Critical Lens Expert

This article about contextualizing the status of women in a Puritan society, is very accurate in the sense that it defines Hester's role in the society well. It explains that she is being punished because she committed adultery. The society fails to recognize that it takes two to commit this "sin" and that Hester is the one to blame because she is the one who births the illegitimate child. They sum up the Puritan society as being the society that bases its practices and law around religious beliefs and practices. It also mentions that Hester's growth into the courageous women she becomes is a direct result of her punishment rather than a moral epiphany. I agree with the analysis that they come up with because it is true that the Puritan society is based on religion with strict rules and punishment, especially for the women of the community. It also mentions that the narrator acknowledges the beauty of the natural world around him and compares the prison as the "black flower of society." He uses this interpretation to comment on Hester's current situation. During this time it is fair to say that women were less important than men only because they were women and that Hester was only seen as an adulterer because she was likely to "seduce" the male (Dimmesdale) into sex. We find out this is not the case in the end of the book because they are both in love and plan to leave the community together to start a new life with Pearl.