlet Letter, now Hawthorne reproduces a second opportunity for Chillingworth to exert himself as a responsible public authority figure. Dimmesdales failing health has caused the magistrate and his fellow clergyman distress and angst, so they watch over him as if he is a child in need of babysitting. Chillingworth shows concern for Dimmesdale only because they are within the public atmosphere. Hawthorne utilizes male characters within this final scaffold scene in order to portray the evident femininity of men

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within the public sphere. Children were to be cared for by women in the domestic sphere and men did not typically stoop to the role of the caretaker, but Hawthorne exposes the reversal of gender roles by infantilizing Dimmesdale and implying that his male characters have a maternal instinct about them as they attempt to aid and carefully observe Dimmesdale. Chillingworth, though seemingly sincere, has ulterior motives to helping Dimmesdale. Instead of wanting to cure him, Chillingworth seeks to personally destroy Dimmesdale. Chillingworths jealousy of Hester and Dimmesdales relationship and his attempts to achieve revenge have caused Chillingworth to sin far more deeply than the others. He attempts to commit the ultimate sinmurder. However, Dimmesdale rebukes Chillingworth and exclaims, Thy power is not what it was! (Hawthorne 265). Prior to Dimmesdales revelation, men have been emasculated by women, nature, and children. This moment is significant, because Dimmesdale literally and metaphorically emasculates Chillingworth, a fellow male character. Up until this moment, Chillingworth has hidden his evil and sin from the larger male society, however, Dimmesdale accentuates Chillingworths sin and accuses him of working with the devil or the fiend (Hawthorne 265). Thus, when ascending the scaffold for the final time, Chillingworth follows as one intimately connected with the drama of guilt and sorrow, as well as one in need of revelation for the sins he has committed against Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 266). Here, Hawthorne indicates Chillingworths relation to the sins of Hester and Dimmesdale, yet alludes to Chillingworths own wrongdoings. Hawthorne utilizes Dimmesdales character in order to make the final critique on the male genderlike the women in The Scarlet Letter, the men are also morally flawed.

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How It All Comes Together: Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl Dimmesdales emasculation of Chillingworth and his rejection of Bellingham and Wilsons help, suggest Hawthornes intention to draw recognition to the influence of female strength. Women, specifically Hester, have become supportive, strong, and equal to men. This is proven by Dimmesdales request that only Hester use her strength to help him upon the scaffold. The masculine structure of the scaffold combined with the emasculated Dimmesdale and the masculine Hester shows the full circle of societal gender deconstruction. Dimmesdale can no longer support his weak body and he needs help from Hester in order to mount the masculine structure of the scaffold. Hawthorne emphasizes Dimmesdales acceptance of Hester, though she is condemned to sexual discrimination (Bensick 164). For instance, Dimmesdale requests that Hester twine [her] strength about [him] in order to support him onto the scaffold (Hawthorne 265). Dimmesdale steps down from pedestals of pride, fear, and honor in order to stand equally between Hester and Pearl on the scaffold. Hester supports Dimmesdale and Dimmesdale holds one of Pearls hands while he faces the busy public community and announces the sin he committed seven years ago. This particular scene portrays Hawthornes deepest intentionto weaken men in the dominant role of society; to prove that women are both independent and dependable; to prove women serve a greater purpose than simply maintaining the domestic sphere. In order to draw a final line between Hester and Pearl, Hawthorne utilizes Dimmesdale to sever their bond and emphasize their difference of gender role classification. According to Kilcup, Dimmesdales paternal acknowledgement, although it kills him, finally breaks the spell that binds Pearl and Hester (Kilcup 243). Though Pearl has been persistent in rejecting Dimmesdale up until this moment in the novel, she accepts him in this final scene now that he is

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willing to publicly acknowledge her as his own. When Dimmesdale claims Pearl as his daughter, Pearl enacts the role of the sentimental heroine: her tears on her fathers cheek [are] the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor for ever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it (Kilcup 243). Hawthorne appears to break Pearl from the constrictive Pearlreintegrate[s] into the community as an adult woman who conforms to social norms, she leaves New England, marries and lives a happy domestic life in Europe, while Hester stays in New England to live in her cabin at the edge of the forest (Kilcup 243). Pearl grows up and becomes the sentimental woman, leaving Hester alone in her sphere of the inbetween. Conclusion: Hawthornes critique of the sentimental novel and stereotypical gender roles draws women into the public sphere, destroys their dependent stereotype, and liberates them from the norms of the sentimental novel. Women, specifically Hester and Pearl, rise up against their oppressive male-dominated society and exhibit the ability to fend for themselves and produce virtuous children. Hawthorne suggests that men do not hold the dominant role amongst society as initially perceived, but that women exert a higher dominance than they are given credit. The Damned Mob of Scribbling Women and sentimental novels discredit women for the role they play within larger society and Hawthorne suggests that men should embrace their women as friends and equals, just as Dimmesdale does with Hester in the end of The Scarlet Letter.

