Reading The Scarlet Letter, the reader is likely to find themselves sympathizing with Hester, an adulteress; Hawthorne invokes this sympathy in order to critique the Puritan ways of punishment. Let us consider Hester’s situation and the crime for which she is so severely chastised: “Yonder woman, Sir, you must know, was the wife of a certain learned man…he sent his wife before him [to Boston], remaining himself to look after some necessary affairs. Marry, good Sir, in some two years, or less, that woman has been a dweller here in Boston, no tidings have come of this learned gentleman, Master Prynne” (Hawthorne 45). So Hester was not in contact with her husband for almost two years, for all she knew he could have been dead. In the two years that her husband was not in contact with her, Hester fell in love, had an affair, and conceived a child BUT can it really be considered an affair if her husband “dropped off the face of the Earth”? Hawthorne thus displays the lack of mercy on the part of the Puritans.
As the novel progresses, Hester proceeds to make her money by embroidering. Her embroidering was highly praised and worn on everything except bridal veils-Society’s high praise and demand for Hester’s embroidery is another display of Hawthorne’s critique; although Hester is rejected from society, they seek her for what she can provide them with materially. It shows a contradiction in the Puritan way of thinking because they are more interested in what Hester can provide them with physically then forgiving her and including them in her spiritual community. Phrased differently: Wouldn’t a religious community be more interested in her spiritual repentance?
While analyzing this novel, the following thought occurred to me: If Hawthorne were to have been alive during today’s society, would he still have written a novel to get his point across? Or would he have been more likely to poke fun at society through satire? Perhaps Hester would have been a character in a Saturday Night Live skit? Relating to Hawthorne’s critique of Puritan society is a clip from Saturday Night Live that critiques our modern day rap culture:
keblogging 
Reverting back to the conversation about readers’ interpretations, I can see why you would interpret the Scarlet letter as a type of satire or criticism on Puritan ideologies, especially noting all of the contradictions in the novel. I agree when you say that Hawthorne exposes the Puritans’ lack of mercy, because even though Hester’s punishment is less cruel than the common punishment of the time for adultery, her internal punishment and banishment from society portrays the horror of “internal” punishment, or punishment of the soul.
In the context of the whole blog post, are you referring to, perhaps indirectly, the way in which Hawthorne demystifies the ideology of Puritan society? I agree with the points you brought up in this post, and I think that it fits perfectly with what we’ve been discussing in class about ideology and demystification.
I agree completely with the idea that Hawthorne is criticizing the Puritan community, and he influences our opinions of Hester to do so. Also you said in your blog that Hester embroiders for the town, and I would like to mention that a possible reason they did not let her embroider veils is because the wedding veil is what is supposed to represent the innocence of the bride. By not allowing Hester to make these, they are further ‘rubbing it in’ that she is no longer innocent and now she must pay their price.
I find it ironic that Hester becomes the number one embroider but she cannot make the veils for brides. I believe that emphasizes your point very strongly that Hawthorne is criticizing the ways of the Puritans and I believe that you supported your claim effectively with this bit of evidence.
Do you believe that Hawthorne would have made an “snl” skit instead of a book?