Maternity in The Scarlet Letter M
Maternity in The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne presents motherhood as one of the main themes in the novel. The story is centered in Hester Prynne and the subsequent difficulties she had to overcome after committing adultery in a Puritan community. Early in the novel, specifically in the second chapter the author describes Hester Prynne and her baby as something extraordinary and beautiful: "... this beautiful woman, so picturesque in her attire and mien, and with the infant at her bosom, an object to remind him of the image of the Divine Maternity… that sacred image of sinless motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world.”
The allusion to the ‘Divine Maternity’ refers to the birth of Jesus Christ and the image of the Virgin Mary, which means that Hester is pure and innocent even though people are judging her for committing adultery. The Puritans who surrounded her felt that because she does not deserved any kind of compassion, also it is very ironic that women were the less merciful with this young woman and her child, one example is in the first chapter when the allude to the Scripture to punish the adulterer with death: “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die…” Hester is someone who has to be severely condemn and to denigrate according to Puritan beliefs. By comparing her to the Virgin Mary, Hawthorne illustrates that, despite of her sin and what people believed, Hester is really a good and holy person.
The author makes the reader empathize with the main character even though all that surrounds her seems judge her actions, the reader feels that she is a great woman but above all a great mother, most women could identify themselves with the situation of Hester and feel sorry for her and her child. Another example of her feelings as mother is in the second chapter when the narrator expresses "She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry..." (Ch.2)Pearl shows the emotions
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne presents motherhood as one of the main themes in the novel. The story is centered in Hester Prynne and the subsequent difficulties she had to overcome after committing adultery in a Puritan community. Early in the novel, specifically in the second chapter the author describes Hester Prynne and her baby as something extraordinary and beautiful: "... this beautiful woman, so picturesque in her attire and mien, and with the infant at her bosom, an object to remind him of the image of the Divine Maternity… that sacred image of sinless motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world.”
The allusion to the ‘Divine Maternity’ refers to the birth of Jesus Christ and the image of the Virgin Mary, which means that Hester is pure and innocent even though people are judging her for committing adultery. The Puritans who surrounded her felt that because she does not deserved any kind of compassion, also it is very ironic that women were the less merciful with this young woman and her child, one example is in the first chapter when the allude to the Scripture to punish the adulterer with death: “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die…” Hester is someone who has to be severely condemn and to denigrate according to Puritan beliefs. By comparing her to the Virgin Mary, Hawthorne illustrates that, despite of her sin and what people believed, Hester is really a good and holy person.
The author makes the reader empathize with the main character even though all that surrounds her seems judge her actions, the reader feels that she is a great woman but above all a great mother, most women could identify themselves with the situation of Hester and feel sorry for her and her child. Another example of her feelings as mother is in the second chapter when the narrator expresses "She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry..." (Ch.2)Pearl shows the emotions