In my American Lit class, I read the book The Scarlet Letter, which is about a woman named Hester Prynne who is prosecuted for having a child out of wedlock and branded with a scarlet “A”, the story deals with prejudice and guilt of not only Hester but also the father. The story also shows that through all the pain and seclusion Hester became stronger and because of that people began to believe that the letter stood for “Able” instead of “Adulterer” which is pretty cool.
This story deals with the issue of the “double standard” and sexism. Throughout this book Hester is constantly shamed for having a child and not being married. The townspeople are quick to put her in jail and even shun her out of town (chp. 5), while the father is free to continue his life. Reading about this has made me realize fully how much society hasn’t changed its views.
I chose to talk about this issue because I see it happen all around me every day. I have seen it happen to people I know in real life and have read about it happening to other people, because teen girls who are pregnant are still looked down upon and treated horribly by society
. People are so quick to see a teen pregnancy and mock or judge them for every decision they make about raising their child while the father of the child can be nonexistent in the child’s life and no one says anything. Even if the mother is struggling she will be to scared to ask for help because people will judge her for not being ready for a child.
All the things I’ve said can tie back to my book because Hester has experienced the same kind of prejudice as teen moms today, and her reason for being shamed was some huge religious thing, but girls today are shamed for no real reason other than to… well I still don’t know why girls are put up to this high standard other than to make people feel better about themselves, which is a stupid reason. I do think it is important to say that in the book Dimmesdale, who is the father of Hester’s child Pearl, also experiences huge amounts of guilt for what he’s done. And that he knows it’s not fair and even went as far as to brand himself, although it was under his clothes and no one would know, it’s the thought that counts.
