![]() ![]() Originally, Puritans left England for the American colonies so as to practice religious freedom separate from the influences of any other religious practices but their own, in hopes of creating their own small utopia. ![]() Puritanism was created by English Protestants, and began in England in protest of Catholicism and the institution of its practices as part of the Church of England. Also, throughout this essay George Orwell’s novel 1984 will be used draw parallels between The Scarlet Letter and the dystopian genre specifically because of its familiarity among readers, and because it encompasses many common themes found within the dystopian genre. ![]() Ultimately this essay will show that Hester becomes the master of the scarlet A, and uses it as a loophole through which she is able to secretly rebel against and subvert patriarchal Puritanism. I have specifically chosen to examine the society of The Scarlet Letter from a dystopian perspective so as to more closely examine the effects of this society on Hester’s thought process. However, at the same time, Hester’s removal from society leaves her with “nothing but the interiority of own mind,” allowing her to critique and question Puritan authority, and also to speculate on future possibilities of utopia (Murphy 474). As a result of Puritan domination over every aspect of Hester’s life, she is physically forced to modify her outward character and conform to Puritan expectations. The second part of this essay will examine the effects of the dystopian Puritan society specifically as it relates to Hester Prynne. Because The Scarlet Letter’s Puritan authorities enforce a totalitarian system of government, using extreme psychological and physical policing methods to promote ideologies, exert power, and control citizens, their once utopian goals become blurred, instead becoming dystopian. First, it will examine The Scarlet Letter as representing a dystopian society created by political and religious leaders’ thirst for power and control above the needs and desires of the people whom they are supposed to protect. The Scarlet Letter: A Façade for Subversion of Patriarchy Download a PDF of this article here: facade arnold ![]()
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