Intolerance and Inequality
Puritans are infamous for their intolerance in religious and societal matters. They came to the New World in order to set up their “City Upon a Hill.” They came to the New World in order to practice their own religion freely, yet it’s ironic that they persecuted others that didn’t follow Puritan beliefs—the kind of behavior that they ran away from England. Although the Puritans aren’t completely bad, Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights the bad qualities and shows the absurdity of some Puritan beliefs in The Scarlet Letter. He wants the readers to sympathize for Hester Prynne and Pearl, and look upon the Puritan society, even Dimmesdale, with disappointment.
Hawthorne negatively portrays Puritan intolerance and hypocrisy in The Scarlet Letter. The townspeople ostracize Hester for the adultery she committed, yet refuse to accept that Reverend Dimmesdale took part in the same sin due to his high status and religious knowledge. This shows the inequality of the townspeople regarding this sin. The Puritans punish Hester, but cannot even think of giving a punishment to Dimmesdale; mainly because she is a woman and that her identity is shaped solely by her virginity and actions. Hester is publicly shamed, but she endures the scarlet letter on her chest with fortitude, yet Dimmesdale bears his scarlet letter beneath his ministerial robes as a secret from the Puritan society to avoid judgement and punishment.
Hawthorne illustrates the inequality faced by Puritan women in the 1600s, which is still in a way applicable to what women face today. Women were treated as an inferior kind in all places, even in the United States, until the major advancements in women’s rights in the 20th century. Women were given the right to vote, right to work a “man’s job” and even run in elections for positions like governors and even presidents; however, it confuses me as to why women do not have equal rights and are forced to grow in the shadow of a man. Many mistakenly argue that women have not taken equal responsibility, so they don’t have equal rights; this is wrong because women, in reality, actually have more responsibility than men in some cases, like raising children and keeping a job. So do they need more rights? I think, at least in the United States, that women have been given the same rights as men. The main problem lies in the ingrained preconceptions of society that men are superior to men. If we somehow peacefully put away these notions, forget what the Puritans followed, and listen to Hawthorne’s morals in The Scarlet Letter, it is possible for women to be truly equal to men.
I agree that we have equal rights, but I disagree on the way for women and men to become equal. I think it's just a matter of time. Women are still growing into their rights. Blacks got the right to vote in 1865. That means it took them 143 years to get a HALF black president in the White House. So by that calculation I guess in about 2060 we're getting a half-woman in the White House (just kidding). It takes a while for us to grow into the rights we have, and it takes a while for society to change as well.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Fawaz. I like how you pointed out the hypocrisy of the Puritans, not just how Hawthorne did it but also that they escaped to America for their own religious freedom but were themselves intolerant of other religions.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, you are correct in saying that the puritan community escaped persecution only to go persecute others. And to think that they did it in the name of a religious cause! Such must be the way of human nature, clearly.
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