In the book, Hawthorne put forward a very serious social topic. It is how women seek survival in adversity and how to win the right to equality and freedom that women should enjoy (Cheng Shuhua, 2001:5). As is known, since the publication of the novel The Scarlet Letter, many critics have suggested that the heroine Hester Prynne is a woman who is morally corrupt and behaves badly. If traditional moral standards are used to measure the novel The Scarlet Letter, the critique of Hester by Western religious and literary critics may be justified. Whether it is a developed Western country or an eastern state, it is considered that adultery by married women and other men is a moral error. However, the reason why the novel The Scarlet Letter has caused widespread repercussions and controversies is mainly that Hawthorne showed readers the situation of women in the 17th century under the rule of New England colonial through the case of adultery, the most sensitive subject of humanity (Shi Shuhua, 1984: 45). The main intention of Hawthorne's creation is not to describe this simple case of adultery, but through the incident itself, the tentacles of thinking have reached out. An infinitely vast space reaches out to a very important social topic, namely the rights and status of women (Lin Yaguang, 1993: 6).
With the further study of the topic, Critics no longer believe that Hawthorne’s attitude is a constant chant and it seems that the book reflects more complex attitude towards Hester Prynne. “We use the feminist literary criticism to re-read Hawthorne's book The Scarlet Letter. We use this to analyze the image of women in the book. We find that Hawthorne does not always express his sympathy for Hester and appreciation for her inpidualism.” (Ji Zheng; Meng Xueqin, 2004: 152-155)
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne did create an advanced female image. She insists on her independence of personality, her freedom of spirit, her spirit of rebellion, and her insistence on women’s equal rights to pursue happiness. However, carefully studying the development of the plot and the changes of the protagonist before and after, it is not difficult to find a change in Hawthorne’s attitude. Thus, Hawthorne is not an absolute feminist.
Through the analysis of Hawthorne’s family background, scholars have realized the impact of family tradition on his creation. In his opinion, the value of women should not challenge the traditional men's field. Women’s pursuit of reasonable rights should be based on the premise of not harming men’s interests. In a word, Hawthorne’s support for women is conditional.
2. Formation of Hawthorne’s Feminist Idea
2.1 Family Factors
2.1.1 Influence from his family background
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in a family of puritan tradition. His ancestor was one of the judges who once participated in the notorious witchcraft trails. Knowing his family history well, he was so ashamed by its nasty past and he hated it so much that even added the letter “w” to his family name “Hathorne” to show the distinction from his ancestors.
Hawthorne’s father was the captain of a ship and accidentally died on a long voyage in Surinam of yellow fever in 1808 when Hawthorne was only a little four-year-old boy, leaving a widow, a son and two daughters. Among the several years of marriage, the time that his father spent on the family was extremely rare. Even the births of all his three children did not stop him from work. In other words, Hawthorne’s mother took all the responsibility of both father and mother to bring three children up. After the death of his father, the pitiful mother was like a walking dead. The vitality of her life has faded under the sunlight in Surinam though she was only in her early thirties. The widow, with her three children and little property left by her husband, had to move to where her maternal relatives lived. It can be said that Hawthorne’s life experience with his mother and two sisters actually caused far-reaching impact on his writing. 解读《红字》中清教主义对霍桑女性主义的影响(3):http://www.chuibin.com/yingyu/lunwen_206631.html