STAMPS OF GENDER OPPRESSION: SYMBOLS AND MOTIFS IN THE SCARLET LETTER

Authors : Vedi Aşkaroğlu

Pages : 254-263

Doi:10.12981/mahder.1435032

View : 63 | Download : 129

Publication Date : 2024-03-18

Article Type : Review Paper

Abstract :ABSTRACT: In almost all areas of social life, people seem to be constrained by something, due to their class, gender, group, ethnicity, education etc. Although it is not easy as an individual to fight against the restrictive mechanisms regulated by some official or social bodies, the very existence of human is a force that tends to resist any kind of oppression. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the female protagonist, Hester Prynne, is depicted both as the object of oppression and subject of resistance in the Puritan society. In the novel, the reader is exposed to themes related to power relations among the members of the society through the extensive use of symbols. The excessive use of symbols seems to create a bridge between the fanaticism exerted in the Puritan society and the reader led to question the gender roles violently and strictly stipulated by the same members of the society, both females and males. In this study, the signs, symbols and motifs that can be associated with the oppressive authority in The Scarlet Letter, shedding light upon the psychology and intellect of Hester Prynne are examined.
Keywords : Kızıl Leke, semboller, Püritenlik, cinsiyet rolleri, din, ahlak kodları