Women's Issues in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

by Claudia Durst Johnson (Editor)

Overview

When an extramarital affair with a minister results in a child, Hester Pryne is publically shamed and ostracized by her community in Puritan Boston. Her subsequent attempts at a quiet life are complicated by a vengeful husband, her rambunctious daughter, her refusal to name the father of her child, and finally, by a desperate attempt to escape from Boston. This compelling edition takes a critical look at Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter through the lens of women's issues. The text presents readers with a biographical snapshot of the author and examines women's issues in the novel. Essays discuss topics such as feminism in the nineteenth century, forced marriage, and the subservience of women. The text also provides contemporary perspectives on current women's issues, creating a dialogue between the events of the text and the world of today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780737742626
Publisher:	Greenhaven Publishing LLC
Publication date:	09/13/2008
Series:	Social Issues in Literature Series
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction 9 Chronology 13 Chapter 1 Background on Nathaniel Hawthorne
1 The Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne John L. Idol Jr. 17
2 Hawthorne's Family's Impact on His Fiction Gloria C. Erlich 25
3 The Hawthorne-Fuller Friendship David B. Kesterson 34 Chapter 2 The Scarlet Letter and Women's Issues
1 Hester and Feminists of the 1840s David S. Reynolds 40
2 A Mixture of Feminism and Misogyny Alison Easton 48
3 Puritans and Feminists Leland S. Person 57
4 Hester as Hero Nina Baym 67
5 Woman Identified with the Marginalized Artist Ken Egan Jr. 74
6 A Woman's Calling Carolyn R. Maibor 80
7 Living Against Nature in Puritan New England Frederick Newberry 88
8 Woman as Outsider Kristin Herzog 99
9 Leadership and Delicacy Joyce W. Warren 106
10 Hawthorne Lets the Patriarchs Win Louise DeSalvo 113 Chapter 3 Contemporary Perspectives on Women's Issues
1 The Forced Marriage John Dougherty Kirk Johnson 122
2 The Single Mother Ruth Sidel 127
3 Still Quiet and Submissive John Hooper Jo Revill John Hooper Tania Branigan 134
4 "GodMen" in a Defeminized Church Paul T. Coughlin 140
5 Hester's Powerful Progeny Karen Breslau 147 For Further Discussion 153 For Further Reading 154 Bibliography 156 Index 161

Editorial Reviews

Review: Women's Issues in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter "This series focuses on how social issues have been presented in classic literature. These books provide a unique perspective to the United States' social issues both past and present."—ARBA, March 2009

From the Publisher