From Repression To Subversion

This paper, using feminist critical theories, aims to explore Nathaniel Hawthorne's feminist consciousness through the analysis of his two famous works:"The Birth-Mark"and The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne has been regarded as one of the most famous writers in the American literary circle, and the ambiguity in his writing arouses great interest in literary criticism. As regards whether he is a feminist or misogynist writer, there is no certainty considering the fact that he wrote over such a long, disturbed period, and he changed a lot through this period of time. In his early writings, deeply influenced by his family background, he shows the tint of conservatism. Thus in"The Birth-Mark", readers see absolute female subservience to male dominance. But as time went on, Hawthorne changed his attitudes towards women chiefly due to the influences of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne's sympathy with and appreciation of Hester can be clearly detected. For such a controversial writer, it will be too simple to say whether Hawthorne is a feminist or a misogynist; his attitudes are reflected in the characters he depicts.This paper is made up of the following parts:Introduction is a literature review, combing the works and criticisms about Hawthorne as well as the significance of the study. Although many critical studies have already been written on Hawthorne's attitude towards women, there seems no agreement among them. Some people consider him to be a misogynist; others regard him as a feminist. No matter what they hold, these critics are all confined to the static description of Hawthorne's attitude towards women. The writer of this paper puts Hawthorne in a more general context to analyze what Hawthorne implies in the two different works.Chapter One gives a general introduction to women's position and feminist literary critical theories from a diachronic perspective. Women's secondary position originates...