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Works Cited Bensick, Carol M. "Partly Sympathy and Partly Rebellion." Hawthorne and Women: Engendering and Expanding the Hawthorne Tradition. Ed. John Jr. L. Idol and Melinda M. Ponder. Amherst: University of Massachussetts Press, 1999. 159-167. Print. Colacurcio, Micheal. "'The Woman's Own Choice': Sex, Metaphor, and the Puritan 'Sources' of The Scarlet Letter." Colacurcio, Micheal. New Essays on The Scarlet Letter. New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1985. 101-129. Print. Goodenough, Elizabeth N. "Demons of Wickedness, Angels of Delight." Hawthorne and Women: Engendering and Expanding the Hawthorne Tradition. Ed. John Jr. L. Idol and Melinda M. Ponder. Amherst: University of Massachussetts Press, 1999. 226-236. Print. Gould, Philip. "Revisiting the "Feminization" of American Culture." differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 11.3 (1999): i-xii. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&i nPS=true&prodId=LitRG&userGroupName=loras&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resultLi stType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&current Position=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA69300>. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1963. Print. Johnson, Claudia Durst. "Discord in Concord." Hawthorne and Women: Engendering and Expanding the Hawthorne Tradition. Ed. John Jr. L. Idol and Melinda M. Ponder. Amherst: University of Massachussetts Press, 1999. 104-119. Print. Kilcup, Karen. "Emily Dickinson's Pearls." Hawthorne and Women: Engendering and Expanding the Hawthorne Tradition. Ed. John Jr. L. Idol and Melinda M. Ponder. Amherst: University of Massachussetts Press, 1999. 237-249. Print. Romero, Lora. "A Society Controlled by Women: An Overview." Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Detroit: Duke University Press, 1997. 11-34. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&i nPS=true&prodId=LitRG&userGroupName=loras&tabID=T001&searchId=R2&resultLi stType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&current Position=2&contentSet=GALE%7CH14201>. Tennenhouse, Leonard. "Libertine America." differences: A Journal of Feminists Cultural Studies 11.3 (1999): 1-25. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&i nPS=true&prodId=LitRG&userGroupName=loras&tabID=T001&searchId=R10&resultL istType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&curren tPosition=2&contentSet=GALE%7CA6930>.

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Senior Capstone Reflective Essay As a literature major, I feel that my greatest strengths include my ability to read material critically, to make clear connections between several literary concepts, to research and effectively incorporate secondary source material, and to analyze the concepts and the material while liking them to other critics and my own insightful thoughts. Throughout my senior capstone essay, I demonstrate my ability to read critically by pulling significant quotes from Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter and making insightful comments about them. For instance, in my analysis of the emasculation of the physical structures of the city, I pull quotes from Hawthornes text regarding the prison and the rose bush and connect these quotes to my thoughts on nature juxtaposed with masculine structures. In my analysis, I mention that the prison and the scaffold are emasculated by the natural beauty of the rose bush. I prove that I am able to effectively incorporate secondary source material and link it to my own analysis by making connections such as: In her critical article, A Society Controlled by Women: An Overview, Lora Romero argues that republican motherhood is in some sense the precursor of domesticity, while revolutionaries such as Judith Sargent Murray and Benjamin Rush attempt to [demonstrate] men and women [as] equally (but differently) capable of contributing to the moral well-being of the Republic (Romero 14). Hawthorne uses The Scarlet Letter in order to deconstruct the separate parameters of the male and female stereotypes and praises women for their ability to exert a dominant role within society. My essay demonstrates my mastery of selected goals and objectives of the Literature major in that I make clear, articulated and persuasive arguments that link my insightful close readings and structural analysis. For instance, the thesis statement of my senior capstone exemplifies my ability to make a persuasive argument: Throughout his novella, Hawthorne presents male characters and female characters as they reverse traditional gender roles and break out of their expected gender spheres. Rather than exploit a male-dominated society, Hawthorne stretches his critique of sentimental

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virtues by demonstrating an emasculation of male figures and praising masculinized, independent female authority throughout The Scarlet Letter.

