Abstract
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter depicts a strong woman; Hester Prynne, who challenges traditional concept of gender by showing those traits that are mostly associated with men. She is strong, brave and independent. On the other hand, men are weak, coward and dependent. This is symbolic from a Deconstructionist feminist point of view that gender is a social construct rather than natural. Society assigns roles to man and woman, however, these roles are not inherent in nature rather socially constructed and culturally practiced. Therefore, gender roles can be subverted. Hester Prynne is a woman of wondrous strength who challenges and subverts conventional view and Shakespearean idea of woman as frail and weak and shows herself a strong woman. In contrast, characters like Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are embodiment of frailty. This paper focuses on the subversion of gender identities and challenging Shakespearean idea of woman as frail and weak.
Key Words
Deconstruction, Gender Identities, Social Construction
Introduction
Shakespeare famously asserted "Frailty, thy name is woman". It reflects a deeply entrenched culture "where masculine values prevail" (Woolf, 2012, p. 80) that considers women weak, frail, submissive, dependent, emotional, and accommodating. They are housebound and considered angels in the house. They are either clipped hens or caged birds. They are expected to be loving mothers, amazing cooks, nurses, and comforters, obedient and faithful wives, and nimble domestic runners. Contrarily, Judith Butler (1999) states that gendered identities are not fixed but rather fluid. Heterosexual binary and gendered identities are not natural but rather socially constructed. However, these identities have oppressed women since the dawn of civilization. Progressing human civilization fostered inequality among humankind which also created inequality among the sexes. Gendered identities were created by men who were ideologically driven, socially constructed, and culturally practiced. These gendered identities delineated women as frail, weak, irrational, dependent, housebound, and inferior, while men were defined as strong, free, rational, and superior. Historically, these gendered identities have been stressed, reinforced, legitimized, and normalized by men to dominate, oppress, exploit, and subjugate women. However, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne goes against these gendered identities. She is the embodiment of strength, willpower, and rationality. On the other hand, characters like Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are weak, frail, cowardly, and nervous. It is symbolic and laden with meaning from a deconstructionist feminist point of view. This research focuses on the deconstruction of gender through the character of Hester Prynne who subverts the traditional concept of a woman
Hester Prynne commits adultery with the town's minister. Dimmesdale. She is ordered to wear a scarlet letter A on her bosom. She gives birth to a child named Pearl. She is brought to the scaffold and asked to reveal the name of her fellow sinner. But she does not reveal it. On the other hand, Dimmesdale has no courage to confess his sin because he thinks that it will mar his fame and respect. As a minister in the church of New England Puritan society, he is deemed to be a sacred and a virtuous man but in reality, he is a sinner like Hester however, he does not confess his sin. The reason is that he lacks the courage, strength, and valor that is generally associated with man. On the other hand, Hester shows courage and strength and confesses her sin boldly in public. If looked at from the perspective of the traditional concept of gender men would have shown bravery and strength but in The Scarlet Letter, it is a woman who exhibits these traits. Therefore, it can be said that "strength, thy name is woman". Moreover, her husband; Roger Chillingworth, disguises himself as a physician and deceivingly poisons Dimmesdale. In literature, women are depicted as tricksters, seductresses, deceivers, and evil. Homer in Iliad calls a woman a fiend and evil. In Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptures Rebekah, Rachel, Tamar other women are depicted as deceivers and tricksters. However, in The Scarlet Letter, a man deceives both his patient and his wife. He is smooth in the face but fraudulent in mind. Outwardly, he is a savior and a benefactor but in reality, he is a fiend, deceiver, trickster, and monster.
Both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are dependent upon Hester in order to save their name and fame in society. They urge Hester not to reveal their identity and she accedes. Furthermore, she is spurned, mocked, and humiliated both physically and mentally but she never loses her heart. Consequently, she emerges as a sister of mercy and an angel while Dimmesdale and Chillingworth die an ignominious death. Therefore, it can be said that strength, thy name is woman, frailty, thy name is man.
The research aims to highlight that gender is a social construct rather than firmly grounded in nature and eternal. Social construction divides human beings into man and woman. It associates certain fixed characteristics with man and woman that lead to hierarchies, relations of domination and subordination, power and powerlessness, superior and inferior, and so on. Social construction pictures a woman doing domestic duties and is housebound and it seems that a woman's natural place is home. While men are rulers of the outside world. Women's roles and place in society are secondary.
