“Double Standard of sexual morality”

“Double Standard of Sexual Morality.”

In Cott’s essay, I was particularly intrigued by the Puritan “double standard of sexual morality” (133), in which women, being of the weaker sex, were more prone to succumb to temptation, even though it was not permitted for them to initiate sexual acts. This lead to greater blame for women in regards to “sodomy” or “uncleanness”; as Cott states, “In Puritan ideology, earthly women were the inheritors of Eve’s legacy of moral danger” (135). Put simply, women were responsible for the downfall of man. Adam was only guilty of succumbing to the influence of a woman (perhaps because he was seduced by her “sexual appetites” (133). )

Hawthorne reflects on this double standard in The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne was certainly seen as a daughter of Eve by her peers and was thus defamed, but what of the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale? His moment of confession was an event witnessed by his entire society, and yet Hawthorne presents different stories of what happened. While most acknowledged that he was Hester’s partner, those “highly respectable witnesses” (212) – indeed, those who are probably responsible for what history is passed down – claim that he was free from guilt, and that he spent his last moments on the scaffold in Christian sympathy. “He made the manner of his death a parable” (212). Even in his moment of confession, his only moment of perfect honesty in front of his entire congregation, he was not quite Adam, while Hester, bearing seven years scrutiny, all too perfectly embodied Eve for a society that needed to make an example of someone.

Hester’s return to Salem, along with Dimmesdale’s final confession, reminded me of Foucault’s writings on the power of confession and, indeed, one’s desire to confess. Dimmesdale found his final peace with his confession – the ultimate liberation for a man so tortured. But Hester? I’m still trying to figure out the purpose of her renewed confession with her taking up the scarlet letter once more. Perhaps more than a confession of her sin, it is a confession of love. With Pearl married (presumably), the scarlet letter is Hester’s only tie to Dimmesdale until her own death.

Tags: Adam and Eve, confession, Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, Puritans

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 10:13 pm and is filed under Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter, Katharine Maller, Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.