The Scarlet Letter Lesson Plan

What does Hester's treatment show about the treatment of women in Puritan society?

Hester's treatment shows attitudes towards women at the time Hawthorne wrote, while also illuminating the ways in which our present society has not advanced. The male in Hawthorne’s stories is often the aggressor, and they are also neurotic and perfectionist. They fit well in society, and no one gives a second thought to their persecution of women. Their female victims are much more passive and complicated as characters, and therefore because of the dictates of gender and society they have to fall by the wayside and become submissive.

Chillingworth comes out in this chapter set as the...