The Scarlet Letter, perhaps the most notable work of the prodigious American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, was first published in 1850 and has since been the subject of a plethora of literary publications. critiques, including those from psychoanalytic perspectives, new historical perspectives, and reader response. In each of their articles, scholars Jamie Barlowe, Jesse F. Battan, and Suzan Last rightly choose to analyze the text through a feminist lens. Although they each approach the subject in different ways, these scholars all leave the reader guessing that, although it was written by a man at a time when men were considered highly superior to women, The Scarlet Letter is in indeed a proto-feminist text. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get an Original EssayIn "Hawthorne's Feminine Voices: Reading 'The Scarlet Letter' as a Woman," Last argues that although "the narrative contains many passages that characterize the narrator as a champion of patriarchal values,” Hawthorne's use of distinctly feminine narrative techniques has “the effect of creating a narrative of radical sympathy for women suffering from patriarchal oppression” (Last 349). Last goes on to list the major differences between female and male methods of speech, stating that female narratives are often written from "multiple perspectives" rather than a "single subject perspective", and do not follow a typical “start-middle-end” approach. format, possess a sense of “plurality of meaning” and are generally more “subjective” than “objective,” among a multitude of other discrepancies (Last 350). She also notes that it is essential “to keep in mind that these distinctions are only arbitrary, and necessarily artificial, based on social constructions” (Last 350). However, the idea that these definitions are only social constructions in no way deprives them of their meaning. Over time, they have become deeply ingrained in the functioning of our society and so we respond to them in very real ways. Looking at The Scarlet Letter, we can detect these supposedly "feminine" qualities in Hawthorne's writings. As with most of his other works, there is much ambiguity in the novel; for example, it is up to the reader to discern how the scar on Arthur Dimmesdale's chest manifested itself or if it is actually there. The novel also fails to follow the typical beginning-middle-end structure, instead beginning in media, as Hester Prynne leaves the town jail with her young daughter Pearl in tow and the infamous "A" already written on his chest. Additionally, Hawthorne's use of an omniscient storytelling style allows the novel to reveal the contrasting perspectives of multiple characters. The combination of these seemingly feminine characteristics in Hawthorne's prose results in what Last calls "a much deeper sympathy for female oppression than is the case." it is generally found in a masculine text” (Last 351). As a product of this sympathetic feeling, by the novel's conclusion Prynne appears to the reader as a heroine rather than a pagan, despite her constant condemnation by the Puritan townspeople around her. This feeling of compassion and understanding towards Prynne is just one of the examples of proto-feminism that can be found in The Scarlet Letter. In “You Can’t Stare at the Scarlet Letter on My Breast!” "Sexual Culture of Victorian America", Jesse F. Battan discusses the reconstruction ofgender roles brought about by a group of Victorian women in the 19th century, known as the "Free Lovers". Battan compares these activists to Hawthorne's Hester Prynne, positing that "throughout the latter half of the 19th century, it was precisely the kind of woman symbolized by Hester Prynne who emerged as a confidante of the disaffected and as a prophet of a regenerated emotional feeling.life” (Battan 601). Despite her strong similarities to these more modern feminists, Battan points out that Prynne is never able to fully embody the role of "catalyst" because "Hawthorne darkly concluded that the role... would be reserved for a woman who is." high, pure, and beautiful,” rather than one, like Prynne, who was “stained with sin, bowed with shame, or even burdened with lifelong sorrow” (Battan 601). A less optimistic reader might see Prynne's spirit. failure to fully personify this revolutionary role as a way for Hawthorne to reinforce the patriarchal perception of women as weak and ineffective compared to men, a commonly held stereotype at the time. But the fact remains that he arrives at this conclusion "darkly", thus reiterating Last's assertion that Hawthorne's narrative is decidedly feminine and therefore shows genuine sympathy for the plight of women. Presumably Last would fully agree with Battan's conjecture that Prynne's character represents many of the qualities found in future women's rights activists; perhaps Last could even go further to claim that Hawthorne did it intentionally. Here too is a key distinction that makes Hawthorne's work appear proto-feminist and not entirely feminist: although Hawthorne characterizes Prynne as an intelligent, independent, and tenacious individual. , she is always held back by her gender. In most feminist texts, the female protagonist ends the novel with a sense of "possibility", rather than with the conventional conclusions of a happy, traditional marriage or death. Yet at the end of The Scarlet Letter, Prynne is still marked by her sin in the form of the crimson "A" on her chest, and she is therefore prevented from transforming into the agent of change she so desperately wants to become . : Hester Prynne-Ism and the Scarlet Mob of Scribblers", Jamie Barlowe challenges the unfair interpretations that many male literary critics have made of The Scarlet Mob, pointing out that "the primary way in which Hawthorne's dominant male scholarship has compared women has been has been in its almost complete disregard for women's scholarship on The Scarlet Letter” (Barlowe 198). This “otherness” she speaks of can be defined as seeing Prynne as a sex object rather than a real human being – a problem that women constantly face outside of the literary realm as well. Barlowe explains that Prynne is so often sexually appropriated because "no woman has been considered more desirable in the eyes of white men than one who, like Hester Prynne, is beautiful, strong, quiet, self-regulated, (hetero)sexual and subversively sinful”. enough to break sexual codes” (Barlowe 200). Whatever the reason for Prynne's sexualization, it has certainly permeated pop culture. A cartoon in an issue of Playboy "depicts [Hester] at the head of a gang of Puritan girls... beaming with smugness and pride, Hester sports an A+ on her chest while all her companions have no only simple A’s” (Barlowe 200). In the recent film Easy A, Emma Stone's allegedly promiscuous character embroiders the letter "A" onto a racy black corset that she later wears to school,. 2014.