The Scarlet Letter Blog 5: ObjectificAtion

In the classic novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the letter has symbolized something degrading, leading to the objectification of women in the book. Something that I realized halfway through was the idea of the A on her chest, is contradicting to what an A usually is supposed to do when exploited as it originally is. When you think of an A on the fridge, it is an accomplishment you take pride in. But what they did to Hester, was pushing her down, and trying to objectify her while STILL trying to use the A as adultery and not accomplishment. This is just an ironic idea I stumbled upon when looking at the storyline. She is treated as an object but is dismissed for operating like one when procreating the Earth, as humans must do. At some point her reputation slowly is regained and her previous perception withers away, just as people do, and the past leaves the world behind for the new people to roam the Earth, free from any reputation for the time being. Only people like Pearl have pasts that haunt them, but there are also given the experience and strength to overcome it.