" (Hawthorne, 71) This statement of intent strikes as a core romantic value, contending with no small degree of irony that there is a sense of moral authority in the air which bears a dominant effect on the lives of New Englanders. Indeed, this is consistent with our understanding of Hawthorne's critical response to the forces of Puritanism. That the author is from the infamous settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, commonly referenced

" This seems powerful evidence that she has not accepted Puritan gender roles, but instead, is defending and helping to uplift the man who got her into this situation, and who is looked up to as a spiritual leader, while she is a spiritual outcast. The contrast is striking between the two, yet she is the strong one. There was neither "irritation or irksomeness" in Hester (124) and the "blameless purity

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne [...] ways in which the book is a critique of Puritanism. "The Scarlet Letter" was written in 1850, but it takes place in the 1600s, when Puritanism was at its height in New England. Hester Prynne, the heroine of the novel, is ostracized by a very strict and proper Puritan society, because of her affair with the Revered Arthur Dimmesdale. Puritan society had strict

While some individuals may believe that it is their right to frolic on the beach or even walk down the street without clothing, society as a whole has decided that this behavior is offensive. According to Peter Alces, morality is dynamic and may change over time, both from the individual and the group perspective. For example, slavery was once considered acceptable, a societal norm, a necessary economic institution (Alces). Yet,

The child also sometimes behaves as if she is possessed. Perhaps this is because she is being raised as a "little adult" by her mother. As an only child, she often seems much older than her real age, and this can also seem like she is possessed by an adult to the people around her. These actions frighten both her mother and the townspeople, creating the idea that she is

She was a good woman, and she raised a good daughter. She shows how the Puritans also would not accept her because of her mother. This also symbolizes their intolerance, because they blame the child for the sins of the parent, and the child has no chance of redeeming herself. Hawthorne uses a child to make it more clear how intolerant and mean-spirited the Puritans were, and to show