The Power of Passionlessness and The Power of Prynne
After this past class, in which we discussed Victorian Hawthorne writing about Puritans, I noticed new layers in The Scarlet Letter. In regards to the documents in Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality, the deployment of sexuality, and power-relations, were evident.
Hawthorne’s Victorian influence is seen in “Another View of Hester.” He speculates, “With reference to the whole race of womanhood… [w]as existence worth accepting…?” (113). I am fairly confident that this is not a question a Puritan woman would ponder; however, it is a topic that women in Hawthorne’s time (especially the women he was surrounded by) might have debated. In addition, Hawthorne’s Romantic approach was illustrated in the second half of the book. In the same chapter in which the existence of womanhood is mulled over, the reader is also informed of the lack of “Love,” “Affection,” and “Passion” in Hester Prynne (112).
As I was reading the second half of The Scarlet Letter I tried to keep in mind the question of whether Hester is obedient or resistant towards her community. I could not come up with a definitive answer, and am curious to what others think. If I had to choose, I would lean towards the resistant side. This largely comes from Hester’s tendency to have wild thoughts without confining herself to the law. “Persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most perfect quietude to the external regulations of society” (113). This describes Hester perfectly. She obeys the rules that society has created. Yet, since she always feels like an outsider because of the scarlet letter—even after the townspeople think of her as “Able”—she allows her mind to explore ideas most outside the norm.
Power-relations and the deployment of sexuality were illustrated beautifully in Nancy F. Cott’s, “Passionlessness: An Interpretation of Victorian Sexual Ideology, 1790-1850.” Cott describes how the sexuality of women came into numerous discourses in the 19th century, including middle-class literature and British Evangelical teachings. What I found interesting about the discourse on women’s morality and passionlessness are the power-relations that developed around it. First, the church used morality to keep women within the fold and encourage their active participation, which was needed as men’s church activity waned (Peiss 134). Middle-class women themselves, however, also seized up passionlessness as a form of resistance. They used it to gain power for themselves in relation to men; there was feminization around passionlessness. These women believed that it downplayed their “sexual characterization,” and allowed them more self-control (Peiss 139).
Utilizing passionlessness as a form of self-control is demonstrated in The Scarlet Letter, as well. Hester Prynne clothes herself in a gray cloak, and covers her luxurious hair. She separates herself from any sexual entity she might possess; instead, she becomes a “moral” woman—helping the poor and sick. Even Dimmesdale looks upon her as a woman of strength, and not of sexuality. Passionlessness may have developed partially as resistance, but I think that it also became the norm of the time, or at least what we view today as the Victorian norm.
Tags: Passionlessness, Power-Relations, Resistance, The Deployment of Sexuality