Contrarily, deconstructionist feminists like Judith Butler and others vehemently reject the social construction of gender. Butler (1999), in her Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity asserts that gender is socially constructed and performative. Performance brings gender into action and then it is imposed upon us. Butler (1999) states that “gender reality” (p.180) is the product of “social performance (p.180).
When one is born, the first question asked is 'Is it a boy or a girl'? The answer decides the characteristics that will be given to the child on the basis of its sex. The performance and repetition of those gendered roles will result in gendered identities. However, this research aims to highlight that gendered identities are not necessarily inherent in nature. Hester in The Scarlet Letter, defiantly abrogates the normative concept of gendered identities and gives rise to a new social reality that a woman is strong, rational, brave, and independent.
Research questions
? What gender roles did the characters play in The Scarlet Letter?
? How gendered identities are subverted in The Scarlet Letter?
? How men are frail and a woman is strong in the novel?
Literature Review
The Scarlet Letter has been discussed by critics from various perspectives. Terence Martin (1983), a romantic critic, in his book, Nathaniel Hawthorne says that Dimmesdale is afflicted with a devious pride. Dimmesdale thinks that he is a miracle of holiness and God's shadow on earth. If he accepts his sin, what people will think of him? Therefore, he does not accept his sin in public. Michael Davitt Bell (1985) sees The Scarlet Letter as a romance. He highlights Hawthorne’s style of writing and the sensitivity of hidden quality in his fiction. He asserts that his writing is more subversive and anarchic rather than simply gentle and pleasant. Nina Baym (2005) argues that Nathaniel Hawthorne is a feminist writer. She shows a contrast between "dark" and "fair" ladies (p. 108). She calls the dark lady a "real" woman and the fair lady a "social myth" (p. 108). Hawthorne depicts strong-minded real women having the creative force and natural expression of womanhood. She interprets The Scarlet Letter as a feminist novel because it is the story of an iron-willed, self-sufficient, and bright woman who has found her fair and proper place in a puritanical and patriarchal society.
Sherry E. Adams (1972) examines man’s relationship to nature and society in The Scarlet Letter. Nature and society can affect an individual in a beneficial manner as well as can be equally harmful to a person. Humans are dependent on both and they must establish a relationship with nature and society in order to gain their benefits and to avoid the dangers. Margarita Georgieva (2009) examines the notion of sin in The Scarlet Letter, explores the relationship between knowledge and sin, and focuses more particularly on secret sin. She observes that sin is not wholly black but has room for something more positive and hopeful.
Discussion
Conclusion
In the contemporary era, gender identities have been questioned, challenged, and shaken by deconstructionist feminists. They have looked at the social construction of gender from historical, political, sociological, anthropological, and psychological perspectives. They have found that women's universal subordination and subjugation were due to the social construction of gender. It had far-reaching impacts on the lives of women. They were called frail, docile, irrational, and emotional. The creation of gendered identities that had reduced women to the level of a slave and an animal. This research will help in understanding how these identities are socially constructed rather than inherent and natural. Furthermore, it will be beneficial for the readers in reevaluating and deconstructing their views of women's inferiority and men's superiority. It will highlight that gendered identities are an inexact formula to divide human beings into warring factions and women must be accepted in the mainstream. It will lead to the making of balanced individuals and balanced societies across the globe. Moreover, providing equal opportunities to women in social, political, legal, financial, and other arenas will pave the way for the holistic development of the world in general and third-world countries, like Pakistan, in special.
References
-
Adams, S. E. (1972). "Man's Relationship to Nature and Society in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter". Open Access Master's Thesis, paper 833. https://doi.org/10.23860/thesis-adams-sherry-1972
- Baym, N. (2004). Revisiting Hawthorne’s Feminism. Nathaniel Hawthorne Review, 30(1/2), 32–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44695447
- Bell, M. D. (1985). Arts of Deception: Hawthorne, "Romance," and The Scarlet Letter. In M. J. Colacurcio, New Essays on The Scarlet Letter (pp. 29-56). New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.
- Berger & Luckmann. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality. USA: Penguin.
- Butler, J. (1999). Gender Trouble. New York: Routledge.
- Georgieva, M. (2009). The Burden of Secret Sin: Nathaniel Hawthorne's Fiction. HAL, 1, 342-351.
- Hawthorne, N. (1967). The Scarlet Letter. USA: Lippincott.
- Ibsen, H. (1966). Four Major Plays: A Doll's House, The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder. New York, NY: Airmont Publishing Company, Inc.
