Puritans are often mischaracterized as overly rigid and moral people whose lives revolve around killjoy attitudes and laws against all innocent social pleasures. The qualities of sympathy, charity, and compassion are rarely linked to Puritanism or seen as characteristics that exemplified their way of life. (Newberry, 101) In “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, however, these traits are exemplified as recessive, rather than non-existent, in the actions and lives of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. These are the outcasts shunned by society because they failed to live up to the Puritans' rigorous and unwavering standards of moral behavior. However, the narrow moralism and social repression of the Puritans still had a much deeper influence in the United States than the recessive qualities described in Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale (Barzun, 283). The current role of women in society and attitudes towards deception and scandal today exemplify Puritan thinking. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Numerous events in “The Scarlet Letter” help us paint a clearer picture of the role of women in Puritan society. Cindy Lou Daniels writes of a recurring example: "In Hawthorne's novel, the rigid authoritarianism of the Puritan patriarchy finds its object in the little girl Pearl, who...becomes the target of the Puritans' efforts to control both human sexuality and its literary sexuality, historical expression." A patriarchal position results because the Puritans assume they have the authority to determine how Hester, and therefore Pearl, should live the rest of their lives. Hester is assigned a lower value than the rest of society not only because she lives in isolation, but the very sign of the scarlet letter serves to distinguish her from everyone else. Pearl, however, is able to break away from this patriarchy because the community leaves Hester to control it. Ironically, Pearl remains wild and free, and is not held back by either the Puritan community or Hester, but rather continues to thrive unfettered in nature (Daniels). Another example of Puritan patriarchy in "The Scarlet Letter" lies in the governor and positions of power within the city. The governor's armor that Hester and Pearl find inside the palace illustrates how positions of power within the city are dominated by masculine ideas such as harsh punishment and patriarchal rules (Easton, 114-5). This is exemplified in today's society through the dominance of men in areas such as politics, corporate leadership, and physically demanding jobs and activities. Likewise, in contemporary society, we have witnessed the increase of women in these fields. The status quo position of women as subservient to males runs parallel to the dominant patriarchy that existed in Puritan society. At the same time, however, Pearl, who personifies the recessive Puritan qualities of “sympathy, charity, and cheerfulness,” (Newberry, 101) exists in today's world through the rise of women and their opposition to dominant male norms. Daniels also mentions Pearl's "grace" as reflecting a changing role in women "provide[ing] the impetus toward 'good' for Dimmesdale, and, in so doing, provide[ing] a new vision of the power of woman in a male-dominated society." In this way, going against the norm of patriarchy is a Puritan characteristic in and of itself, and is a "direct result of the Puritan moral code that served as the catalyst for this profound change [of Pearl's transformation], achange that still reverberates in today's world. "society" (Daniels). Our generation is filled with examples of scandal and deceit that, while not objects of praise or adoration, provide the opportunity to draw myriad parallels between the Puritans' response to these events and the reactions of current citizens. daytime society. There is no clearer example of scandal and deception in our world than what we see in the media. At any moment you can discover the latest scandal or government deception with the click of a button or the turn of a page (Robinson). Shock and disapproval are vigorously defended, and responses to the scandal range from a simple shake of the head to public protests seeking concrete action. This is not to say that today's society has a high moral standard, as this is certainly a controversial debate, but rather society is exemplary in one's judgment of the beliefs and actions of others. Barzun describes it as "...suspicion of the faith and morals of others. The slightest divergence from the absolute is a grave error and wickedness. From there it is a short step to declaring war on unbelievers." (271-2) People today constantly try to criticize others, especially those in positions of power, for every little fault. The Puritans embodied this same criticism through the exclusion and persecution of others, as shown in "The Scarlet Letter." Hester and Pearl are excluded from society precisely because Hester identifies herself as different by being caught in the act of adultery. In their attempt to define themselves as morally upstanding citizens, the Puritans in "The Scarlet Letter" ostracize Hester. Just like people today, Puritans found no better way to boost their own self-confidence than to degrade another's, regardless of the reason. Hawthorne criticizes this mandate of punishment by describing the Puritans "as men and women in drearily colored clothes with a look of grim stiffness." (Mills) Their quest to punish with any excuse appeals to the letter of the law in such a way as to distract them from living the true spirit of their faith, the spirit that resides in Hester and Pearl's sympathy and charity. Hester's response to this rejection once again exemplifies the less stereotypical qualities of the Puritans. Rather than give in to their criticism and allow her life to collapse into chaos, Hester does her best to allow Pearl to live a life as she wishes, free from society's rules and criticism. Despite what may at first seem like an oxymoron, the society embodies both the dominant Puritan characteristics of criticism and exclusion based on minor flaws, and the recessive Puritan characteristics, personified by Hester and Pearl, of facing criticism without being bothered by criticism. negative reaction of society.The influence of the Puritan lifestyle on today's world seems full of contradictions. Ranging from intolerance, persecution, and patriarchy to sympathy, compassion, and rebellion against dominant hierarchies, "The Scarlet Letter" embodies not only the typical characteristics of Puritan society, but also serves as a critique of those characteristics in its tale of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. Hawthorne's account of these three social outcasts demonstrates that some sought to change dominant Puritan ideals and that the qualities they exemplified were more widespread than often believed. Although these opposing qualities of Puritanism have collided and coexisted for many years and in many more cases than just the towns of Hester and Pearl, dominant patriarchy, narrow moralism, and repression of dissent have influenced contemporary American society far more than their opposites (Barzun, 282-3).Works CitedBarzun, Jacques. From dawn13