The Scarlet Letter, perhaps the most notable work of the prodigious American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, was first published in 1850 and has been the subject of a plethora of critical literary publications, including those from psychoanalytic, new historical, and reader response perspectives. In each of their articles, scholars Jamie Barlowe, Jesse F. Battan, and Suzan Last rightly choose to analyze the text through a feminist lens. While approaching the topic in different ways, these scholars allow the reader to understand that, despite being written by a male in an era when men were considered highly superior to women, The Scarlet Letter is in fact a proto- feminist. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In "Hawthorne's Female 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," the use by Hawthorne's narrative techniques have “the effect of creating a narrative of radical sympathy for women suffering under patriarchal oppression” (Last 349). that women's narratives are often written from "many perspectives" rather than a "one subject perspective", do not follow a typical "beginning-middle-end" format, possess a sense of "plurality of meaning" and usually are more “subjective” than “objective,” among a multitude of other discrepancies (Last 350 He also notes that it is crucial to “keep in mind that these distinctions are merely arbitrary, and necessarily artificial, based on social constructions” (Last 350). However, the idea that these definitions are simple social constructions does not make them meaningless in the slightest. Over time, they have become deeply ingrained in the way our society operates, and so we respond to them in very real ways. Looking back at The Scarlet Letter, we can detect these supposedly “feminine” qualities in Hawthorne's writings. As in 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 whether it is actually there. The novel also fails to follow the typical beginning-middle-end structure, instead beginning in media res, as Hester Prynne leaves the city jail with her young daughter Pearl in tow and the infamous "A" already emblazoned on her chest. Furthermore, Hawthorne's use of an omniscient narrative style allows the novel to reveal the contrasting perspectives of several 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 usually found in a male text" (Last 351). As a product of this sympathetic feeling, at the novel's conclusion, Prynne presents herself to the reader as more of a heroine than a pagan, despite her constant condemnation from the Puritan citizens she is surrounded by. This sense of compassion and understanding for Prynne is only one of the examples of proto-feminism that can be found in The Scarlet Letter. “'You Can't Fix the Scarlet Letter on My Breast!': Women Reading, Writing, and Reshaping the Sexual Culture of Victorian America,” Jesse F. Battan discusses the reconstruction of gender roles that was carried out by a group of Victorian women in the 19th century who were known as the "Free Lovers". Battan compares theseactivists à la Hawthorne's Hester Prynne, postulating that "throughout the last half of the nineteenth century it was precisely the type of woman symbolized by Hester Prynne who would emerge as a confidante of the discontented and as a prophet of emotional regeneration" (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 sadly concluded that the role… would be reserved for a woman who is ' noble, pure, and beautiful,' rather than one, like Prynne, who was 'tainted by sin, bowed by shame, or even burdened with lifelong sorrow'” (Battan 601). A less optimistic reader might see the failure to fully personify this revolutionary role as a means for Hawthorne to reinforce the patriarchal perception of women as weak and ineffective compared to men, a commonly held stereotype of the era. But the fact remains that she comes to this realization “grimly,” thus reiterating Last's claim that Hawthorne's fiction is decidedly feminine and consequently displays a genuine sympathy for the plight of women. It can be assumed that 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 might even venture further to claim that Hawthorne did this intentionally. Here, too, lies an essential distinction that makes Hawthorne's work seem proto-feminist and not fully feminist: although Hawthorne characterizes Prynne as an intelligent, independent, and tenacious individual. , is still held back by her gender. In most feminist texts, the female protagonist ends the novel with a sense of “possibility,” rather than the conventional conclusions of a traditional, happy marriage or death. Yet, in the finale of The Scarlet Letter, Prynne is still marked by her sin in the form of the crimson “A” on her breast, and thus is 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 numerous male literary critics have made of The Scarlet Letter, pointing out that “the primary way in which mainstream male scholars of Hawthorne have women Other ha was in his almost total disregard for women's studies in The Scarlet Letter” (Barlowe 198). This “Other” she speaks of can be defined as viewing Prynne as a sexual object rather than a real human being – a problem that is constantly addressed by women outside of the literary realm as well. Barlowe argues that Prynne is so often the subject of sexual appropriation because "no woman has been deemed more continually desirable by white men than one who, like Hester Prynne, is beautiful, strong, silent, self-regulating, (hetero)sexual, and subversively sinful." enough to break sexual codes” (Barlowe 200). Whatever the reason for Prynne's sexualization, it has certainly pervaded pop culture. A comic strip in an issue of Playboy “depicts [Hester] as the leader of a band of Puritan girls...beaming with smugness and pride, Hester sports an A+ on her chest while all her companions have only a plain A'” (Barlowe 200). In the recent film Easy A, Emma Stone's supposedly promiscuous character embroiders the letter "A" onto a racy black corset that she later wears to school, thus perpetuating the idea that "A" and, by association, Prynne, are sex symbols rather than literary archetypes. Even the "seemingly wholesome musical The Music Man" contains. 2014.