Weak and powerless are the words that describe the role of women in Puritan society. Men were the breadwinners and women were confined to the home. Most women lived under the authority of men, but thanks to her unusual place in society, Hester was able to overcome this situation. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne reverses typical male and female roles to prove that when given the opportunity, women can be strong, independent members of society. Hawthorne uses Hester's reaction to her punishment of wearing the letter A to show that women can survive in society without depending on men. Additionally, Hawthorne uses Hester's relationship with Chillingworth and the Puritan authorities to represent how women can be dominant. Additionally, Hawthorne breaks normal gender characteristics by reversing the typical masculine and feminine traits of the novel's characters. Because Hester was able to care for herself and Pearl socially and economically as a single mother, Hawthorne proves that women can survive in society. without depending on men. Hawthorne states: “The tendency of her fate and fortune had been to set her free. The scarlet letter was her passport to regions where other women dared not tread” (137). Hester was an outsider in her community and was able to look at society and the world with a unique perspective. Unlike most women in the 17th century, Hester was not confined to the home and was not under the authority of a husband. Hester challenges the stereotype that women are weak and fragile and cannot survive on their own. Because Hester does not have a husband to support her and Pearl, she is forced to provide for her family's economic needs. "She possessed an art that was enough... middle of paper... to become contributing members of society, just like men, if they are allowed to be gender neutral." Hawthorne breaks down normal gender characteristics by reversing the typical male and female traits of the novel's characters to prove that when society allows women to be gender neutral, they can be equally important and capable members of society than men. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester as a symbol of women's liberation from male authority. Hawthorne believed that women could become strong, independent, and capable members of society if only they were given the opportunity to prove themselves. Hester was a single mother who managed to support herself and her daughter and also stood up for herself when threatened by male authority. Hester is proof that when women are not subject to the restrictions of society, they can be just as independent as men..