Puritan Women in Literature - Suppressed, Witches and Symbols of Shame
Puritan woman at hearthstone A survey of Puritan women in early American literature reveals the strict, unjust Puritan model of community life. The omnipotent male hierarchy of the Puritan community conveniently stereotyped women as mothers, wives, and homemakers. Those who did not fit into the specified categories were labelled whores, evil types and old hags. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, "Young Goodman Brown," part of The Norton Anthology of American Literature , 1995, the majority of converts to Satanism are women, suggesting they are easily tempted by evil forces. Puritan Symbols of Shame The prophet Isaiah (1:18-19) associates the colour scarlet with sinful behaviour. This colour is used by Hawthorne in his short story "My Kinsman, Major Molineux" for the garments of the "fair and hospitable dame" (556). In addition, Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, blatantly reiterates the meaning of this symbolic colour when character Hester...