I am also able to write critically, demonstrating my ability to use evidence from a literary text in that the connection made between Hawthornes novella and my thoughts on how it critiques the virtues of the sentimental novel appear articulated throughout my piece. For instance, when I write about Hesters lack of virtuous influence on Pearl, I am sure to mention the reference Pearl makes to her having been plucked by her mother from the rose bush outside the prison door. Because Pearl is young, innocent, and unaware of whom her father is, Hesters influence is shown to be a poor one for the child. I demonstrate my ability to conduct basic literary research and integrate source material accurately and smoothly into an argument, while citing sources such as I have mentioned in my strengths paragraph above. Throughout my capstone, I ensure to introduce my secondary critics and the piece I am retrieving source information from while indicating accurate page numbers at the end of each citation. I demonstrate a clear understanding of the elements of literature, including structure of characters, setting, ideas, point of views, imagery, etc. in that my entire analysis of my capstone essay links my ideas and the ideas of other critics with appropriate textual evidence from the novel. For instance, I analyze the setting of Hawthornes civil and wild societies between the town and the forest and link them to the gender roles of male and female spheres. I also talk about the flower imagery with Pearl and Hester as they appear to be linked throughout The Scarlet Letter. I articulate how a work of literature may be understood in its social context, including such contexts as biography, gender, sexuality, and political, social, and cultural roles throughout my capstone. For instance, my main focus throughout my piece is on the gender roles and cultural

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expectations of the sentimental novel and how Hawthorne defies or critiques those expectations based on influences from his own life, such as his mother and his frustration toward sentimental novelists. I also articulate how a work of literature may be understood in the context of literary history and literary traditions based on concepts such as the myth of The Angel in the House and other female archetypes influenced by the sentimental virtues of domestic society. For instance, I utilize the virtues of the sentimental novel throughout the entirety of my capstone in order to demonstrate how Hawthorne defies, deconstructs, or reinvents the role of sentimental virtue as it relates to Hester and the other women of The Scarlet Letter society. My capstone essay demonstrates my development and maturation as a critical reader in that I used to read literature without considering possible analytical perspectives or approaches not explicitly referred to in a work. I have the ability to peel away the layers of a certain piece of literature in order to delve into a deeper understanding of the piece. For instance, in my capstone I mention that Hawthornes mother was an influential model in his life and how she became an independent woman early in Hawthornes life. Taking this information, I use it to demonstrate why Hawthorne would be frustrated by the sentimental novelists for depicting women as a weak and vulnerable sex. Additionally, my essay demonstrates my ability to incorporate my personal critiques and judgments on Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter. Using resources found from other critics to aid or persuade my arguments, I demonstrate my ability to effectively produce a solid argument with outside sources. Likewise, I am able to maneuver my audience from my introduction to my conclusion my keeping my thoughts concise and coherent, occasionally reiterating important points made throughout my essay in order to review material already analyzed.

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By writing and revising this essay several times, I have found that I am never satisfied with the arguments I make. I always feel like certain characters or ideas deserve more of my attention for my analysis. However, I have realized that I can only write so much about a certain topic before needing to move onto the next discussion topic. I have also discovered that by revising my essay I tend to be very quote-happy. I love certain phrases critics use in their arguments and I hate changing the wording too much, because I feel that the way they have written something is exactly how I would word it, but I could still reduce the amount of quotes distributed throughout my piece. After several revisions, I have noticed that there are times when I rely so heavily on quotes from either the primary or secondary resources that I forget to incorporate my own analysis or link the paragraph back to Hawthorne. I am getting better at this, but its definitely a work in progress. In regards to the goals of the Literature major, I did not find anything that did not demonstrate my achievements within my capstone essay, but I have demonstrated well-written work in my African American Literature class when I wrote a paper on the novel Mama Day and the links between Ophelias identity at her home on the island and her home in the city. I have also written fairly decent essays in Literature Criticism on Louise Erdrichs Love Medicine and her character identity crises. I guess looking back on most of my papers, I have a tendency to incorporate outside source material very thoroughly and link my thoughts to the critical analysis I argue in my thesis statements, but that doesnt mean that there are not areas in which I can certainly improve, such as keeping the organization of my papers flowing and maintaining the attention of my readers.