Thursday, March 06, 2008

Women's History Month Feature: Hester Prynne

National Women's History Month: Women's Art, Women's Vision.

Hester Prynne, protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterwork The Scarlet Letter, is among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature. She's the embodiment of deep contradictions: bad and beautiful, holy and sinful, conventional and radical. I heard Professor Jamie Barlow on All Things Considered earlier this week suggest that this "proud adulterss is a mirror revealing readers' true feelings about the role of women in society." Listen to the twelve minute segment and you may want to re-read the book. I know I do.
Source: National Public Radio All Things Considered

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