- Kates, J. (2008). Fielding Derrida: Philosophy, literary criticism, history, and the Work of Deconstruction. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA88642367
- Martin, T. (1983). Nathaniel Hawthorne. United States: Twayne Publishers.
- Shakespeare, W. (2002). Hamlet. (C. Watts, Ed.) Ware, England: Wordsworth Classics.
- Shakespeare, W. (2006). Julius Caesar. Yale University Press.
- Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today. New York: Routledge.
- Wang, Y. (2010). A representative of the New Female Image—Analyzing Hester Prynne’s feminist consciousness in the Scarlet Letter. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1(6). https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.1.6.893-897
- Williams, T. (2008). The Glass Menagerie. (S. Bottoms, Ed.) London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
- Woolf, V. (2012). A Room of One’s Own and the Voyage Out. Sally Minogue, Ed. London: Wordsworth Classics.
-
Adams, S. E. (1972). "Man's Relationship to Nature and Society in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter". Open Access Master's Thesis, paper 833. https://doi.org/10.23860/thesis-adams-sherry-1972
- Baym, N. (2004). Revisiting Hawthorne’s Feminism. Nathaniel Hawthorne Review, 30(1/2), 32–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44695447
- Bell, M. D. (1985). Arts of Deception: Hawthorne, "Romance," and The Scarlet Letter. In M. J. Colacurcio, New Essays on The Scarlet Letter (pp. 29-56). New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.
- Berger & Luckmann. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality. USA: Penguin.
- Butler, J. (1999). Gender Trouble. New York: Routledge.
- Georgieva, M. (2009). The Burden of Secret Sin: Nathaniel Hawthorne's Fiction. HAL, 1, 342-351.
- Hawthorne, N. (1967). The Scarlet Letter. USA: Lippincott.
- Ibsen, H. (1966). Four Major Plays: A Doll's House, The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder. New York, NY: Airmont Publishing Company, Inc.
- Kates, J. (2008). Fielding Derrida: Philosophy, literary criticism, history, and the Work of Deconstruction. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA88642367
- Martin, T. (1983). Nathaniel Hawthorne. United States: Twayne Publishers.
- Shakespeare, W. (2002). Hamlet. (C. Watts, Ed.) Ware, England: Wordsworth Classics.
- Shakespeare, W. (2006). Julius Caesar. Yale University Press.
- Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today. New York: Routledge.
- Wang, Y. (2010). A representative of the New Female Image—Analyzing Hester Prynne’s feminist consciousness in the Scarlet Letter. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1(6). https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.1.6.893-897
- Williams, T. (2008). The Glass Menagerie. (S. Bottoms, Ed.) London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
- Woolf, V. (2012). A Room of One’s Own and the Voyage Out. Sally Minogue, Ed. London: Wordsworth Classics.
Cite this article
-
APA : Ullah, I., Qayyum, A., & Khan, M. B. (2024). Strength, Thy Name is Woman: Subversion of Gender Identities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Global Regional Review, IX(III), 23-29. https://doi.org/10.31703/grr.2024(IX-III).03
-
CHICAGO : Ullah, Inam, Abdul Qayyum, and Muhammad Bilal Khan. 2024. "Strength, Thy Name is Woman: Subversion of Gender Identities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter." Global Regional Review, IX (III): 23-29 doi: 10.31703/grr.2024(IX-III).03
-
HARVARD : ULLAH, I., QAYYUM, A. & KHAN, M. B. 2024. Strength, Thy Name is Woman: Subversion of Gender Identities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Global Regional Review, IX, 23-29.
-
MHRA : Ullah, Inam, Abdul Qayyum, and Muhammad Bilal Khan. 2024. "Strength, Thy Name is Woman: Subversion of Gender Identities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter." Global Regional Review, IX: 23-29
-
MLA : Ullah, Inam, Abdul Qayyum, and Muhammad Bilal Khan. "Strength, Thy Name is Woman: Subversion of Gender Identities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter." Global Regional Review, IX.III (2024): 23-29 Print.
-
OXFORD : Ullah, Inam, Qayyum, Abdul, and Khan, Muhammad Bilal (2024), "Strength, Thy Name is Woman: Subversion of Gender Identities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter", Global Regional Review, IX (III), 23-29
-
TURABIAN : Ullah, Inam, Abdul Qayyum, and Muhammad Bilal Khan. "Strength, Thy Name is Woman: Subversion of Gender Identities in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter." Global Regional Review IX, no. III (2024): 23-29. https://doi.org/10.31703/grr.2024(IX-III).03